The way to a man or woman's heart is through their stomach and Indians are making great efforts towards promoting Millet on an international platform. The United Nations announced 2023 as the International Year of Millets after India’s proposal to the Food and Agricultural Organization was approved. Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India urged the Indian diaspora to adopt millet in their lifestyle during his session in Indore.
The global millets market was valued at $9.95 billion in 2020 and projected to reach $14.14 billion in 2028. India is the fifth larger exporter of millets in the world producing 12 million tonnes annually, and contributing to 41% of total global production in 2020. Besides millets, Indian spices and Indian cuisines have created a unique identity for themselves worldwide.
Meera Ravi, writer and journalist at Bahrain pointed out that one thing that Bahrain eats every day is Dal and Chapati. Many people were in search of Indian spices and brought them to their countries. This initiated the exchange of scientific and spiritual ideas between people of the world. “People started with looking for spices and then more things,” she adds.
Artist Adwaita Gadanayak, director general of the National Gallery of Modern Art said that Indian art and craft have a very rich history but the large gap between artists and buyers is where we need to look at to make the most of this power. “We need to promote regional art that can explore many new possibilities,” said Adwaita.
India’s soft power grabbed the world's eyes before without much government support; soft power has a huge potential to position it strongly in the world map and the country has not been destructive in its approach or in its assimilation. The Indian diaspora can leverage the soft power of India- Goodwill through cuisine, craft and creativity, said Meenakshi Lekhi, Minister of State for External Affairs and Culture.
India’s Hindi film industry-Bollywood is the biggest example of it. It is the world’s largest film industry in terms of the number of films produced. Nigeria-based filmmaker Hamisha Daryani Ahuja who is the director and producer of the popular film ‘Namaste Wahala’ said her first successful feature film was very much inspired by the Bollywood industry. Having received a nomination in the best director category at the AMVCA 2022, she said films are one the biggest platforms to connect with the world especially after the inception of OTT platforms.
Bollywood has a great impact on the Nigerian film industry, and these two are world’s very popular entertainment industries. To promote both the countries, she is coming up with her web series that will be shot in India. “We will shoot the web series in Mumbai featuring Nigerian and Indian actors,” she concludes.
