Republic Summit 2018 | Prasoon Joshi enlightens audiences with his rousing speech and recital of poems; watch video

Lyricist, writer, and poet Prasoon Joshi delivered a rousing speech at the Republic Summit 2018: Surging India currently underway in Mumbai. The veteran stated that the 'Indian characteristics' to success and the ability to retain what we talk about is immensely important.  

READ: Republic Summit 2018 - Surging India: LIVE Updates

Speaking on the theme of the event, ‘Surging India’, Joshi said, “Is it just materialism? Great roads and great buildings. It is the feeling which India has, the compassion, the connect this civilisation has. A lot of people say when the world was inventing the automobile, where were we. But I think India was more interested in an inward journey"  

He further added “We have been as a civilisation, most of the times, soul searching. The whole world is looking for happiness outside, we were taught to look for it inside. And we never felt the vacuum of not having the materialistic things we defined ourselves with. We were defining ourselves differently.   

“It doesn’t mean we don’t have to be competitive. I think the time has come to strike that balance. When we talk about success with that Indian characteristic, that balance is what one should seek.  

“We have a great value system. You talk to an individual in India, you found them very profound. That doesn’t come out of school education or curriculum, it comes out of life education which is there in the DNA of this country. You talk to the so-called illiterates and you hear profound things, because it’s deep down in our DNA which gets reflected.” 

Talking about the negativity and criticism surrounding the country, he said, “We are a great county of criticism, but I feel when someone criticises, it is the time to ask, “Sir, what are you doing?” If you have the right to criticise, I have the right to ask what you’re doing for it. The time has come for those who have the right to criticise to contribute. “ 

As you’d expect, Joshi enlightened the audiences with his multiple poems laden with metaphors and deep meanings. 

READ: Republic Summit 2018 | Mayukh Hazarika And Laili Dutta Put Up A Lively Performance

The Republic Summit saw the presence of distinguished celebrities, most notable being the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, whose speech was one of the highlights. The event will continue on Wednesday.