By Lavanya Singh

Most of us carry the world in our pockets now. With India’s mobile revolution, over 950 million Indians are online. In a country as culturally diverse as ours, the internet is not just a window—it is a highway. The stories we tell, the music we enjoy, and the aromas from our kitchens may shift with every region, but they still carry the whiff of a shared, deeply rooted reality. Today, technology is making it possible for these traditions to travel the world and the world is waking up to India’s soft power.

Consider Mighty Little Bheem, Netflix’s charming, non-verbal animated series from Hyderabad. Its universal appeal which is conveyed through playful expressions rather than words, has touched hearts in dozens of countries. It reminds us that stories rooted in our culture can resonate globally.  

More recently, Hanumankind performed at Coachella. He presented a new India: where traditional Indian elements fuse with American hip-hop seamlessly. He included a Chenda ensemble in his performance, marking a significant moment for Indian music, and introducing the powerful sounds of the Chenda to a global audience. His rise from a Kerala-born singer-rapper to Coachella is a testament to technology's power in bringing cultures together. His music video Big Dawgs went viral on tik-tok and made the rapper an instant hit. The video featured a ‘maut ka kuan’ (well of death), a quintessential feature of holiday melas (fairs) across India. The raw energy, and thrilling maut ka kuan made Hanumankind a fresh voice in the international music community.

This cross cultural musical exchange isn’t one sided either. Take Sapphire, Ed Sheeran’s June 2025 single featuring Indian playback icon Arijit Singh. The song has Punjabi lyrics and an appearance by Shah Rukh Khan. Sheeran himself confessed he learned Punjabi for the collaboration, a gesture of genuine cultural respect. When Western stars embrace a new culture respectfully, they invite the world to listen in a similar way.

It’s not just entertainment driving our global connection. It is the way we travel, learn, and share. Airbnb has enabled millions to live briefly in Indian homes. Travelers wake up next door to local hosts, not in a hotel lobby. When they travel in this manner they participate in local lives rather than just visit them. These stays build empathy and perspective in ways no travel guide ever could, by allowing for an intimate glimpse into Indianness. While India’s cultural presence is flourishing globally through lived experiences and digital storytelling, there’s something to be learned from countries that have intentionally built their soft power through culture. South Korea’s K-wave, or Hallyu, is a result of decades of state-supported investment in cultural exports: K-pop, K-dramas, and even Korean food, transformed global perceptions and boosted tourism and trade for the country. Similarly, Thailand launched the “Global Thai” program, which subsidised Thai restaurants abroad as cultural embassies, promoting national cuisine as soft power. These examples suggest that India, already rich in artistic heritage and storytelling traditions, could amplify its global influence by treating culture not just as identity, but as strategy.

Language, too, has become a powerful vessel of cultural diplomacy. While some countries craft official policies to spread language and cuisine, others, like India, see individuals across the world choosing to learn our languages simply out of love or curiosity. Richard Siken, a renowned American poet, is learning Urdu through translation software and community support on X. Meanwhile, millions turn to Duolingo to learn Hindi and Tamil. Sometimes to prepare for travel, but often just to connect more deeply with a culture and literature they admire. These seemingly small gestures point to something profound — a desire for understanding that travels further than any campaign could.

Social media and streaming platforms have become powerful conduits for cultural expression. A street food vendor in Bangkok can now gain followers in Brazil. A craftsman in Oaxaca can sell to customers in Berlin. Whether it’s discovering African folktales on a storytelling podcast or recreating Japanese matcha ceremonies via Instagram reels, people are increasingly participating in and shaping the cultural narratives of communities they’ve never physically visited. With India’s massive online presence, this is especially true for us.

Ultimately, technology can be both a bridge and a mirror. When used with curiosity and humility, it allows individuals to walk into worlds not their own and emerge with broader perspectives. In this interconnected era, cultural immersion is no longer about escape or exoticism. It is about empathy, inclusion, and global citizenship. As borders blur and stories intertwine, we are reminded that while we may log in from different places, we are part of the same human narrative.