UNESCO

India’s UNESCO Creative Cities spotlight music, film, literature, gastronomy, and crafts. From Jaipur to Gwalior, these cities shape culture through living traditions.

India’s first Cold Desert Biosphere Reserve in Spiti, Himachal Pradesh, earns a UNESCO tag for its rare ecosystem, wildlife, and living heritage.

Kerala is now India’s first fully digitally literate state, empowering every citizen with digital skills.

These 12 Maratha forts, built between the 1600s and 1800s, are now recognised as UNESCO World Heritage Sites for their historic value.

From 200-year-old kebabs to edible chaats, here’s why Lucknow is a UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy. A flavour-packed journey.

From Son Bhandar to the gorgeous limestone Borra, here are five mysterious and ancient caves in India you must explore.

Spin a Yarn is an online platform created by Shikha Dalmia and Madhurata Deshmukh to celebrate India’s storytelling heritage. It has over 500 narrators sharing tales in 27 Indian languages.

In December 2021, UNESCO included Kolkata’s Durga Puja in its Lists of Intangible Cultural Heritage. The historian behind the feat, Tapati Guha-Thakurta, explains how this took shape.

Mumbai-based Shikha Dalmia started Spin a Yarn with her mother-in-law, Madhurata Deshmukh in 2018. The platform has over 120 narrators, most of them senior citizens, who narrate children’s tales in the 22 languages recognised by the Indian constitution.

"These parents, who are migrant labourers, don't have a safe place to leave their children. Although I cannot guarantee all of them will go to formal schools, but I can guarantee their care for those four hours in a day, feeding, educating and even getting them fresh pairs of clothes."