Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu

Honourable Former Vice-President of India

I extend my heartfelt greetings to all the dignitaries Land participants present here today. First, I would like to acknowledge the chief architect of this programme, Shri Kishan Rao garu, followed closely by Shri Tirumala Rao garu, who has contributed immensely by collecting various ancient musical instruments and traditions and organising this cultural festival. I also extend my greetings to Central Minister Shri Kishan Reddy garu, State Minister Shri Jupally Krishna Rao garu, the elders of Pragna Bharati and Sanskar Bharati, the executive chairman of this Lokmanthan, Shri Tripuraneni Hanuman Chowdary garu, along with Nandakumar garu, Nagu garu, Dr. Ravindra Bharati garu (Lokmanthan Karyadarshi, Jaipur) and other dignitaries. warm welcome to all the brothers and A sisters from various regions, especially from Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand, as well as to all the artists. I extend my congratulations and gratitude to everyone present here today.

Normally, I speak last at any event, but today I must speak early, as I need to leave in 20 minutes to travel to Mumbai and then to Doha, Qatar, where the World Telugu Literary Conference will be held tomorrow. They are doing remarkable work there and I felt it would be important to join them. Therefore, I apologise for not being able to stay long and for leaving in the middle of this event.

Relevance of Lokmanthan

As part of this Lokmanthan, organised in Hyderabad, I am delighted to witness the performances, appreciate the music and enjoy the wonderful programmes. I particularly commend Shri Kishan Reddy Garu for initiating this programme in our state, especially in Hyderabad. The underlying idea of this event is to decolonise the minds of Indians and foster a sense of pride and commitment to Bharatiya intellectual discourse, culture, heritage, music and dance. This noble purpose is truly commendable. This is precisely what Pragna Bharati has been doing over the years as a nationalist organisation, dedicated to nation-building and the revival of our ancient culture and heritage.

Embracing Our Cultural Roots

In other words, the crucial point for today is to reconnect with our roots. Watching this beautiful programme, observing the performances, listening to the instruments and hearing the music fills me with immense joy. It is an unparalleled delight because these musical instruments have the power to enchant our ears and uplift our spirits. Such instruments have been part of our heritage since ancient times, from the Vedic and Puranic eras and our ancestors have experienced, adorned and passed them down to us as a legacy. We should all be proud of these traditions, remember them and preserve them. It is very important.

Invaluable Contributions from Our Tribal Communities

Our ancestors experienced all these things during their lifetime and passed them on to us as heritage. That is why we feel proud today. From Chhattisgarh, Adilabad and other regions, our vanvasi brothers and sisters have come here with their instruments, bringing joy to everyone. I extend my best wishes to them. God bless you for your wonderful music and your presence here today. As I mentioned earlier, whatever heritage we inherited from our ancestors, it is our duty to preserve it. We must identify, encourage and support such efforts by this great tribal community, whom we call Vanvasis. We should all congratulate and appreciate

Preserving Indian Languages and Culture

There is a vast difference between the days of old and today. Earlier, we had music, literature and instruments. Today, that kind of music and literature has faded and the instruments in the band’s playing today are so loud that they hurt our ears. Today, we hear a type of “jingiri-bingiri” music, which we can sarcastically refer to as “jingiri-bingiri” literature. These are the new songs that are being played for our children today. One reason for this is that we are forgetting our language. Secondly, we are forgetting our culture. Previously, we even forgot our attire. Therefore, each of us must return to our traditions-the good customs and practices shown by our elders. There is a great need to return to these good practices.

Adverse Impact of Western Influence

Bharatiya Sanatana Dharma is very noble. It is not just about living for ourselves; it is our responsibility to protect other lives as well as nature. We must remember that. We are a nation that offers sugar to ants, milk to snakes and respects trees and animals. That is the sacredness of our Hindu Dharma. Now, just observe the direction we have taken, leaving those ideals behind. Our fascination with Western culture has led us astray. The British came and invaded our country, looted us-not only economically plundering our wealth, diamonds, emeralds and gems-but also stole the minds of many. It is because of this that we see the change today. Our literature, music, instruments, language, culture and words have been forgotten and we have turned to English. We are all thinking in English. That is why I urge everyone to return to our Indian roots and promote Indian languages. First, our mother tongue, then other tongues and later any other language. We are not against any language, but we must protect our mother tongue. Our mother tongue is like eyesight, while English is like spectacles. If eyesight works, spectacles are useful; otherwise, (jocularly) even if you wear Ray-Ban glasses, they won’t help. That is why we must speak in our language.

Importance of the Mother Tongue

Why? Someone once asked me, “If we do not know English, will we not go to heaven?” When I asked, “Who told you this?” they had no answer. I then told them (jocularly) I had dialed God’s number and spoken to Him, asking, “Do we need to come to you through English?” God said, “No, there is no such rule. When the time comes, all of you will automatically come to me. There is no discrimination based on language. If anyone wants to reach God, they do not need to know English. Anyone who knows any language can come directly to me. There is no difference.”

I then told the person, “The President of this country, Droupadi Murmu, studied in her mother tongue. The former president, Ram Nath Kovind, studied in his mother tongue. In this country, the second-highest position, the Vice-President, a position I held, was studied in a street school, in a primary school, and in Telugu. The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of this country, Justice NV Ramana garu, said he studied in his mother tongue. He mentioned this yesterday. Our current Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Bhai Modi, one of the most powerful prime ministers in the world today, never saw the inside of a convent school. Yet, the whole world chants his name.”

What does this mean? It means one needs strength, ability, intellect, excellence, ethics, honesty, character, caliber, and conduct. Certainly not Western fascination. After becoming vice president, someone asked me, “Sir, now that you have become vice president, what about your dress?” I said, “There is no need to change the dress. There will only be a change in address, that’s all. When I became Vice-President, I changed my address from 30 Abdul Kalam Road to 6 Maulana Bharatiya Pragna Azad Road. That is why I said ‘change of address.”

Firmly Rooted in Our Traditions

Our attire, our language, our tradition and our culture these are things we should feel proud of and practice without hesitation. We should feel proud of who we are-whether we are Hindus, Indians, Telugu, Tamil or Chhattisgarhi. We must feel proud of our tradition. That is why, friends, as I said in the beginning, all of you should understand our tradition and embrace it. We must preserve our mother  tongue the language that came from the streets, temples and the lap of our mother. I urge everyone to avoid this fascination with English. Similarly, our music, literature and those wonderful instruments shown by Tirumala Rao Garu-we are setting aside such wonderful instruments and moving towards meaningless new instruments. That is not good. We must all commit to encouraging our ancient music, literature, and instruments.

Bliss of Conversing in Our Languages

Do you know why I am going to Doha? In Qatar, in Arab countries, all Indians are holding the World Telugu Literary Conference. We should feel proud of our people. They are doing such great work there, yet here we are forgetting everything and running towards English convents. Learn English, but first, learn your mother tongue. After learning your mother tongue, then learn other Indian languages such as Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Punjabi, Assamese, Bhojpuri, and Chhattisgarhi. Such beautiful languages, all of these! And those from Chhattisgarh were singing. Did you hear them? Even if the language is not understood, see how joyful it is to the heart. See how happily they sang. I appeal to all of you that we must not forget such things.

Sanatana Dharma – Our Way of Life

In every stone, in every living being, in water, earth, air, and sky, in all of these, we can see God. Such a culture is unique to Indians. We must all protect it. Brahmacharya, Grihastha, Vanaprastha, and Sannyasa are the four ashrama dharmas defined by our culture. As part of Brahmacharya, those who studied in forests, even kings and princes studied with gurus. In Grihastha Dharma, one serves society, and after aging, one enters Vanaprastha ashrama— reuniting with nature.

Our Culture is Attuned to Nature

Nature and culture together are for a bright future. Keep this in mind and you will shine in life. Everyone must teach their children the old habits and customs. Waking up early at sunrise and finishing work by sunset should become a habit for everyone. Many are adopting this slowly. I once asked someone, “What did he do last night?” The response was, “He was very busy, sir.” So, I called his son and asked, “What did you do yesterday? Write it down.” He wrote it down and I read the entire paper. It said: “Busy in the morning, busy in the afternoon, busy in the evening, busy at night.” But what kind of “busy” is this? We must be busy doing good work. Many are doing so and we must all make good use of our time. Life is a blessing; we must improve it, make it better and make it useful for at least ten people. Make ten people happy. If we think and work hard, there is no loss. We must remember this. It is important to teachevery child to work hard from a young age.

Yoga: Our Cultural Lifestyle

Wake up early in the morning and engage in some form of exercise, such as running, jogging, walking or yoga. Yoga is especially beneficial. Someone once asked me, “What will I gain from yoga?” I replied, “You will become yogya (worthy).” Yoga makes you worthy, so learn yoga. We must also worship the sun and the moon. When someone remarked, “Yoga is good, but in yoga, there is Surya Namaskar (sun salutation),” I said, “If you have an issue with sun salutation, you can always do moon salutation.” Yoga has no religious boundaries; it is a cultural practice passed down by our great forefathers. Some may say, “Modi introduced yoga to the United Nations and 172 countries accepted it. The whole world follows it now.” But yoga is not Modi’s initiative; it is for your body. Understand this and practise yoga. It will make you physically fit and mentally alert. My advice to all young people is that if you are physically fit, you will be mentally sharp. Therefore, we must all make this effort and embrace yoga as a way of life.

The Strength of Family Bonds and Values

oday, families are breaking apart and marriages are disintegrating. We don’t fully understand what is happening. In America, they say, “Who is this? Oh, he is the second wife’s third son, the fifth son of the fourth wife,” and so on. This should not happen in our country. We must keep the family system strong. We must respect our elders, including grandmothers and grandfathers and spend time with our mothers and fathers. Be kind and friendly with your sisters and younger women. We must protect the Indian family system.
If we decide never to go beyond the family system in our lives, our family system will remain strong, serving as an ideal for the world. We must remember these values. Avoid unnecessary tension. If you are tense, you cannot focus. In such cases, your thoughts will not be retained; only pretence will prevail. So, let go of tension. Peace is the prerequisite for progress. When we are peaceful, positive thoughts emerge and when we think positively, favourable results follow. Everyone must understand this.
Therefore, I appeal to all of you to be peaceful, exercise regularly, connect with nature, respect your elders and spend time with your parents and grandparents. Only then can you work hard and excel in life. Maintain discipline, character, calibre, capacity and meaningful connections and you will surely succeed in life. This is my advice to you all.

Concluding remarks

I would like to commend Shri Kishan Reddy for this wonderful initiative, as well as the artists who have come from Chhattisgarh. I also extend my thanks to all those participating in this programme. I encourage the people of Hyderabad and the surrounding districts to come and witness this remarkable exhibition over the next four days. Let us once again reflect on our values and work towards protecting our traditions. If we safeguard our traditions, we will not only live happily but also reach the highest levels of success in life.
Namaskaram!
Jai Hind!
Bharat Mata Ki Jai!

“Whatever heritage we inherited from our ancestors, it is our duty to preserve it.”
– Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu
Former Vice-President of India