Samskruti Talks

Speaker: Major General (Dr.) M.N. Gopinathan Nair, MD, Paediatrician In this talk, the featured speaker was Major General Dr. M.N. Gopinathan Nair, a senior pediatrician with over five decades of experience in military and civilian medicine, who spoke on Kaumarabhritya - the traditional Ayurvedic system of paediatrics and child care. The session also included an introduction by a Samnskruti Foundation representative, an extended audience Q&A. Dr. Gopinathan Nair opened with a

Speaker: Dr. Satish Chandra Shenoi, Former. Dir. (INCOIS), Hyderabad Core Argument of the Talk Dr. Shenoi's central thesis: The climate crisis cannot be solved with the same worldview that created it. The western, Newtonian-Cartesian model of treating the world as a machine to be conquered has led to accelerating environmental destruction. The solution lies in returning to the Bharatiya (Indian) philosophical vision of oneness, interdependence, and sustainable coexistence — n

Speaker: Dr. Rajiv Joshi, Professor of Physics, Central University of Karnataka Overview This talk presents a rigorous modern reinterpretation of the ancient Bharatiya concept of Pancha Purusha (the Five Structural Identities). Dr. Rajiv Joshi — a physicist by training — bridges classical Indian philosophy with contemporary frameworks from network science, graph theory, and systems biology to offer a unified methodology for understanding reality, health, and education. 1. Mo

Speaker: Prof. Umesh Sharraf, IPS (Retd.) | Former DGP of Telangana | Adjunct Professor, IIM Raipur Overview The 14th edition of Samskruti Talks convened at Samskruti Foundation, Hyderabad, brought together retired civil servants, academics, corporate leaders and public-policy professionals. The session explored how wisdom from the Bhagavad Gita can inform contemporary leadership and governance. The principal speaker, Prof. Umesh Sharraf (IPS, Retd., Adjunct Professor IIM R

Ancient statecraft guiding modern governance This lecture by chartered accountant and management expert Sri K. Narasimhamurthy presents a detailed examination of Kautilya's Arthashastra — the ancient Indian treatise on statecraft, governance, economics, and law written around 350–250 BC. The speaker argues that far from being a mere manual of political cunning, the Arthashastra is a comprehensive system of public administration whose principles remain profoundly relevant to c

Reviving ancient wisdom for a modern world. The launch of Jala Vignana Tarangini took place as part of a thought-provoking session organized by the Samskruti Foundation, bringing together scholars, enthusiasts, and supporters of Sanskrit and Indian Knowledge Systems. The event opened with expressions of gratitude toward the organizers, while also setting the tone for a meaningful discussion on the significance of the book and its contribution to preserving India’s intellectua

Ancient wisdom that continues to shape the foundations of justice and society. The lecture on Jurisprudence in Ancient Bharat offers a compelling exploration of how legal philosophy in India evolved long before many modern Western theories took shape. Rooted deeply in the concept of Dharma, ancient Indian jurisprudence presents a holistic framework that integrates law with morality, governance, and social responsibility. This perspective allows us to appreciate not only the s

Speaker : Dr. M.M.V.P. Sharma, Professor of Community Medicine, Ex. WHO Consultant There was a time when food was not a matter of discussion—it was a way of life. In our villages, what people ate was guided by seasons, local availability, and the quiet wisdom passed from one generation to the next. In towns too, food was simple, home-cooked, and balanced. There was no confusion about what was healthy, because life itself followed a natural rhythm. Today, that clarity is slowl

Speaker : By : Dr. Veni Madhavi, Botanist and social activist Summary: Presently, most of us are staying in apartments due to paucity of land. Now, we see independent houses in villa complexes apart from houses in villages. Let us focus on the plants existing and available in our immediate vicinities. As one may reminisce, there was a pattern of trees in our front and back yards in village houses. Tulasi (Ocimum sanctum/tenuiflorum) is the most common and prevalent plant in I

Speaker : Sri Girish Kuber, Expert on Tribal Matters, Sr. functionary, RSS India has a huge Janajati(tribal) population estimated to be in the range of 15-20 Crores. These communities have been living in India since times immemorial in their own distinct nature-friendly ways. Their welfare is of primary importance to the nation. There are different aspects of their lives / issues which need protection for their own good as well as the good of the nation. These aspects are bro

Speaker : Dr. Radhakrishna Pillai, Educationist, Trainer and Expert on Chanakya Dr. Radhakrishnan Pillai, an eminent scholar and an expert on ‘Chanakya’ visited Samskruti Foundation and addressed a gathering of invitees numbering around 85. The report on the gist of the address is given below. The talk was titled as ‘Insights into Chanakya’s Neeti Shastra’. Summary : Dr. Radhakrishnan Pillai said that he had written 22 books on Chanakya with the aim of acquainting the next ge

Speaker : Dr. V.M. Tiwari, Former – Director, NGRI, Hyderabad Dr. Tiwari covered three main points in his talk : People, Prosperity , and Planet Under the aegis of U N, 70 sustainable goals have been identified. The pandemic COVID-19 made us realize the the solution to problems are to be found locally. Supply Chains : After the opening up of the economy in early 1990’s, it has become clear that if we want to make progress, we have to be digitally enabled and articulate. Ju