A heritage awards function was recently organised by The Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) to celebrate the spirit of sustainability of heritage. This was the first time an award function for the best practices in restoration and maintenance of heritage structures was presented in Lucknow after Hyderabad. From bigger precincts and palaces to smaller habitats of bylanes of old city, people sent the nominations with much enthusiasm. The award categories included the Awards for Excellence, Awards for Distinction and Special merit awards. Some of the award winners included Craftsmen who restored La Martiniere College, Kotwara House, Khunkhunji Kothii, Itaunja House, Sharga Haveli, Shanti Sadan and Jahangirabad Palace to name a few. The awards were presented by Jitendra Kumar, Principal Secretary, Culture and Tourism, Anita Bhatnagar Jain, Additional Chief Secretary and Bharat Kumar Bhaskar, Director of IIM Raipur. In between the award ceremony, renowned Sufi Kathak performer, Manjari Chaturvedi enthralled the audience with her dance performances on the theme of ‘The feminine of Awadh’ or the journey of feminine Awadh Radha-Raas. Convenor of the event, Vipul Varshney said, "It was a wonderful experience to have met all the heritage lovers under one roof. They are the real crusaders of heritage preservers and conservers." — Yashi Agarwal

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/lucknow/when-lakhnawi-heritage-got-awarded/articleshow/72308150.cms., December 1, 2019

Underwater or marine archaeology in India is all set to get a boost with the government deciding to establish a National Maritime Heritage Museum at Lothal, a Harappan site on the Saurashtra coast in Gujarat. The museum will also be an independent research centre of underwater archaeology for reconstruction of maritime history, archaeology of boat building and materials traded. It will have on display salvaged material from shipwreck sites in the Indian Ocean waters. The museum is being set up with technical help from the Portuguese Maritime Heritage Museum. The central government has appointed the first Director General for the museum which will be attached to the Maritime Board of the Gujarat government. Lothal is the site of one of the oldest ports in India dating to the Bronze Age.

Underwater archaeology

Underwater archaeology is a specialized branch of archaeology that involves recovering submerged remains such as ports, shipwrecks and studying proxy records of maritime activity from archaeological excavations as well as archival and historical records. There are an estimated three million undiscovered shipwrecks lying on the ocean floor, according to the Unesco. Between 1824 and 1962, over 12,000 sailing ships and war vessels were lost at sea. Many of them got wrecked in Indian coastal waters. In India, shipwreck studies were initiated in 1989 off Sunchi Reef in Goa waters. Later on, shipwreck were excavated and studied off St George’s Reef, Amee Shoals of Goa as well as in Poompuhar, Konark and Lakshadweep waters by the marine archaeology centre at the Goa-based CSIR-National Institute of Oceanography (NIO). These studies have vast potential, given the fact that India has a rich maritime history. Archaeological evidence from the Persian Gulf and Southeast Asia shows that Indian maritime voyagers ventured into western and eastern seas of the Indian Ocean some 4,000 years ago, according to researchers Sila Tripati(NIO) and Ravi Korisettar (UGC Emeritus Fellow, Karnataka University).

Documented shipwrecks

The Indian marine studies have covered wooden and steel hulled shipwrecks off Sunchi Reef dating back to the 17th century Indo-Portuguese trade and commerce network. The St George’s Reef shipwreck dates to the 19th century. The Amee shoals shipwreck was probably of British origin, dating to the 1880s or later. Steam engine shipwrecks have been explored and documented in the Minicoy waters. An 18th century wooden hulled shipwreck has been explored off Poompuhar in Tamil Nadu. Details of a ship-wreck off Konark coast of Odisha are still being reconstructed, according to a series of research papers published in journal Current Science. “Archival records have revealed a series of wreckages off the coast of Goa that occurred probably owing to a collision with reefs, sand bars and storm over the sea. The Portuguese records of 1497–1612 mention that 806 ships sailed from Lisbon to India. Out of these 20 ships ran aground, 66 were shipwrecked, the enemy captured four, six were burnt, 285 remained in India, and the rest returned to Portugal,” researchers said. Portuguese ships that were wrecked include S. Cristovam which was caught in a storm on August 17, 1594; nau Santo Andre which capsized off Goa coast in May 1608; Nossa Sra Dos and Remedios were hit by a severe storm and sank on 28 January 1616. Another 12 Portuguese ships enroute to Calcutta from Goa, were reported sunk near Aguada Bay due to an unseasonable storm in 1648. “All the documented shipwrecks belong to the 17 to 20th centuries. This period is the transition phase between wood to iron and sail to steam. The hitherto discovered shipwrecks, namely the Konark, Vizag and Poompuhar, deserve further studies for reconstructing their detailed history,” pointed out Tripatiand Korisettar. Experts have called for greater collaboration among marine archaeologists in India. “I would like to see collaboration between marine archaeologists based in NIO and those from NIOT in Chennai and the department of marine Archaeology at Tamil University in Thanjavur. The artefacts collected through underwater survey at Dwarka, Poompuhar-Kaveripattinam, Mahabalipuram, Tranquebar, Lakshadweep, Konark and in the Goa waters are with the NIO, but only a few of them such as stone anchors are on display due to lack of facilities and preservation conditions,” Korisettar told India Science Wire. Studying sunken ships could also fill the gaps in India’s maritime history and trade links with other countries. Some shipwrecks are of great of historical importance, researchers said. The Dart Mouth belonging to the East India Company, for instance, was carrying treasure when it is said to have sunk off Masulipatnam in 1719. Governor Keating, carrying King’s Stores sank in a storm in 1812 near Nellore, Andhra Pradesh. Some Indian ships are also lying in foreign waters, such as P&O Liner Indus which carried the Buddhist sculptures of Bharhut stupa and is known to have sunk in 1882 to the seabed of Sri Lankan waters.

https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/science/indias-first-maritime-museum-coming-up-at-lothal-in-gujarat/article30139189.ece#, December 2, 2019

The Bombay High Court has constituted a three-member expert committee to study all the structural audits carried out on Esplanade Mansion, conduct a fresh assessment and submit a report later this month. Hearing various petitions pertaining to the World UNESCO heritage site, a division bench of Justices SJ Kathawalla and BP Colabawalla, on Monday, appointed three renowned specialists – structural and conservation expert Chetan Raikar, architect Vikas Dilawari and conservationist Abha Narain Lambah — to do the job. After studying the existing reports and carrying out its own structural audit, the committee must tell the court if the building can be repaired and the costs involved for such a restoration. The order was passed after Sadiq Ali Noorani, the owner of the building, sought a hearing in the case through his lawyer Cherag Balsara, seeking a fresh structural audit. While Advocate PG Lad, appearing for the Maharashtra Area and Housing Development Authority (MHADA), initially opposed Noorani’s plea, eventually all the parties agreed to the court’s suggestion of an expert committee to end the controversy. Esplanade Mansion is a 155-year-old Grade II-A heritage structure, which once served as Bombay’s first luxury hotel – the Watson’s Hotel – and is listed among the top 100 endangered monuments in the world. The building is also only one of the two cast iron structures in the world. Jayakar and Partners, appearing for Indian National Trust For Art & Cultural Heritage (INTACH), suggested the name of Vikas Dilawari, which was accepted by the court. INTACH has filed a public interest litigation seeking restoration of the building. Based on an order passed by another division bench earlier this year, the building was vacated in July as it was declared dangerous for habitation. Since then, the question whether the building be demolished and re-built, or restored, is being discussed before the court. MHADA, based on an audit report by the Indian Institute of Technology in May this year, has been in favour of pulling the building down, while Noorani, various tenants of the building, including Advocates Ashok Saraogi and Rajesh Singh, INTACH, and wellknown architect Shirish Patel have been seeking restoration. On Monday, Balsara presented a synopsis of the three structural audits done in the past four years, which showed that only the IIT report had recommended that the building be pulled down. The HC bench is likely to hear the case again on December 18.

https://mumbaimirror.indiatimes.com/mumbai/other/esplanade-mansion-hc-appoints-committee-to-explore-if-it-can-be-restored/articleshow/72339069.cms, December 3, 2019

A group of labourers found bronze-plated coins believed to be from the period of the last ruling Maharaja of the princely state of Travancore – Balarama Varma, from a trench they had dug up at a plot at Padinjattinkara near Keezhperoor under Kilimanoor police station limits. As many as 2,500 coins were recovered from the plot. The antique coins were discovered by labourers hired by B Ratnakaran, a local resident of Vellalloor, to excavate his 27-cents plot adjacent to a temple on Tuesday at 10am. 66-year-old Ratnakaran, who is a farmer, alerted the Kilimanoor police and later in the evening handed over the coins to the officials of archaeology department in Thiruvananthapuram. The bronze-coated coins embossed with a picture of Balarama Varma include ‘ettu cashu’, ‘oru chakram’, ‘naalu cashu’ and ‘shangu cashu’. According to Ratnakaranan, who is a farmer and ex-ward member of Nagaroor grama panchayat, the site of the find was next to the 2,000-years-old ‘Thirupalkadal Sreekrishnaswamy Temple’, known as Adikulakovil of Ay Kingdom (Kupaka), who were ruling the place, with their capital at Keezhperoor during the Sangam period. The temple was renovated in 9th century AD by the Venad King Vallabhan Kotha of Keezhperoor Illam. “I bought this plot for farming purpose from a local resident in 2018. Around 10am I went there and labourers. While the labourers were at work their shovel came across a pot filled with coins. I washed the coins and informed the local police,” said Ratnakaran . Ratnakaran said that it was police who called up the officials from archaeology department. “The plot is situated on the eastern side of the century-old temple. Earlier, the ex-owner of the plot told me that there was a house in the plot which was owned by a traditional medicine practitioner of erstwhile Travancore kingdom. Thus, I suspect that the coins were gifted by the king,” he added. “We have confirmed that the coins belonged to erstwhile king Balarama Varma’s era. We have handed over the coins to regional conservational lab in East Fort for chemical cleaning. The department has also decided to give a reward to Ratnakaran,” said Rajesh Kumar, an official of archaeology department.

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/thiruvananthapuram/labourers-unearth-antique-coins-near-kilimanoor/articleshow/72355761.cms, December 4, 2019

Bimal Patel is India's preferred architect. Development of the Mumbai Port Trust and restoration of Ahmedabad’s Sabarmati Ashram are his other ongoing projects. Bimal Patel, Ahmedabad-based architect and urban planner, proposed the making of a new Parliament building three years ago in an article for The Indian Express, one that would “powerfully signify who we are, how we view our past and where we see ourselves going”. It appears as if his sentiment dovetailed with Narendra Modi’s re-imagining India narrative, which could be simply because Patel is the PM’s favoured architect since his tenure as the chief minister of Gujarat. Patel, a 58-year-old doctorate in city and regional planning from the University of California, Berkeley, designed Swarnim Sankul in 2011, a new complex of office blocks flanking the north and south side of the Central Vista of the legislative assembly building in Gandhinagar for Modi, then-Chief Minister of Gujarat. That’s why it was no surprise when in October, his firm, HCP Design, Planning and Management, bagged the contract for Modi’s ambitious Rs 25,000 crore-plus plan to reinvent the heart of Delhi – Parliament building, common Central Secretariat and Central Vista, a three-km-plus expanse from Rashtrapati Bhavan to India Gate. Incidentally, the Gujarat legislative assembly’s central vista is similar to the Delhi project. Patel is new India’s go-to architect. He has given shape to many of Modi’s grand dream projects. His ongoing work include the construction of the Kashi Vishwanath corridor in Varanasi, the development of the Mumbai Port Trust, aimed at revamping the eastern seafront of the coastal city, and the restoration of Ahmedabad’s Sabarmati Ashram spread over 32 acres of land, which includes repairing 62 heritage structures and the removal of constructions that have no relevance to Gandhi. “It is Modi’s idea is to turn the ashram into a world-class memorial,” a trustee told ThePrint. And Patel is the facilitator of Modi’s dreams. His peers say Patel is highly skilled, but he has compromised his independent thinking to fulfil the whims and grandiose vision of Modi. Patronage is important for the kind of success Patel has achieved, but he wears his success lightly. He isn’t flashy or larger-than-life but more like an affable next-door neighbour. With a short stature and a lean physique, Bimal Patel is soft-spoken and has a slight Gujarati accent. He is open to criticism but follows his own mind. His office is in the upscale Usmanpura locality overlooking the Sabarmati Riverfront, his grand creation that was the centrepiece of Modi’s Gujarat Model in 2014.

Starting young

Bimal Patel started his career in the mid-1980s with his father Hasmukh Patel who built the Gujarat High Court in 1992. The same year, he became the youngest recipient of the Aga Khan Award for Architecture for designing the Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India in Bhat, on the northwestern edge of Ahmedabad. The campus, conceived as an ensemble of buildings with simple yet strong geometrical forms in exposed brick and concrete set in a lush landscape, attempted to create an indigenous Indian vocabulary referencing vernacular, Islamic and colonial buildings. Patel also went on to design and build the new Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad campus in 2001, an extension of the old premises designed by American architect Louis Kahn in 1974. “Other than the fact that Bimal Patel’s father was one of Ahmedabad’s leading architects, his own practice received a big boost from his proximity to Surendra Patel, a former Rajya Sabha BJP MP who was twice the chairman of the Ahmedabad Urban Development Authority (AUDA) between 1996 to 1997 and 1998 to 2005, and a close associate of Narendra Modi,” stated a former AUDA official. “But while community ties, since both are Patels, could have played a small role in giving the prized Sabarmati Riverfront and Kankaria Lake Waterfront projects to Bimal, there is no denying that he is one of the very few architects in the country who has the infrastructure, organisational skills and the ability to deliver on time. One may have differences with his modernist take on architecture or his love for concrete, but for the mega commissions Bimal executes, other factors are perhaps more critical,” he added. If Bimal Patel’s work is infused with the minimalist grammar of modernism, it’s because his early education and sensibilities were shaped by Ahmedabad. Supported by the city’s business community — particularly the textile magnates — the city welcomed modernism in the 1950s beginning with Swiss-French architect Le Corbusier whose projects included the Ahmedabad Textile Mill Owners’ Association (ATMA) and the Sanskar Kendra that houses the City Museum. Soon Ahmedabad’s landscape was dotted with modernist architecture: Achyut Kanvinde’s Ahmedabad Textiles Industry’s Research Association (ATIRA) and Physical Research Laboratory, Hasmukh C. Patel’s Newman Hall, Louis Kahn’s Indian Institute of Management, Charles Correa’s Gandhi Smarak Sangrahalaya at the Sabarmati Ashram, Balkrishna Doshi’s LIC housing complex and the Tagore Memorial Hall, Gautam and Gira Sarabhai’s National Institute of Design. “Ahmedabad has always been open to new transformative ideas and it has always supported modernisers in diverse fields: Gandhiji, Vikram Sarabhai, Ravi Mathai, Gautam and Gira Sarabhai and Ela Bhatt. It is a receptive place for people who want to sincerely pursue innovative projects,” says Patel, who since 2012 is also the president and acting director of CEPT University in Ahmedabad, which runs the Schools of Architecture, Planning, Building Science and Technology and Interior Design. Ironically, the remodelling of the CEPT campus, which is illustrative of Ahmedabad’s experimental spirit, led to serious differences between Patel and architect B.V. Doshi who had designed CEPT in 1962 and was its founder-director. Doshi accused Patel of high-handedness in altering the original concept of the building without consulting him and resigned from the board in 2015. Patel admires architects like Joseph Allen Stein, Habib Rahman, Achyut Kanvinde and Hasmukh Patel because “they saw themselves as ‘problem-solving’ professionals”. One of the pre-requisites for ‘problem-solving’ is pragmatism, which defines Bimal Patel’s approach to his practice. “He never starts with a pre-conceived idea about a new proposal or the client, focusing instead on evolving exclusive strategies for different projects. Bimal’s is a highly negotiated practice, not necessarily collaborative, in that he executes his own design but finalises it only after considering the client’s inputs. And it is this work-attitude that has allowed him to engage so successfully with government agencies,” says a fellow Ahmedabad-based architect.

Troubled waters

Bimal Patel’s most successful collaboration has been with Narendra Modi, beginning in 2005 with the controversial Sabarmati Riverfront project. “The aim is to create a public space for more than seven million people along the river, clean the water and rehabilitate those affected by the project,” Patel said back then. Modi inaugurated the Sabarmati Riverfront in 2012; it would soon become his preferred backdrop for photo-ops – from hosting a dinner for Chinese President Xi Jinping to boarding a sea-plane during the 2017 Gujarat assembly election and celebrating Mahatma Gandhi’s 150th birth anniversary. It also featured in his election campaign resume in 2014. “His C.G. Road Project in Ahmedabad two decades ago became a benchmark in India for urban design and led to the Sabarmati Riverfront Development project, gifting the people of the city with pedestrian open space on both sides of the river,” says Pune-based architect Christopher Benninger who has designed the IIT Hyderabad and Bhutan’s Supreme Court. “This was especially important for those who lived in the ‘walled city’, where one finds one of the highest urban densities in the world with the lowest area of open space per capita,” he added. But the riverfront, with its sprawling greens and picnicking families, touted as the symbol of a new and shining Ahmedabad has its share of critics. “They were able to clean the river bed by displacing nearly 12,000 slum-dwellers who lived in settlements along the Sabarmati and depriving them of their livelihoods to create facilities that typically benefit only middle and upper-class citizens. But a river is defined by freshwater, not by its beautification,” an activist with Paryavaran Suraksha Samiti (PSS) said. The Sabarmati is monsoon-fed and remains dry for most of the year, the water level in the 11.25 km-riverfront stretch has been maintained by pumping in the excess flow from the Narmada canal. A report titled, ‘Disastrous condition of Sabarmati River’, based on a joint investigation by PSS and the Gujarat Pollution Control Board (GPCB), says this water is stagnant and receives nearly 15 per cent of the untreated sewage Ahmedabad produces each day. But Modi’s endorsement to this project has eclipsed much of the criticism.

Unfazed by criticism

In 2014, after his blockbuster victory in the Lok Sabha election, Narendra Modi moved to Delhi via Varanasi with more grand ideas for Bimal Patel to design and implement there. Just two months before the Lok Sabha election this year, Modi laid the foundation stone for the Kashi Vishwanath corridor in his parliamentary constituency of Varanasi, which will link one of the pre-eminent Hindu temples to three main ghats on the Ganga, a distance of about 320 metres by 2021. Modi claimed the new pathway would liberate Shiva’s shrine from the maze of narrow, densely packed alleys and the crush of buildings. “It seems that God has chosen me,” for this “sacred work on earth,” Modi had said. And to accomplish this holy task, Patel was enlisted again. A video of the planned 20-metre wide corridor or the ‘Vishwanath Dham’ released on social media shows a large open plaza or mandir chowk fronting the shrine complete with a performance space, library, public conveniences, shops, accommodation for security forces, covered elevators and other amenities. Next to it, visible in obvious relief is the Gyanvapi mosque. The distance on the ground between the mandir and the masjid, which share a boundary wall, is barely 10 metres. But work on the passage had already begun in late 2018, almost 300 structures — mainly homes and shops in the vicinity of the temple — were razed to develop the nearly 12-acre site. A section of the city’s residents believe that Varanasi is a timeless city with timeless memories and that the flattened buildings were part of the living heritage of Varanasi. “Change is necessary, but that cannot be the reason to destroy history,” says urban conservationist A.G. Krishna Menon. He was among the first architects to work on the development of the ghats in the 1980s and is the former convenor of the Delhi chapter of the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH). “One agrees with Bimal Patel’s analysis that the lanes are narrow, dirty and overcrowded. But instead of negotiating the ‘chaos’, which is part of the Indian landscape and us, he is doing what the British did to our towns when they straightened out the winding roads, for instance, in an attempt to modernise them. I am not being a nativist and saying everything foreign is bad, and everything Indian is good, but we map our cities differently from the West. It would have been better to conserve the tangible and intangible heritage of the place, rather than demolish it,” said Menon. But A. Srivathsan, a Chennai-based academic who has worked with Patel at CEPT, says the ‘loss of heritage’ argument does not apply. His argument is: “It is not an architectural but a political project to bestow singular privilege on the Kashi Vishwanath temple by giving it unrestricted visual prominence while deliberately overlooking the multicultural ethos of the city. That’s why the demolition was necessary. And that is my biggest problem with the Vishwanath Dham, the government’s shrill political views that undergird the whole exercise”. Bimal Patel is, however, unfazed by the criticism. “We should be respectful of heritage and tradition, but should not let ourselves be held hostage to them,” Patel says. He believes “research shows that Varanasi is an ancient city that has been continuously built over by successive generations in many different ways. What is important is to have the courage to do what needs to be done”. The design for Vishwanath Dham “gives tangible shape to Prime Minister Modi’s transformative vision,” he says.

Assessing ‘cost’ involved

And now it’s the same ‘dream team’ of Modi and Patel that is all set to reinvent the national capital — the Central Vista, a heritage precinct with its iconic buildings, pools of water, sculpted fountains and carefully chosen green trees. The makeover of the historic 90-year-old Parliament building — which will leave its facade untouched — is expected to be completed by August 2022 when India celebrates its 75th Independence Day; the Central Vista will be redeveloped by 2023 and the common Central Secretariat will be ready for occupation by 2024. The fate of existing government buildings — Shastri Bhawan, Nirman Bhawan, Krishi Bhawan and Udyog Bhawan — is still undecided. Architect K.T. Ravindran, former chairman of the Delhi Urban Art Commission, questions the timeline of the project and its impact on Delhi, the world’s most polluted city. He argues: “The given life of cement concrete is 60-80 years, after which it deteriorates. The idea of creating a new legacy for the next 150-200 years using the same materials is unreal”. Ravindran goes on to ask: How will the enormous construction waste, dust and other toxins be managed? Where will the water for building activities come from?” “There are so many unanswered questions,” he asserts. No one denies that radical upgrading of the Central Vista designed in 1911 is needed; the present Parliament building constructed in 1927 is, as Bimal Patel had pointed out in the Indian Express article, too small to accommodate all the members and their staff, the security arrangements are inadequate, infrastructure is technologically outdated and the structure is not earthquake-proof. That’s why Patel has insisted that despite its historical importance, a brand-new building is the only solution, since the existing edifice is a heritage Grade-I structure and therefore by law cannot be significantly modified. Although he adds, “Heritage regulations can be overwritten by Parliament if necessary, to facilitate this.” International protocols dictate that all interventions in a heritage area must be preceded by a Heritage Impact Assessment Report. But Patel claims “heritage impact assessments attempt to measure highly subjective ‘costs to heritage’ that a project is likely to cause. They neither assess the benefits of a project nor assess the cost to future generations of not undertaking a project. Therefore, while relevant, they provide only limited information for making decisions”. Perhaps it is time, as Patel says, “to make a clean break, untether ourselves from the past and more fully embrace the future.”

- https://theprint.in/features/parliament-to-kashi-vishwanath-why-modi-always-hires-architect-bimal-patel-for-pet-projects/329968/, December 4, 2019

Fourteen iconic eating houses that have been serving the city for decades will get the heritage tag from the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (Intach) on Saturday. They will get a specially designed blue enamelled plaque as a token of their resilience to stay in business despite all odds. This is being done as part of the just concluded Heritage Week. This is the first time that Intach will be tagging public eateries as heritage. Till date, it has been awarding tags mostly to public buildings. There are just three privately owned buildings that have been tagged heritage so far. The Trust feels the eateries that have survived time are fine examples of intangible heritage that combine with built heritage, especially those where the addresses have not changed since their inception. that Bhim Nag has also brought the pantua to life.

So the Intach citation will mention the pantua while awarding Bhim Nag. Other popular favourites like Dilkhusha Cabin (1918), Paramount (1918), Allen Kitchen (1920), Niranjan Agar (1927), Eau Chew Restaurant (1927) and Indian Coffee House (1942) are among those who will get the award. Intach has chosen Fairlawn Hotel (the building of this hotel was built in 1783), as the venue for the award ceremony. This hotel will be given the Intach heritage tag too but in a brass plaque. “The only other building that was given the blue enamel tag in the past was the Acharya Bhavan, which used to be the residence of Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose,” said G M Kapur, the state convenor of Intach. Explaining what the blue enamel tag is, Kapur said that such tags are popular in foreign countries.

Owners of all the 14 eateries have been informed about their heritage status and they are thrilled. “The entire city is aware of the fact that we have turned 100 but to be honoured for it with a tag that you can display outside your establishment is definitely new,” said Utpal Basu of Dilkhusha Cabin. It is not that all the eateries that have been chosen are very old. Some like Shiraz (1941) and Mocambo (1956) are a couple of exceptions. “While conducting our survey, we kept the cut off at 50 years. We not only looked at the age of the eatery but also the psychological connect that some brands have. Mocambo takes us back to an era when Park Street ruled the nightlife of Kolkata, complete with western music and dance and free-flowing drinks,” Kapur explained.

- https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata/serving-citys-taste-buds-for-decades-14-iconic-eateries-set-to-get-heritage-tag/articleshow/72374348.cms, December 5, 2019

Madurai’s iconic Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple, which is steeped in history, steals the thunder away from other architectural marvels located around it. In a bid to highlight these structures, Madurai Corporation is laying a heritage pathway connecting 14 important monuments around the temple. Work is under progress near Pathu Thoon lane, Netaji Road and near Tirumalai Nayak Palace. Under Smart Cities Mission programme, the Corporation is laying the heritage pathway at a cost of ₹11.40 crore.

Currently, 14 sites which fall under the Area Based Development (ABD) zone of the Corporation will form part of the project. The pathway, which runs for around 2.75 km, will replace bitumen roads with paver block stones with pedestrian walkways on either side of the road. Once the entire project is completed, battery-operated vehicles will be deployed to commute through the pathway, says City Engineer S. Arasu. The Jhansi Rani Park will have an arrival plaza for tourists, which will have an information kiosk to provide details of the heritage sites.

The project will help in reviving the heritage spots which go unnoticed, says G. Vasudevan, a member of Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH). “By preserving and highlighting the significance of every monument, tourists can take a stroll on the pathway independently without any guide,” he says.

Signage
It is highly important to connect these monuments through signage, says K. P. Bharathi, Programme Leader of Dhan Foundation. “There must be signage directing tourists from one spot to another as part of the pathway. There must also be description near each monument describing the importance of the monument,” he says. According to the earlier proposal under the Smart Cities Mission programme, the project had signages and illuminated lightings near each monument, which were later dropped.

“We are preparing separate proposals for signage for the pathway. Another proposal with an estimate of ₹5.7 crore has been planned to illuminate heritage sites,” says Mr. Arasu. The construction of the pathway will help in tapping the tourism potential of the city, says P. Rajesh Kanna of INTACH.

Inclusiveness
The pathway under construction must be inclusive, say differently-abled people. A Corporation engineer says battery-operated vehicles will help in easy access for differently abled and the elderly through the pathway. N. Ramani of Indian Association of Blind says braille pathways, along with audio announcements, will help the visually challenged to easily commute through the pathway. “There can also be separate braille boards at each monument to understand its significance,” Mr. Ramani says.

- https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Madurai/all-attractions-mapped-for-tourists-in-madurai/article30229098.ece, December 6, 2019

Fourteen old and iconic eateries to be felicitated by the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage. Chicken a la Kiev at Mocambo, chimney soup at Eau Chew, prawn cutlet at Allen Kitchen, kadapak at Girish Chandra Dey and Nakur Chandra Nandi...Certain eateries in Calcutta are known not just for their signature dishes but because for decades they have tickled the palates of the Calcutta foodie and hosted some of the big names of the city. It is said that Sir Asutosh Mookerjee, the doyen of education in Bengal, would stop by Bhim Chandra Nag every evening after his hours at Calcutta University for his evening dessert. Chemist Prafulla Chandra Ray is said to have shared the recipe of the famous daab sherbet with the owner of Paramount, the sherbet shop off College Square.

Fourteen of such old and iconic eateries of Calcutta, each of which is replete with history, will be felicitated by the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (Intach) in association with The Telegraph on Saturday evening at a heritage address, the Elgin Fairlawn Hotel on Sudder Street.

“As part of the commemoration of the World Heritage Week, we are recognising heritage eating houses of the city which have become iconic and are identified with Calcutta,” said G.M. Kapur, the state convener of Intach. To start with, Intach has identified 14 establishments — Mocambo, Shiraz, Kwality restaurant, Dilkhusha Cabin, KC Das, Girish Chandra Dey and Nakur Chandra Nandi, Allen Kitchen, Nabin Chandra Das, Bhim Chandra Nag, Eau Chew, Paramount Sherbets and Syrups, Sabir Hotel, Niranjan Agar and Indian Coffee House. Each of these have been selected for its specialities, such as Mocambo for continental cuisine and Dilkhusha Cabin for kobriraji cutlet. “The criteria for selection included that the eateries had to be located within the Calcutta Municipal Corporation (CMC) limits, have been in business from 1960 or earlier, are still operational or alive in public memory and has a historical or cultural significance,” said Kapur.

The selection panel includes Ayan Ghosh, an Intach member and chairman of Calcutta Porkaddicts, Riju Basu, a food writer, and Indrajit Lahiri, a food blogger. The owners/representatives of these eateries shall be felicitated at a function on Saturday evening. “We will present a blue enamelled plaque, another city heritage product, to these establishments for display outside their premises. This will go a long way in highlighting the culinary heritage of the city. This is the first step in this direction,” said Kapur. Intach will follow this up with identifying other iconic establishments in the city, promised Kapur.

- https://www.telegraphindia.com/states/west-bengal/tribute-to-iconic-food-stops-of-calcutta/cid/1724861, December 5, 2019

Well, it is certainly not an understatement that Bengaluru is a city of compelling contrasts. From being known as the garden city to the Silicon Valley and the start-up capital of the country, the city has transformed from ‘Bangalore’ to ‘Bengaluru’ and from being a ‘pensioners paradise’ to a ‘pub city’. A city with a fascinating history and an intriguing past, Bengaluru boasts of a heritage that is fascinating to say the least. A great way to discover all of this and much more is the book by Meera Iyer titled Discovering Bengaluru: History. Neighbourhoods. Walks which has been published by Bengaluru Chapter of the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH). Spanning nine engaging chapters, the book delves into the history of Bengaluru and some of its oldest areas.

Each neighbourhood is meticulously explained, including details of its history and development, after which the readers are ‘taken along’ a heritage walk that unearths all the areas’ secrets in terms of monuments, legends etc.

The book is also an ode to the city’s intangible heritage in terms of its famous poets, scientists, engineers, leaders etc who have left an indelible impression and played a great role in its development. The book has been written and edited by Iyer, with contributions from Krupa Rajangam, Hita Unnikrishnan, B Manjunath, Harini Nagendra, and S Karthikeyan.

Iyer is an independent writer and researcher who likes to write on science, environment, history and heritage. She is the convenor of the Bengaluru Chapter of INTACH. Excerpts from a conversation with Iyer about this insightful book:

Tell us how you would like to describe your book in a few sentences? Part history, part walking guide, this is a book that we would want the readers to use on their own journeys of discovery through the city; whether you walk through it, which would be ideal, or whether the journey is in your mind. It chronicles the stories of the streets, it highlights the tales of some people who propelled events forward in some of its older neighbourhoods, it records how the city evolved and grew, how it has been shaped by war, disease, people, battles, philanthropy, commerce, religion and more. In a sense, I hope to show how history can be about people like you and me and not always something remote or unrelatable.

What inspired you to write this book?
Bangalore city itself and the fact that although there is so much heritage in this multilayered city, people still say, 'Bangalore? What is there to see or do here?' Tourists who come here, rush to see and find heritage elsewhere. Secondly, a lot of Bengalureans themselves do not know that there is so much to see in their own backyard. It was these facts that inspired us to start heritage walks in INTACH and it is this that has inspired the book; the desire to showcase our city, to highlight its rich, diverse and composite culture, history and heritage.

What kind of research have you done to put this comprehensive book together? There was a lot of archival research that we did. In Bengaluru, we accessed the State archives in Vidhana Soudha. I also found that some documents I was searching for were not in Bangalore, but were in libraries in Canada, London or Philadelphia.

So, I reached out to friends and relatives who could help. Apart from reading extensively on Bangalore, another aspect of research was meeting various people, including historians, archaeologists, administrators, former administrators and long-term residents of some neighbourhoods. How challenging was it to put this book together?
It took me a little over four years to complete the book, mainly as I had my other responsibilities at INTACH and also at home; finding the time and space to write was a challenge. Also, sometimes, there was some discouraging news. Some building I was writing about, for example, would be demolished, and I would be very disheartened and wonder if I should continue. Was I going to chronicle buildings and memories that were dead and gone? But then you realise that in fact, the book was more relevant than ever so you pick yourself up and keep going.

When heritage is getting highly compromised, how relevant is a book like this? Buildings are repositories of memories, as are our parks and streets and trees. When we destroy them, we lose a little bit of ourselves, too. Heritage anchors us and defines us. This is true even for people who move to a new place; heritage can and does help engender a feeling of belonging in people. This is why it is so important to highlight what we stand to lose. Do you look at this book as a means for people to work on conserving what heritage is left? I hope this book makes people aware of what we have in our city. If you know something about how and why a particular locality came up, where the origins of some motifs on a building are, or say the story behind a festival, you never look at that place, building or the festival the same way again. Now you feel a sense of 'ownership' towards it and build a connection with it. That is all I hope for from this book — know your city, and I think you will end up loving it a little more.

Do you plan to have revisions of the book when you plan the next edition? Yes, we may incorporate more details, including about people, in the next edition. Also, we at INTACH would really like to bring out a translation of the book in Kannada next. As you often say there is no one single true essence of the city as every pocket of Bengaluru is unique. So, which part of Bengaluru is your favourite/most fascinating and why? I have stayed in different areas like Basavanagudi, Jayanagar and Cooke Town and studied in central Bengaluru. Hence, I have a soft corner for all these localities. That said, I have a special fondness for places that I have recently come to know more intimately. Malleswaram is one such place that is extremely close to my heart.

The old heart of the city, the pete, according to me is the most fascinating place in all Bengaluru. It is endlessly varied and there is always something new to explore here. Its labyrinthine lanes that house temples, churches and dargahs offer opportunities for interactions with different people, whether it is the flower sellers or the vendors which is really interesting.

- https://www.firstpost.com/living/part-history-part-walking-guide-discovering-the-essence-of-bengaluru-through-meera-iyers-new-book-7742781.html, December 6, 2019

Manipur Sankirtana, a form of performing art which has been recognised and included in the UNESCO's Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, is a popular art form in the State and Sankirtana artistes and Gurus have spend a life time to strengthen and uphold the art. In the recently observed International Sankirtana Day, numerous artistes performed and showcased Sankirtana by playing instruments and singing at the same time. With "Celebrating Sankirtana of Manipur: India's Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity" as the theme, Intellectual Forum of North East, Department of Sankirtana, Manipur University of Culture, Department of Dance and Music, Manipur University and Manipur Citizen Forum organised Nata Sankirtana Day at the Banquet Hall, 1st MR, Imphal with Governor Dr Najma Heptulla as the chief guest.

Meanwhile, Art and Culture Department also organised the 6th International Sankirtana Day at Government Dance College, Palace Compound while JNMDA Imphal organised similar observation at its auditorium. Other organisations and groups also organised similar celebrations to commemorate the inclusion of Manipur Sankirtana in the UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

Speaking to The Sangai Express about this subject, Jawaharlal Nehru Manipur Dance Academy Imphal senior Guru as well as Director cum senior Guru of Guru Gulapi Nata Sankirtana Academy Kwakeithel, Leimapokpam Lakpati conveyed that the forefathers and Gurus have been performing Sankirtana since time immemorial through ritual singing, drumming and dancing to mark religious occasions and various stages in the life. With time, different styles of Sankirtana were collected and compiled to create Maharaj Rajarshi Bhagyachandra Nata Sankirtana, he said. Guru Leimapokpam Lakpati continued that, unlike the earlier way of performing Sankirtana which was done by a group of 64 singers/dancers including two drummers, a group of about 32 or 16 or 8 singer-dancers perform Sankirtana with two drummers in a hall or domestic courtyard encircled by seated devotees. Maintaining that Nata Sankirata performers dress in all white, he said that the artistes narrate the lives and deeds of the god through song and dance. He further stated that Sankirtana was included in the Representative List of the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity during the 8th session of the UNESCO Intergovernmental Committee meeting in December 2013.He maintained that two male Pala artistes showcased breathtaking performances during the celebration at JNMDA auditorium. On the other hand, retired Professor of MU Nongmaithem Tombi, while speaking to The Sangai Express about International Sankirtana Day celebration stated that it is rather fortunate for the future generation and a proud art form, which the forefathers have left for the people of the State. Different styles of Sankirtana are performed at different ceremonies, Tombi added. Conveying that the recognition of Sankirtana by UNESCO is an indication of persevering the art form, he lauded UNESCO for including in its Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. On the other hand, Nata Sankirtana is included as a subject in JNMDA in which talented and eligible Gurus are spreading their knowledge to many aspiring artistes, he noted. He opined the need of opening a course on Sankirtana at Government Dance College and Manipur University if not available. The retired Professor further stressed on the need for an inclusive effort to uphold and promote Manipur Sankirtana.

-http://e-pao.net/GP.asp?src=20..071219.dec19, December 6, 2019

Education Minister Audimulapu Suresh says they are in the process of asking the government to allot a suitable land for constructing the central library. With the State Central Library remaining in Telangana consequent to bifurcation, the State government is planning to establish a central library of its own for the 13 districts.

The education department is in the process of making a requisition to the government for allotment of suitable land. “We are in the process of asking the government to allot a suitable land for constructing a central library. Once we get clearance, we will build a facility as grand as the one that has gone to Telangana aster the state bifurcation,” Education Minister Audimulapu Suresh told TNIE. To a query on where the library would be established, the minister said that it would depend on where the government would allot the land.

The Telangana State Central Library, which was granted heritage status in 1998 by Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH), was built in 1891 in a compound of over 72,000 sq yards. For the record, the erstwhile state of Andhra Pradesh had a central library in Afzalgunj area of Hyderabad. It is considered one of the imposing structures and caters to lakhs of students and competitive examination aspirants who use it on a daily basis.

Even though over five years elapsed since the state was divided, the present government representatives allege, no effective steps were taken for the establishment of a new library in Andhra Pradesh. “The earlier government just whiled away time but hasn’t been able to construct a central library,” alleged a government representative.

Meanwhile, the State government is also working towards the relocation of Telugu University, which is also in Telangana after the State division. The issue is pending with the department of language and culture, which is pursuing the matter. It may be noted that the Union Ministry of Human Resource Development had given its nod a few weeks back to shift the centre from Mysuru to NCERT campus in Nellore. The centre was set up in Mysuru in 2014 after the bifurcation.

-https://www.newindianexpress.com/states/andhra-pradesh/2019/dec/08/andhra-pradesh-education-department-seeks-land-for-central-library-2073181.html, December 9, 2019

Led by Professor KP Rao, around 25 burials were found in the University of Hyderabad campus which prove the existence of human beings in the region many centuries ago. When it comes to heritage sites in Telangana, there is no dearth of them, especially in and around Hyderabad. The city of Nizams has quite a few sites to boast of, including a few like the prestigious educational institution – University of Hyderabad.

A team of archaeologists led by Professor KP Rao have identified about 25 burials near the main gate of the University of Hyderabad. These are of immense archaeological importance. Along with these, there are several other structures inside the huge campus that sheds light on our glorious past.

Menhir Rock
The Menhir rock is dated back to 2000 BC. It is a tall structure that is tapering towards the top. In the past, people used to burry and dump all the belongings of the dead in these sites. In 2004-05, a team under the supervision of Prof KP Rao (Department of History, UoH ), excavated five burials in the surroundings of the ‘rock’, which led to some path-breaking information about human settlements in the area centuries ago.

According to Prof Rao, “The excavated materials include human skeletal remains, earthen pots, iron objects, etc. These remains date back to the Megalithic period, also known as Iron Age."

He says that part of the scientific data obtained from the site goes back to about 2200 BC, which is more than 4,000 years back. Interestingly, this is the earliest date for any ‘Iron Age’ site in India. “The site was originally declared as protected site by Nizam’s Archaeology Department. Now, the site is under the protection of Telangana Heritage Department,” shared Rao. He is of the opinion that it would be a more educative experience if this site in the campus is converted into an archaeological park.

Earlier, some microlith stone tools were also noticed on the campus, which indicate Hyderabad city has a history of about 30,000 years of human presence in the region. According to environmentalist Dr Ravi Jillapalli, “Proper measures should be taken up immediately by the UoH administration and ASI to label, fence and protect these important monuments in the campus."

Mushroom Rock
According to ASI, it is one among the heritage rocks which are formed naturally in the city of Hyderabad. The site becomes a favourite scouting area for trekking enthusiasts and the rest of the campus community.

Rock Temple
Rock Temple is believed to be at least 800-plus years old. According to some people, it was a Buddhist preaching site back in those early times. Another local myth is that Ranganatha Swamy had migrated from Ranganatha Swamy temple in Gopanpally due to an unwanted happening in that area and stayed at the Rock Temple ever since.

The Oldest Well in UoH The oldest well in UoH is located behind the SN School, popularly known as the ‘Tamarind Grove’ among the student community. The well provides water throughout the year, irrespective of the climatic conditions. Years ago, the well is believed to have been used for farming purpose. Another feature of the well is that the design on its wall looks historic. The recent rains have filled up the well once again and it is now used by the Horticulture Department of the University for watering the plants. The well becomes a reliable source of water, especially during the summer. Golden Threshold It was the house of Sarojini Naidu which was donated to the University of Hyderabad. Now, the University has taken the first step towards and plans to convert the heritage complex of the Golden Threshold in Abids into a cultural and literary hub by creating a 100-capacity indoor space called Rajkumari Indira Devi hall. The hall, endowed by Rajkumari Indira Devi Dhanrajgir, was inaugurated on November 6 by the Cultural Advisor to Government of Telangana, Dr KV Ramanachary. Apart from this, recently, one of the world’s oldest black granite stones was discovered near the School of Earth Sciences. It was cut off by half already as people were unaware of its significance. The vast campus at Gachibowli is believed to have even more ‘burials’ which will prove to be vital information regarding the existence of human beings in the region centuries ago.

-https://telanganatoday.com/reminiscences-of-the-glorious-past-in-hyderabad, December 9, 2019

Days after the Bombay High Court appointed a three-member committee to determine whether the 150-year-old Esplanade Mansion can be restored, one of the members dropped out last week. Conservation architect Vikas Dilawari backed out due to personal reasons and another expert will take his place, based on the fresh suggestions made by INTACH, as well as the owner of the building. The committee was formed after INTACH recommended names of experts for the panel. On December 2, the division bench of Justice SJ Kathawalla and Justice BP Colabawalla picked structural architect Chetan Raikar and conservation architects Abha Narain Lambah and Vikas Dilawari as members of the committee.

Sources said Dilawari was unable to take on the responsibility as he had to care for his mother who is unwell. Other Recommendations Rajan Jayakar, convenor of INTACH and the petitioner of the public interest litigation, said he had recommended two names to the High Court including Pankaj Joshi, executive director of the Urban Design Research Institute, and structural engineer Kamal Hadkar. Jayakar said that the landlord had a recommendation of his own, architect Reza Kabool, which they didn't agree to as they felt he wasn't a conservation architect.

Cherag Balsara, the advocate representing the landlord, Sadiq Ali said, "We had made a recommendation of our own but have accepted Pankaj Joshi as a member of the committee." Based on the High Court's order, the panel was supposed to submit its report by 3.30 pm on December 18. However, since the members haven't visited Esplanade Mansion yet, sources said that the report is likely to be delayed. Conducting Tests
When contacted, both Lambah and Raikar said that unlike IIT Bombay, they will examine the inside of the structure and conduct chemical tests if necessary. "In order to determine whether the structure can be saved, we have to go inside and see every nook and cranny. We will take on the responsibility on a war-footing as soon as we get permission from MHADA to enter the premises," said Raikar.

-https://www.mid-day.com/articles/save-esplanade-mansion-dilawari-backs-out-of-panel-to-decide-on-restoration/22238170, December 10, 2019

The portal currently has details on 90 lakh items, including manuscripts, archives, research papers, audio books and folk tales. Culture Minister Prahlad Singh Patel on Tuesday unveiled a portal on Indian culture which, he said, brings together all the cultural resources of the country on one platform. Created by the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, in collaboration with IGNOU, over a course of three years, http://www.indian culture.gov.in is a digital resource of documents, artefacts, paintings and other items available in the archive.

“We are not able to display even one-tenth of our cultural treasures to the public, owing to lack of space. Our history and culture should be out in the public domain so that more people in the country and abroad can see and experience it,” said Patel.

The portal currently has details on 90 lakh items, including manuscripts, archives, research papers, audio books and folk tales. It also has information on UNESCO sites, reports and proceedings of various events organised by the Ministry of Culture as well as details of museum collections. This pertains to all the organisations that come under the aegis of the Ministry, such as the National Archives of India, Gandhi Smriti and Darshan Smriti, Archaeological Survey of India and Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts.

The timeline of the content dates back to 4,000 years, and includes sculptures and paintings from the repository of the National Museum and several rare manuscripts. Uttam Pacharne, Chairman, Lalit Kala Akademi, said that the institution has contributed some portfolios to the collection and gradually, as many as 8,000 works from its repository will go live on the portal.

Till now, all the content on the portal pertains to the Ministry and its branches, and the state museums and archaeology departments haven’t been involved. However, Patel said this gap may gradually be filled. He admitted that some of the information on the portal may be incomplete or have discrepancies, but it’s a work-in-progress, and over the next year, the shortcomings will be rectified.

- https://indianexpress.com/article/lifestyle/art-and-culture/click-on-culture-6160582/, December 10, 2019

For tourists, taking a selfie with the flower has become more important than ensuring they do not destroy the plant. But the Shirui Lily is the identity of people of Ukhrul, and we must respect that. Shirui Lily (Lilium mackliniae Sealy) locally known as Kashong Timrawon, is a rare bell-shaped flower with bluish-pink petals, showing seven colours under a microscope. Every year, between May 15 and June 5, tourists throng to its native habitat to see the beautiful flowers growing in Shirui Hills, located in Shirui Village in Ukhrul district of Manipur. It’s the peak season of this flower.

English Botanist Dr Frank Kingdon Ward from the New York Botanical Society first discovered the flower in 1946 and named it after his wife, Jean Macklin. This flower won the prestigious merit award in the Chelsea Flower Show organised by the Royal Horticulture Society, London. In 1989, it was declared the State Flower of Manipur. What remains noteworthy is the belief that this bulbous plant can only be grown in Shirui Hills, because attempts to plant it elsewhere by the British never succeeded. According to legends of the Tangkhul Naga community, a princess lies buried in Shirui Hills, waiting for her lover to return.

The flower comes from the soil where the princess was buried. Several mythologies have been passed down over generations; tales told by the indigenous people of Ukhrul with much love and awe for the flower. The pride of Manipur now faces possible extinction and has been categorised as an ‘endangered species’ with its genetic resources getting eroded over time. The plant, which was reported to be 5 ft tall in 1948, has exhibited progressive dwarfing over the years, dropping to 1-3 ft in 2011 (Meitei, 2011) to decrease further to the average plant height of 0.262–0.328 ft. As per a field study by scientists in December 2015, its maximum height is now limited to 0.984 ft. Even its area of distribution has been altered significantly over the years. Previously, it grew abundantly in the Shirui Hill range encompassing a 250-square km area from the first peak onwards, but since 2011, it has been growing only from the third peak onwards. Moreover, since 2015, the Shirui Lily can be found growing only in the seventh peak of the Shirui Hills.

What is behind this decline and destruction?
According to research carried out under the Institute of Bioresources and Sustainable Development Takyelpat, Imphal, (Tabitha Langhu, Nandeibam Samarjit Singh and Huidrom Sunitibala Devi. 2016), the decline of the Shirui Lily has been attributed to climate change, environmental degradation, irresponsible tourism, and incorrect conservation approaches like forest fires, coupled with the invasion of the habitat by a dwarf bamboo species ‘Machun’. Dr Tabitha Langhu who now works for the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), Imphal, points out that the Shirui Lily grows best in the peak of the Shirui Hills as it requires a cold climate and high velocity of the wind.

However, due to climate change, the place is much warmer now. Even the approach employed by the local community to conserve the flower through lighting forest fires, based on their belief that it will increase the humus of the soil, reduce the growth of invasive species in the habitat, to help Shirui Lily to flourish are incorrect and harmful practices.

These forest fires burn down the seeds and the fragile seedlings, thereby decreasing the population and retarding the growth of the plant, besides raising the temperature of the habitat. The scientists who have spent several years in research on Shirui Lily explain how tourists stamp on the plant, pluck the flowers or even uproot them which ultimately reduces the regeneration of the species besides littering the ecosystem with plastic bottles, disposable cups and plates and polluting the environment. In spite of such inroads in research, no significant coordinated efforts are visible to link these findings to how things stand on ground. The villagers seem to be doing what they believe is good, while the researchers are working on their own.

Efforts to Save the Shirui Lily From Extinction
According to scientists, human interruption from forest fires and unguided tourism needs to be stopped and nature needs to be allowed to heal Shirui Lily from years of manipulation. Scientists Manas Ranjan Sahoo, Mayengbam Premi Devi, Madhumita Dasgupta, Narendra Prakash and Shishom Vanao Ngachan from ICAR Research Complex for the North Eastern Region, Manipur Center, Imphal, have developed an efficient protocol for the micropropagation of Shirui Lily. Their research can address the challenges of the flower’s survivability in its natural habitat (An efficient protocol for in-vitro regeneration and conservation of Shirui lily (Lilium mackliniae Sealy): a lab-to-lab approach to save the rare endangered Asiatic lily species). Such conservation approaches could be helpful to save Shirui Lily from extinction in a sustainable way. According to Thangjam Surchandra Singh, a scientist at the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) Imphal, prioritising research can go a long way in conserving the flower because that alone can provide evidence on the magnitude of the crisis, the area and the tools of intervention, failing which, the species has a high likelihood of extinction. Currently, research is limited to academic pursuits in Manipur, without application either by the government or any development agency.

Scientists have recommended a list of actions that can be taken by the government, both Central and State, like establishing a weather forecast station in Ukhrul that can monitor the rise of temperature and assist the research on survival and multiplication, and a centre for Tissue Culture which can overcome the barriers experienced by research personnel in obtaining plant specimen from the habitat and loss of specimen due to logistics.

Collaboration between central government research institutions, Manipur University, the line departments within Manipur State Government like Forest, Environment, Agriculture, Horticulture, Rural Development, Tourism, and District Administration, civil society, media and the community in Ukhrul can go a long way in raising awareness on the protection of Shirui Lily and the implementation of conservation initiatives.

The Shirui Lily Festival has been organised by the Department of Tourism and Manipur State Government since 2017, drawing tourists to raise awareness. Live music and cultural shows, traditional dances, folk songs, beauty pageant, exhibits, indigenous games and sports competitions like the Shirui Lily Mountain Bike Downhill Race Championship mark the four-day festival.

Voices of the Community
The community, especially the youth and elders, are doing what they can to conserve the Shirui Lily, but they lack the scientific know-how. Ngachan Luirei, Convenor of Local Organising Committee from Shirui Village, informed that the government was investing in infrastructure in the village that would enhance the festival celebration and tourism considerably. Moreover, the village rose to recognition and importance due to the Shirui Lily Festival. Khavangpam Wungsek, the headman of Shirui Village, shared what the flower means to the indigenous people of Ukhrul.

He says, “Shirui Lily is the identity of people of Ukhrul, and the world is getting connected to us only because of it. Even the support that we are receiving from the government and foreigners is directed to Ukhrul because of Shirui Lily.” He points out that taking a selfie with the flower has become more important for tourists than ensuring they do not destroy the plant or the flower. The village elders foresee that climate change is about to wipe out a beautiful lily which is intertwined with the identity, aspirations, history and culture of the indigenous people of Ukhrul, the Tangkhul Nagas.

Ngachan Luirei says, “The Government of Manipur is interested in building homestays, guest house, beautiful venues and facilities for use either during the annual Shirui Lily Festival or for tourists coming to Ukhrul at other times of the year, when equal importance should be given to protect the Shirui Lily from extinction. What will the tourists come to see if the Shirui Lily becomes extinct?”

- https://www.thebetterindia.com/205692/shirui-lily-manipur-beauty-tourist-spots-state-flower-extinction-nature-development-india/, December 11, 2019

A heritage structure part of the century-old iconic Victoria Hospital is now under threat as the authorities of Bangalore Medical College and Research Institute (BMCRI) have planned to demolish the structure to pave way for the new building at the same place. Ironically, Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa also laid the foundation stone for the new building at the same place on Wednesday. According to sources in the hospital, until recently, the structure housed the surgical ward of the Victoria Hospital.

Historians and architects in the city claim that the structure is more than a century old. BMCRI director Dr Jayanthi said that they had records to show that the building was in use even before 1940. Doctors from the surgical department, who took the DH reporter around the construction site said that the old structure would be demolished as maintenance was a challenge.

"Water seeps in despite several repairs. The paint keeps peeling off. Despite regular repairs, the problem persists. We cannot house patients in a structure like this due to risk of infection,” said a senior doctor. Reacting to this, Priya Chetty Rajgopal, founder, Heritage Beku, said that repeated proposals of this sort are a reminder of why the city needed better laws to protect heritage. “We are very concerned about this.

Bengaluru has architects with the expertise to repair such old structures. They could cost you about 5-50% more than the usual to carry out repairs but it is not impossible,” she said, adding that it is sad that the decision was taken without public consultation. Yet another conservation architect Meera Iyer of Intach expressed shock. She said that there have been postcards that indicate the structure has been over a century old and that it was not proper to demolish it. “There is a need for a stringent law against such demolitions,” said Naresh Narasimhan, a city architect and urban planner.

“We have been asking the government to pass a law to ensure that this does not happen. All heritage structures are being demolished one by one. With this one being a government building itself, it feels like the fence is eating the crop,” he said.

- https://www.deccanherald.com/city/bengaluru-infrastructure/100-yr-old-wing-on-victoria-premises-to-be-razed-784780.html, December 12, 2019

Ambassador of India to Nepal Manjeev Singh Puri and senior officials from the National Reconstruction Authority (NRA) of Nepal were present at the signing in ceremony. The Indian embassy here has inked an agreement with a New Delhi-based non-profit charitable organisation to rebuild 11 cultural heritage sites damaged in devastating earthquakes in and around the Kathmandu Valley. The agreement was signed by Ajay Kumar, deputy chief of mission embassy of India in Kathmandu on behalf of the government of India, and C T Mishra, Member Secretary Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH).

Ambassador of India to Nepal Manjeev Singh Puri and senior officials from the National Reconstruction Authority (NRA) of Nepal were present at the signing in ceremony. INTACH will provide design and project management consultancy services for reconstruction of 11 cultural heritage sites in four districts - Kathmandu, Lalitpur, Bhaktapur and Solukhumbhu - that were damaged during earthquakes in 2015, a statement said.

It will work with the Department of Archeology of Nepal's Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation to reconstruct/conserve cultural heritage sites as per the government of Nepal's guidelines, it said. INTACH is one of the world's largest heritage organisations with over 190 chapters across India. It was awarded with a special consultative status for United Nations Economic and Social Council in 2007. In April 2015, a devastating earthquake of 7.8 magnitude rocked Nepal, killing nearly 9,000 people and wounding nearly 22,000.

- https://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/indian-embassy-intach-to-help-rebuild-kathmandu-s-heritages-sites-damaged-in-earthquakes-119121201212_1.html, December 13, 2019

AIR PicsThe government of India has deployed Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) to provide consultancy services for Post-Earthquake reconstruction of 11 Cultural Heritage sites in Nepal. An agreement in this regard was signed by Dr. Ajay Kumar, Deputy Chief of Mission, Embassy of India and Dr. C.T. Mishra, Member Secretary, INTACH in Kathmandu this morning. On this occasion, Indian Ambassador Manjeev Singh Puri said Nepal is one of the wonderful places on the earth which has extent civilization going back to thousands of years. He said it is the commitment and partnership of India to join hands with the people and Govt of Nepal to utilize the best possible services in India and internationally for the reconstruction of cultural heritage sites. Ambassador Puri also said the services of these organizations will be used to ensure that cultural heritage preserved from hundreds of years is available to the future generations. INTACH will provide Design and Project Management Consultancy services for the reconstruction of 11 Cultural Heritage sites in Kathmandu, Lalitpur, Bhaktapur and Solukhumbhu districts of Nepal. INTACH will work with Nepal's Department of Archeology to reconstruct/conserve Cultural Heritage sites as per the Government of Nepal’s guidelines. INTACH is one of the largest heritage organizations of the world with over 190 chapters across India. It was awarded a special consultative status for United Nations Economic and Social Council in 2007.

- http://www.newsonair.com/News?title=INTACH-to-provide-consultancy-services-for-Post-Earthquake-reconstruction-of-Cultural-Heritage-sites-in-Nepal&id=376015, December 13, 2019

The specialists of Indian National Trust for Archeological and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) visited Lamhetaghat and Bhedaghat which is rich by the point of view of geology, tourism and environment. The objective of visit was to explore the possibility of establishment of Geo Park, Prithvi museum, planetarium and geological cum botanical garden construction. It may be mentioned that the oldest Lamheta Formation is world famous by the point of view of geological study. Apart from it, ancient city Jabalpur and water shed area of holy Narmada, assumes special significance by the point of view of geology, evolution of human being and environment. Therefore, if world class geo park, earth museum, planetarium and Geo-Botanical Garden are established here Jabalpur would become world class tourism center.

After that efforts made to get Jabalpur status of world heritage site would produce fruitful results. The survey team minutely studied entire Lamheta and Bhedaghat region through out the day. The INTACH team, after the survey study, met Divisional Commissioner Ravendra Kumar Mishra and appraised him about the survey results.

Divisional Commnr is president of the INTACH, Jabalpur. He took special interest in report of survey team and Additional Collector Harsh Dixit as representative of district administration was instructed to provide all the necessary documents. Desired by the Indian National Trust for Archeological and Cultural Heritage headquarter as soon as possible.

The Additional Collector Harsh Dixit, Dr Manu Bhatnagar, Dr R K Sharma, Laxmikant Sharma and others were also present on the occasion. Principal Director Doctor Manu Bhatnagar on behalf of INTACH headquarter, Indian National Trust for Archeological and Cultural Heritage Jabalpur Chapter's co ordinator Dr RK Sharma, Secretary Dr SN Mishra, Associate Member Laxmikant Sharma, KK Seth along with senior Geology specialist SD Pimparikar and others also participated in survey.

- https://www.thehitavada.com/Encyc/2019/12/13/INTACH-team-visits-Lamhetaghat-Bhedaghat.html, December 13, 2019

In a quiet corner of a lush, atmospheric Fort Kochi, in an enclave that is more a well-preserved heritage town, stands a gem of a hotel — The Malabar House. This (the enclave, not the hotel) isn’t what we expect to see in India, where we are used to stumbling across narrow stretches of old buildings that have, by some hand of providence, escaped demolition. The Malabar House, part of the RARE India community (with the finest 'conscious luxury' boutique hotels, heritage palaces, retreats and wildlife lodges in the subcontinent), is at the core of how Fort Kochi saved its soul from mindless development. Land records reveal that the white structure with a quintessential tiled red roof — a fine example of the coastal state’s colonial architecture — was built in 1755 when Dutchman Jan Herman Clausing bought it from one Mathew Henrich Beyls.

Over the centuries, it has hosted spice and tea traders, as well as bankers. Joerg Drechsel, the German who owns it today with his Spanish wife, Txuku, bought it in 1997 and turned it into Kochi’s first heritage hotel. They set the ball rolling which ultimately led to more homes, commercial spaces, tea and spice warehouses being restored to host striking hotels, restaurants, fashion boutiques, design stores, art galleries and cafes.

Bose Krishnamachari, who co-founded the Kochi Muziris Biennale, says, “It is like a European city: Cafes, heritage hotels and eateries abound, the traffic is manageable and people are used to international travellers. Muziris, an ancient seaport and urban centre lies close to Kochi. I find the 450-year-old city’s history to be very fascinating. Not many people know that the Jewish community, which was slaughtered everywhere, was protected here. Kochi itself has 13 communities and people speak different kinds of languages. UNESCO is working with the local city council and INTACH to develop museums and restore certain buildings belonging to different communities.” Drechsel remembers coming to Cochin while on a backpacking tour through India 47 years ago, three years after the British moved out of businesses in the enclave.

“Till 1968, the Kochi club had only British members. I remember staying in the Excel Hotel, which was full of business travellers. Like Mumbai, it has water on three sides and has been home to different communities,” Drechsel says. “In Kerala, the Hindu, Muslim, Christian and Jewish communities have flourished together, creating an umbrella culture with a common language and a shared way of life.” The Maharaja of Cochin was known to have welcomed both the colonists and migrants from other parts of India. A major flood in 1341 (which opened its estuary to the Arabian Sea, transforming it into one of the finest natural harbours in the east) further attracted the traders and the merchants. “This composite culture is what we are trying to preserve,” he adds. World over, luxury entrepreneurs, hoteliers and restaurateurs are creatively readapting old buildings and heritage. Old homes in London have been restored into hotels and an old theatre in Paris is now a fine dining restaurant.

Something similar has happened in Fort Kochi. In 1994, Drechsel and Txuku, who kept returning to Kochi, stumbled across what is today The Malabar House. Owned by Grindlays Bank, it had creepers growing through its walls and stood abandoned. “We fell in love,” says Drechsel. The two bought The Malabar House and began converting it into part-hotel, part-residence, designed and restored by Drechsel, who is also an artist, with art and heritage architectural elements at its core. They ended up never living here. The soft-spoken hotelier, who lives in a waterfront home, says the restoration attracted quite a bit of foreign press and international travellers.

The Malabar House is now part of Malabar Escapes, a group that also runs intimate boutique stays across the backwaters. The exceptional hotel is a timeless space layered with vernacular design language. Four-poster beds, propeller fans, planter chairs, ritualistic masks, delicately restored wood pillars reclaimed from Kerala’s traditional Tharavad are all part of its understated design palette. The art is a blend of contemporary and traditional, including Drechsel’s stunning black-and-white photographic works. There are colonial flourishes in the architecture and the design, “a sort of Anglo-Indian dialogue,” says Drechsel. “Traditional craftsmen still have the skills but lack the patronage. You have to work with them if you don’t want the space to portray a souvenir-kind of look. But they come back with practical solutions.”

Over the years, the art-infused hideaway has attracted several patrons. Saji Joseph, a career hotelier who joined Malabar Escapes a while go, brought in his experience as well as his understanding of Indian travellers, who are they attracting much more of. They changed the bathrooms (which resemble lavish vanity rooms), the air-conditioning, and the water supply systems. “The requirements of Indian travellers are very different from that of international ones,” says Joseph, “in the comfort and luxury they desire, the service, and even their expectations from their vacation. But at the core, The Malabar House continues to be a beacon for heritage conservation and offbeat experiences.”

The transformation of Fort Kochi
A large part of the native population continues to call Fort Kochi home: The island enclave has neatly segmented homes belonging to different communities. Close to the waterfront, where The Malabar House stands, are a slew of heritage buildings and experiences: St. Francis Church, home to the original gravesite of Portuguese explorer Vasco de Gama; sculptural Chinese fishing nets brought to the city in the 14th century; warehouses and offices of spice and tea traders such as David Hall, Pepper House and Aspinwall House, which now host cafes, museums, design stores and art galleries and are venues for the Kochi Biennale.

Drechsel says that the Anglo-Indian population that called Fort Kochi their home has passed away and their children have migrated. “The state government has recognised the need to preserve this sea enclave, at least in part, and banned tall buildings or unplanned development.” The Malabar House’s formidable reputation as Kerala’s foremost heritage hotel dovetails neatly with the enclave’s emergence as a hotbed of creativity, with entrepreneurs, artists and designers using Fort Kochi as a canvas for their experimental ideas. Hotels such as Brunton Boatyard are established in a shipyard from the British times, which has been restored to tell a narrative of the colonial past.

The late Anoop Sarkar, co-founder of Cochin Carnival, and his wife, Dorrie Younger, reimagined Fort Kochi as an art haven much before the Biennale and set up the Kashi Art Café. The gallery and café have supported many an artist, says Edgar Pinto, to whom Sarkar ultimately sold it. Kochi Biennale, with its first edition in 2012, further cemented the sea enclave’s reputation as a nucleus for art, with new galleries such as Gallery OED and URU Art Harbour.

Any such buzzing enclave (like Covent Garden in London or Soho in New York) has to have more than heritage and art. Fort Kochi has plentiful of it. The Malabar Junction offers an inventive dining experiences; Shivji Shashidaran, a young genius chef, puts his global work experience to create a cuisine that is both inventive and classic: a test tube of tomato water to freshen you up; salted turmeric tulle over a juicy tender squid; succulent tiger prawn in a bed of leek espuma; Pulioche masala egg curry or that fabulous eggs cooked three ways.

“I play around with fresh ingredients and flavours to create completely new dishes,” he says simply. “The food is part-Kerala, part-European and a lot global.” At the vegan eatery, Loving Earth by New Zealander Bree Mcilroy, nuts, seeds, soya and coconut come together in desserts and dishes. Café Verandah at Aspinwall House sources freshly made caper butter and moringa bread from Ishka Farms close by. Boutique fashion studios and stores abound, but a few are exceptional. The Design Store at Pepper House has been reimagined by businessman Isaac Alexander into a 400-year-old, 20,000-square-foot warehouse complex with gallery spaces, artists’ studio, a spectacular library with books on art and design, and a design store that sells indie fashion and accessories. “Kochi needed an event such as Biennale to reinvent itself as a destination,” he says.

NIFT graduate Archana Nandal, who grew up in Agra, surrounded by resplendent Mughal era heritage, runs Cult Modern, dedicated to experimental Indian designers. “You receive a lot of global travellers in Fort Kochi who are open to buying experimental new Indian fashion,” she says. “Last year was a bit sad on the business front because of the floods, but 2019 has picked up quite well.” Kerala-based designer Sreejith Jeevan has his brand store Rouka, where he sells straight-cut monochrome dresses and asymmetrical jackets. Designer Joe Ikareth, a NIFT graduate, retails his label of bias-cut, structured dresses made from traditional fabrics from his chic store. Bangalore’s Cinnamon has an outpost in a charming bylane and retails clothing and accessories from designers such as péro, Rasa and Priyadarshini Rao.

It isn’t easy doing business in Fort Kochi. Drechsel points out, “There is no single authority giving permissions. When the British and the Portuguese left, the different government agencies took over. Much of the heritage is governed by the Archeology Survey of India. The Parade Grounds, where we are located, belongs to the state government. For one of our properties, Trinity, it took us seven years to get requisite permissions.” The fear that one day Fort Kochi may find itself overrun by tourists and home people will hopefully remain just that: vast parts are protected by heritage rules: real estate is very expensive on the beachfront, and the Malayalee fishermen are still around. “It will help preserve the sanctity of the enclave and its culture,” says Drechsel with some sort of finality.

- https://www.cnbctv18.com/views/the-malabar-house-fort-kochis-first-heritage-hotel-set-the-foundation-for-its-transformation-into-a-vibrant-luxury-destination-4869611.htm, December 13, 2019

Originating in India and practiced in Thailand for centuries, the massage was popularized when a specialty school opened in the 1960s to train massage therapists from around the world. At Bangkok's Reclining Buddha temple, Krairath Chantrasri says he is a proud custodian of an ancient skill -- the body-folding, sharp-elbowed techniques of Thai massage, which was added Thursday to UNESCO's prestigious heritage list.

Originating in India and practiced in Thailand for centuries, the massage was popularized when a specialty school opened in the 1960s to train massage therapists from around the world. Nuad Thai's addition to UNESCO's list of "Intangible Cultural Heritage" practices "is historic," said the Thai delegate at the United Nations Economic, Scientific and Cultural Organization meeting in Bogota, Colombia.

"It helps promote the practice of Nuad Thai locally and internationally," he said. From upscale Bangkok spas and Phuket beach fronts to modest street-side shophouses, "nuad Thai" is ubiquitous across the kingdom, where an hour of the back-straightening discipline can cost as little as $5. Krairath, who teaches at the Reclining Buddha School inside the famed Wat Pho temple, helps thousands of Thai and foreign students who flock to the centre each year.

The son of a masseuse, he takes great pride in his role sharing the ancient discipline at a temple whose certification is a proud banner for any massage shop. "I'm a continuation of our collective knowledge," the 40-year-old told AFP.

At Wat Pho's complex, trainees run through a catalogue of moves targeting the body's acupressure points with thumbs, elbows, knees and feet while also incorporating deep stretches and contortions. Doctors and monks were said to have brought these methods 2,500 years ago to Thailand, passing its secrets from master to disciple in temples and later within families.

Under Thailand's King Rama III in the nineteenth century, scholars engraved their knowledge of the field onto the stones of Wat Pho. The nuad Thai school, which has trained more than 200,000 massage therapists who practice in 145 countries, first opened in 1962.

Turning the tables
Massage employs tens of thousands of Thais. The school's director Preeda Tangtrongchitr says they usually see an uptick in interest from Thais when the economy is bad. "For many people who are disabled or in debt, this job is an opportunity because it requires no material -- only their hands and knowledge," he said.

Today, a therapist at a top-end spa can charge around $100 an hour in Thailand, and two or three times more in London, New York or Hong Kong where the Thai massage brand is booming. But the training is "demanding", says Chilean Sari, a professional masseuse who travelled to Bangkok to learn the discipline. "The technique is very precise; there are so many things to be aware of," the 34-year-old told AFP, as she made rotations with her palm on a fellow student's skull.

The teachings focus on directing blood circulation around problem areas to solve muscle aches -- sometimes drawing winces from clients unaccustomed to the force applied. Studies have shown it can help relieve back pain, headaches, insomnia and even anxiety. For Matthieu Rochefolle, a nurse from Lyon, France, adding Thai massage techniques to his repertoire of skills could help his elderly patients aching for relief. "It could also allow me to earn a little more," he said.

- https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/thai-massage-gets-added-to-unescos-heritage-list-2148049, December 13, 2019

Residents of the Indian state of Kerala have created a marine cemetery for animals that are going extinct from plastic pollution. The cemetery opened December 4, World Wildlife Conservation Day. The Marine Cemetery is 9 gravestones with tombstones made of iron and plastic. They carry the names of soon to be extinct or critically endangered animals. Jellyfish Watersports owner and climate change activist Kaushiq Kodithodi created the graveyard alongside climate change activist Askash Ranison. Jellyfish Watersports encouraged customers to pick up plastic they found on their kayak tours. Beach cleanup drives around Kerala collected 800kg of waste, including 2000 plastic bottles.

A fish native to the Chaliyar River, “Miss Kerala” is in danger of extinction. Ranison told News18 the exhibit is made to get people’s attention, “The point of making it into an art installation which connects with the people, is to make them aware about something that affects them.

In this case, the fish which has sentimental value will prove the point more than a ‘Save the beach at Beypore’ sign would.” A coastal community is prescient to the intersection of plastic and water bodies. Said Kodithodi of the installation “When our roads have potholes, the first to complain would be the motorists.” The same rhetoric applies to our water bodies.

Kerala is known for its scenic rivers and tourism industry based on our water bodies, but these same water bodies are littered with plastic.” It took 24 days to put the cemetery structure up. The government said they can keep the structure up for six months. And the activists have already gotten requests to move it to other places in the area. India and its citizens have been working hard to reduce plastic pollution across the country.

President Modi was caught on camera picking up trash to create plastic awareness. A village in India was trading rice for plastic trash with citizen participating. The country has been working to ban all single-use plastic by 2022. Plastic waste is killing marine mammals all around the globe at an alarming rate, a Cuvier beaked whale washed ashore in the Philippines with over 40 kilos of plastic in it’s stomach, a pilot whale died in Thailand as a result of eating more than 80 plastic bags, the body of a dead sperm whale washed up in Spain was found to have 64 pounds of plastic bags, a jerrycan, and several pieces of rope and net and half of baby sea turtles die from consuming plastic. Plastic is also found in various land animals, like deer and cows.

There are products you may be using or habits you may have that contribute to plastic pollution. Learn more about how the use of Teabags, Cotton Swabs, Laundry, Contact Lenses, Glitter and Sheet Masks pollute our oceans so you can make more informed decisions going forward. There are also numerous simple actions and switches that can help cut plastic out of our lives including, making your own cosmetics, shampoo, toothpaste, soap, household cleaners, using mason jars, reusable bags/bottles/straws, and avoiding micro beads!
To learn more about the impact of plastic waste, please read the articles below:
Marine Animals that are Dying because of our Plastic Habit
Where Plastic Really Goes When You Throw it Out
5 Documentaries to make you Rethink Single-Use Plastics
6 Million Tons of Single-Use Plastics Get Thrown Out Every Year!
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Please consider supporting us by donating! For more Animal, Earth, Life, Vegan Food, Health, and Recipe content published daily, subscribe to the One Green Planet Newsletter! Also, don’t forget to download the Food Monster App on iTunes — with over 15,000 delicious recipes it is the largest meatless, vegan and allergy-friendly recipe resource to help reduce your environmental footprint, save animals and get healthy!

https://www.onegreenplanet.org/environment/india-creates-marine-cemetery-for-animals-going-extinct-from-plastic-pollution/, December 16, 2019

The AMASR Act prohibits construction within 100 m and mandates regulation of constructions within a radius of 101-300 m of the monument. The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) may well violate its own Ancient Monuments Act (AMASR) by giving the State government the 15 acres of land at Naya Qila to set up an “international-level” golf course. This was revealed by the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH), which inspected the site on Monday and found that it falls under the 300 m protected regulation perimeter of the Golconda Fort.

INTACH Hyderabad convenor Anuradha Reddy took up the inspection based on TNIE’s reports. The AMASR Act prohibits construction within 100 m and mandates regulation of constructions within a radius of 101-300 m of the monument. Development in that area requires an NoC from a competent authority.

ASI Hyderabad unsure about the exact boundary of Golconda Fort
The conundrum lies in the fact that even the ASI-Hyderabad is not clear about the exact extent of the boundary of the Golconda Fort. The AMASR Act of 1959 mentions that the “Golconda Fort and ruins” have to be protected, but it does not specify what exactly those ruins are.The ASI has been repeatedly raising the issue with the State’s Revenue department, to not just assess the boundary of the Golconda Fort, but also identify the encroachments in the area. At a recent talk, ASI’s superintending archaeologist MK Chauley had said: “We had asked the Telangana State government for a revenue map of the fort and the area around it to be able to take legal precedence about the increasing encroachment around it.

That request too has been met with stoic silence.” After the inspection, Reddy said, “Telangana has a rich and diverse cultural heritage, which is not found in other parts of the country. Simple calculation shows that Golconda and Charminar generate a huge amount of revenue. In its present form, this Naya Qila area can be a magnet for tourism.” Reddy cited the example of Angkor Vat in Cambodia, and the Jerusalem Old Town, spaces similar to Naya Qila that generate a huge revenue through tourism.

https://www.newindianexpress.com/states/telangana/2019/dec/17/asi-could-break-its-own-laws-by-giving-naya-qila-land-for-golf-course-2077127.html, December 17, 2019

Fort High School near Chamarajpet, which draws music aficionados from far and wide during its Ramanavami music festival, is donning a new look. The 114-year-old building, which was the first high school in the erstwhile princely state of Mysore, is awash in red, thanks to ongoing restoration work. The structure, which was in a dilapidated state till last year, was in off-white colour. But after restoration architects found the original hue of the building was red, it has now got a coat of red oxide (not paint) on its outer side.

The revamp work began in April 2018 at the cost of Rs 2.5 crore and is expected to be over by January 2020. Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (Intach) has taken up restoration of the colonial-era structure with help from donors. “While removing the outer layer, we noticed red paint had been used earlier. We also spoke to some old-timers, who clearly recalled the building was red in colour during their school days,” said Meera Iyer, convenor Intach. Basavanagudi resident BN Prahlad Rao, 96, who studied in Fort High School from 1936-1940, remembered the building having a red exterior. “Those days, all government schools and offices were painted red. So was our school,” he told TOI. The ground-plus-one-floor building has 34 rooms and is spread over 3000 sq ft. Architects said restoring the teak wood-based roof was a challenge. Otherwise, the structure was stable.

A team of carpenters with expertise in heritage restoration was brought from Uttar Pradesh for woodwork, while teak wood was procured from Dharwad. Now, only roof work remains, after which the project will be complete. A major part of the donation came from Basant Poddar, chairperson of Mineral Enterprises Limited (MEL). “We plan to develop a garden with herbal and medicinal plants on the school premises,” said Poddar, who has sponsored 90% of the project cost. Neither does Poddar live in south Bengaluru, nor has anyone from his family studied in Fort High School.

But when he heard of the institution’s sorry state, he decided to work on it. School-hour challenge “While restoration was under way, the government high school operated from the same building, and this was the most challenging part,” said FB Bale Hosur, project contractor. While the high school has 210 students, the newly started Karnataka Public School (from LKG) has over 100 students. “We ensured utmost precaution during school hours. So far, no problem has occurred due to restoration work,” said principal SC Chandrashekar.

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bengaluru/114-yr-old-fort-high-school-gets-red-makeover/articleshow/72781765.cms, December 17, 2019

Naya Qila or New Fort, the extended portion of Golconda Fort that has already lost a major chunk of land for the Hyderabad Golf Club, may lose another 15 acres if the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) hands over the land. It may be noted that the State government had shot a letter to ASI and it is now considering the proposal. The fresh activity of excavation at Naya Qila has not gone down well with social and heritage activists. P Anuradha Reddy, Convenor of Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) Hyderabad Chapter says, "Way back in 2009, when excavations were going on Chinese porcelain was found but the ASI Hyderabad Circle did not do anything. There are clear evidences of a garden and we need to protect it.

Once it is given to the Golf Club, we will lose the place forever and lose out on tourism." In 1999, the government acquired 52 acres of patta land from 54 farmers to set up the Golf Club. Now, plans are to further add more land. Presently, farmers living close to Naya Qila use the land to graze cattle. ASI officials say that they do not have the manpower to control the farmers. Lubna Sarwath, social activist says, "Naya Qila should be preserved. A few years ago also excavations were done causing a lot of damage to Golconda Fort." Merun M, a student of architecture and heritage enthusiast, says, "In most cities where there are historical monuments have parks.

During excavations in 2014, water channels, tanks, walkways and fountains and several garden relics were found. Naya Qila has huge potential to draw tourists. With the Qutb Shahi Tombs being done up the gardens if restored could become a touristy attraction. If given to the Golf Club, the common man will not be able to even enter the place." Naya Qila has mosques dating back to centuries. The area is dotted with raised platforms and remains of great gardens dating back to Qutb Shahi era.

https://www.thehansindia.com/news/cities/hyderabad/save-naya-qila-call-gets-shriller-590356, December 17, 2019

Naya Qila or New Fort, the extended portion of Golconda Fort that has already lost a major chunk of land for the Hyderabad Golf Club, may lose another 15 acres if the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) hands over the land. It may be noted that the State government had shot a letter to ASI and it is now considering the proposal. The fresh activity of excavation at Naya Qila has not gone down well with social and heritage activists. P Anuradha Reddy, Convenor of Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) Hyderabad Chapter says, "Way back in 2009, when excavations were going on Chinese porcelain was found but the ASI Hyderabad Circle did not do anything. There are clear evidences of a garden and we need to protect it.

Once it is given to the Golf Club, we will lose the place forever and lose out on tourism." In 1999, the government acquired 52 acres of patta land from 54 farmers to set up the Golf Club. Now, plans are to further add more land. Presently, farmers living close to Naya Qila use the land to graze cattle. ASI officials say that they do not have the manpower to control the farmers. Lubna Sarwath, social activist says, "Naya Qila should be preserved. A few years ago also excavations were done causing a lot of damage to Golconda Fort." Merun M, a student of architecture and heritage enthusiast, says, "In most cities where there are historical monuments have parks.

During excavations in 2014, water channels, tanks, walkways and fountains and several garden relics were found. Naya Qila has huge potential to draw tourists. With the Qutb Shahi Tombs being done up the gardens if restored could become a touristy attraction. If given to the Golf Club, the common man will not be able to even enter the place." Naya Qila has mosques dating back to centuries. The area is dotted with raised platforms and remains of great gardens dating back to Qutb Shahi era.

https://www.mid-day.com/articles/mumbai-committee-mhada-delay-restoration-report/22283169, December 18, 2019

Telangana State Waqf Board chairman Mohammed Saleem handed over a final cheque for Rs 10 lakh for the repairs and renovation of Dargah-e-Hazrat Syed Shah Raju Qattal Hussaini to the TS Archaeology Department Deputy Director B Narayana on Tuesday. For repairs and renovation, a total amount of Rs 50 lakh were sanctioned and Rs 40 lakh were released earlier. Syed Shah Yousuf Mohammed ul Hussain, and famously known as Syed Shah Raju Qattal was born in year 1593 and died on 1681 (born on 1002 Hijri and died on 1092 Hijri according to Islamic calendar).

The tomb was built by Abul Hasan Tanasha, the last ruler of the Qutub Shahi dynasty, in the memory of his mentor Shah Raju, who had foretold Tanashah's elevation to the throne. It is one of the oldest dargahs and the biggest tomb in Old City, the dome of the tomb is 164ft high, supported by 110 pillars made of single stone, with each of them 25ft in height. The last repairs on the dargah were carried out in 2010, before it received the INTACH heritage award.

https://www.thehansindia.com/news/cities/hyderabad/asi-receives-10-lakh-for-dargah-renovation-590698, December 18, 2019

The National Institute of Urban Affairs is presently collaborating with the Delhi Development Authority for preparing the Master Plan of Delhi 2021. In a fresh attempt to put an end to the prevailing chaos in the ‘Walled City Extension’ — defined as a special area in Master Plan of Delhi (MPD) 2021 — Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal on Wednesday asked North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) to prepare a blueprint for redevelopment of a specific area instead of the entire region.

Senior officials of government agencies, privy to the development, said the L-G, in the meeting held at Raj Niwas to review the long-pending proposal for redevelopment of the special area, which includes-Sadar Bazaar, Paharganj and Karol Bagh, urged authorities to chalk out a ‘feasible pilot’ project after consultation with stakeholders, including residents and traders. “The L-G was of the opinion that first, a small area should be taken up as pilot. He has asked the municipal corporation to come up with a plan in two months.

He was very clear that any planning should be after consultation with the stakeholders. Otherwise, it will not be successful. He advised agencies to tread cautiously as the area is congested and is home to heritage structures,” an official said. The meeting was held in the backdrop of the massive fire at an illegal industrial unit in Anaj Mandi near Sadar Bazaar area on December 8, in which 43 people were killed. The incident led to political bickering over the Special Area redevelopment plan. Wednesday’s meeting was attended by senior officials of the urban development department of Delhi government, Delhi Development Authority (DDA), Delhi Fire Service, Delhi Traffic Police, and the NDMC.

Representatives of Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) and National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA) were also there. NIUA is presently collaborating with the DDA for preparing the MPD 2041. Another official said that Baijal had stressed on a workable plan, as previous attempts had failed. "Discussions centered on proper traffic circulation plan and amalgamation of plots," he said.

https://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/delhi/2019/dec/19/prepare-blueprint-of-only-specific-walled-city-area-in-north-delhi-orders-lt-governor-anil-baijal-2078269.html, December 19, 2019

Parents often shield their children from the harsh realities of life, believes Leela Gour Broome, one of the most well-known children’s fiction writers in the city. In an effort to prepare kids for what is to come, children’s book writers have taken it upon themselves to educate their young readers, she adds. “There is a lot of growing up that has been happening because of children’s literature today, and that is a good thing. We protect our kids from all kinds of news — about tsunamis and earthquakes even.

What happens in the aftermath? The children just don’t know,” says Broome. In her latest book, Earthquake Boy, the protagonist is a child who survives a devastating earthquake. And even though the story is fictional, the setting is a real life event — the earthquake that rocked Bhuj in Gujarat in 2001 in which around 15,000 people were killed and 1,67,000 were injured — which hopes to bring some home truths to children. The 71-year-old writer began writing Earthquake Boy in 2006 as a response to the catastrophe, and kept building upon the plot. “I wanted it to be a story for today’s generation.

It is an attempt to make the event meaningful for children, and is from the viewpoint of children,” she adds. In the book, a 12-yearold boy is found trapped under a pile of rubble. When he regains consciousness, he has no memory of what happened to him. “He overhears that he will be sent to an orphanage, but not knowing what an orphanage is and imagining it to be some sort of a prison, he boards a train to escape, and arrives in Mumbai,” says Broome. Referred to as Binna in the book after he forgets his own name, the boy begins a new life in the big city.

He meets different types of people in Mumbai, including NGO workers and criminals with underworld connections. “The book shows the generous and evil side of a big city through his eyes," says Broome of her fourth release after The Anaishola Chronicle that was out in 2017. This is also her first book that is not nature-oriented, and does not include animal characters. “It is very much an urban story, and the language that is spoken in it is also a mix of Hindi and English as you would hear in a place like Mumbai,” she says. This weekend, Broome will read from Earthquake Boy, published by Speaking Tiger Books. Broome has also invited Supriya Goturkar-Mahabaleshwar, coconvenor and coordinator at INTACH’s Pune Chapter and city-based herpetologist Ashok Captain to be a part of two of her events in the city. “The book is also about the history of the city that he (Binna) lands up in, and this is where Supriya comes in. She will talk about one of the buildings in the book,” says Broome.

Captain’s participation will include some life lessons too. “Ashok Captain will talk about survival tactics in the event of a calamity. It will be delivered in a fun, humorous manner, but children will get the gist of how to handle difficult situations,” adds Broome. Like her books, Broome’s reading will also culminate with a happy ending — a cake cutting.WHERE: Pagdandi Bookstore & Café, Baner-Pashan Link Road and Monalisa Kalagram, Koregaon Park
WHEN: December 21, 11 am (Pagdandi), December 22, 4 pm (Monalisa Kalagram)
CALL: 7755908525 /9822390450 (Pagdandi); 8975223030 (Monalisa Kalagram)
ENTRY : Free

https://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/delhi/2019/dec/19/prepare-blueprint-of-only-specific-walled-city-area-in-north-delhi-orders-lt-governor-anil-baijal-2078269.html, December 19, 2019

Intangible practices safeguarded and promoted to demonstrate cultural heritage
There are few practices or skills such as folklores, customs, beliefs, traditions, knowledge or a form of expression which constitute the nonphysical intellectual property in contrast to the tangible heritage elements like artifacts and objects. These practices, representation, expression, knowledge or skills which are a part of a place’s cultural heritage are called intangible cultural heritage (ICH). UNESCO has established a list of such heritages to ensure that they are better protected and their significance is spread worldwide. This list established in 2008, is published by the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage, the members of which are elected by state parties meeting in a General Assembly. India known as the land of culture and heritage has 13 cultural heritages in the UNESCO’s intangible cultural heritage list.

Kutiyattam
Kutiyattam, one of India’s oldest living theatrical traditions, is a Sanskrit theatre practiced in the province of south-Indian state Kerala. Performed traditionally in theatres called Kuttampalams in the temples, the art form originated more than 2,000 years ago. An amalgamation of Sanskrit classicism with local traditions of Kerala, it uses expressions of eyes and hand gestures to express the thoughts and feelings of the main character. The theatre has been facing crisis due to lack of funding.

Tradition of Vedic chanting
The Vedic scriptures composed over 3,500 years ago embody one of the world’s oldest surviving cultural traditions. The chanting of these sacred rituals in Sanskrit by the Vedic communities are not only rich in oral literature content and an ingenious technique practiced by a community of Brahmin priests. Only thirteen of the over one thousand Vedic recitation branches stand now.

Ramlila
Ramlila is the traditional performance of the epic Ramayana with a series of songs, narration, dialogue and acting seen mostly in north India during the festival of Dussehra. The most well-known representations are those performed in Sattna, Vrindavan, Varanasi and Ramnagar. While it is still observed in a grand manner in some parts, it seems to have been affected by the popularity of television.

Ramman
Ramman, a religious festival and ritual theatre in honour of the tutelary god, Bhumiyal Devta is prevalent in Garhwal Himalayas in the twin villages of Saloor-Dungra in Uttarakhand. Bringing together people from all castes and occupations, the event has distinctive roles for everyone. Being bound by its geography, the community in order to remain viable has set their priority in promoting its transmission.

Mudiyettu
A ritual dance drama from the south-Indian state of Kerala, Mudiyettu tells the mythological tale of the battle between goddess Kali and the demon Darika. A ritual observed after harvest of summer crops, Mudiyettu brings the entire village together for celebration and also serves as a site for transmission of traditional values, ethics and moral codes of the community to the next generation.

Kalbelia
A folk song and dance form of a traditional community in the west-Indian state of Rajasthan, Kalbelia songs spread mythological knowledge through stories accompanied by traditional dance. Through this art form, the community also attempts to revitalise its cultural heritage in the changing socioeconomic environs.

Chhau dance
This traditional dance from east India presents episodes from epics like Ramayana and Mahabharata, local folklore and also abstract themes. Influenced by indigenous forms of dance and martial practices, it has three distinct styles with two using masks. With the increased industrialization, change in economic conditions and new media, the art form has seen a decrease in participation.

Buddhist chanting
Ladakh in north-India is home to many Buddhist monasteries where Buddhist lamas (priests) chant sacred texts representing the philosophy and teachings of Buddha. Different Buddhist sects have their own form of chanting. They are chanted everyday in the assembly halls as prayer to the deities for world peace and also personal growth of the practitioners.

Sankirtana
An array of arts performed to mark religious occasions as well as various stages in the life of the Vaisnava people of the north-east Indian state, Manipur, Sankirtana narrates the lives and deeds of lord Krishna through song and dance. This vibrant practice also brings together and helps in developing an organic relation between individuals, community and nature.

Craft of the Thatheras
The traditional technique of manufacturing brass and copper utensils by the Thatheras of Jandiala Guru in Punjab is unique in its own as the process of manufacturing is transmitted orally from one generation to the next. This metalwork is not only a form of livelihood for the Thatheras but also a definition of their community’s kinship structure, work ethics and status within the social hierarchy of the town.

Yoga
The ancient practice of Yoga today has attained international recognition with June 21 observed as International Yoga Day. It is based on the philosophy of unifying the mind with the body and soul with a series of poses, meditation and other techniques. It is designed to help individuals release stress and allow a state of liberation.

Nowruz
The Persian New Year celebrated worldwide is also observed by the Parsi community residing in India with great pomp. It involves a variety of rituals, ceremonies and other cultural events observed for two weeks. The celebration brings families together along with contributing in building community solidarity and peace.

Kumbh mela
One of the largest human congregations in the world, the festival sees pilgrims coming together to take a dip or bathe in the sacred river, Ganges. With an important spiritual role in the country, the fair is held in four places- Haridwar, Ujjain, Nashik and Prayag every four year by rotation.

https://mediaindia.eu/art-culture/indian-cultural-heritage-inscribed-in-unesco-list/, December 19, 2019

About 300 students learnt about the rich history surrounding the heritage structures of Secunderabad at talk on Friday. The talk, titled ‘Structures in Secunderabad Cantonment Area’ ,was part of a series of lectures organized by INTACH, Hyderabad, across the city. “Students learnt about the natural heritage and built heritage of the area," said Anuradha Reddy, INTACH, Hyderabad, convenor. “We discussed the formation of the cantonment, which many people were unaware of,” she said. The talk that was organised at Army Public School, R K Puram had students listening intently and asking pertinent questions.

Ishika Yogi, a class 9 student, said, “I loved the talk. It is only when you know your heritage that you can protect it.” Agreed Kartikeya Awasthi, another student. He said that it was important to conserve heritage structures because once the damage to them cannot be undone.” Sunita Banerjee, a teacher, said the lecture was a learning experience for her. “Though we live in this area, we do not know much about heritage structures,” she said. Students decided that they wanted to further explore Salar Jung Museum, Golconda Fort, Trimugherry jail, military hospital and Hakimpet Airforce base. “As many students are from Army background they are constantly shifting bases. They often do not find a sense of being rooted to a place. The aim of the talk was to also create memories of the city’s heritage which will help develop a sense of belonging,” said Anuradha .

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/cantt-heritage-history-lessons-for-city-students/articleshow/72908641.cms, December 23, 2019

Though Nashik is rich in culture and heritage, the department of archaeology is stuggling to keep peoples’ interest alive in the artefacts, architecture, ecofacts and cultural landscapes. Virag Sontakke, the newly appointed assistant director of the directorate of archaeology and museums, shares with the TOI’s Pragya Jain the efforts being taken to build the interest of youths in the culture and heritage of the city and the plans chalked out for drawing crowds to the Sarkarwada museum. Excerpts What steps are you taking to preserve the archaeological heritage of the city? I am in charge of two departments here – the department of archaeology and the department of museums.

Sarkarwada museum is very aesthetic in its structural appearance. Pilgrims from various parts of the country visit Godavari river every day. I want to draw these pilgrims to Sarkarwada to inform them about the antiquity of Nashik. I am working on inscribing a pictographic history of Nashik with important details, along with pictures and paintings about the city’s evolution and the structures that have been there since the Peshwa era.

Right now, I am collecting as much data as I can and within a month, bilingual data of 44 images in the museum will be inscribed. When do you plan to wind up with the restoration of Sunder Narayan Temple? In the past two years, there have been many hurdles in the restoration work of Sunder Narayan temple. Though the work has caught up speed, I still cannot deploy adequate manpower on the site due to lack of space. I also have to replicate the damaged stones and preserve the good ones. It is not an easy task. If the civic body cooperates, the restoration of the shikhara can be completed by March 2020. How do you plan to preserve the city’s heritage? There is no heritage committee in the city.

We are coordinating with the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) and Nashik Municipal Corporation (NMC) to form a heritage committee of experts, so that we can have a list of the heritage structures which merit preservation. The city is surrounded by many forts. What are you doing to protect them? I have trekked nearly 10 forts around the city and we have started working on them. People visiting the forts have a tendency of scribbling their names on the walls—a practice which should be discouraged. We want to conserve the forts without tampering with the basic structure. Besides putting up banners containing detailed information about the forts, we also want to install advisory boards stating that visitors should not deface the structures.We are collaborating with the local Durg Pratishthans for this purpose. Right now, we have only seven protected forts. We have listed 18 forts that can be protected by the state. How do you plan to increase footfall at Sarkarwada? Firstly, we have to put signboards at different places so that people notice and come to the Sarkarwada museum. NMC has assured to make the surroundings encroachment-free and arrange for a parking space. We are also approaching schools to bring their students to visit the museum.

The history and archaeology colleges should mandatorily ask their students to make projects and write dissertations about the images here at Sarkarwada. Our department will fully cooperate with them. What steps are you taking to keep the interest of youths in history and archaeology alive? Nashik should have a central university, where specific courses can be designed for local students. Moreover, there should be job opportunities in the field of archaeology and history so that students can be encouraged to take up such streams. Unless the youth sees opportunities, they will not be interested in converting their passion into profession

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/nashik/bilingual-data-of-44-images-in-museum-will-be-inscribed-in-a-month/articleshow/72929679.cms, December 23, 2019

The project includes restoration and conservation along with listing and cataloguing of the archaeological sites. Gerda Henkel Stiftung, a German organisation, is funding a project on restoration and documentation of manuscripts, artefacts and rare photographs available in the museum and research centre near Mayong in Morigaon district of Assam. The project will be executed by the Assam state chapter of the India National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (Intach), from January 1. On Saturday, Intach state convener Shiela Bora said this was decided in a stakeholders’ meeting held on Thursday at Mayong Anchalik College in the presence of Morigaon district officials, community members and teachers.

She said in addition to conservation work, the project also envisaged listing and cataloguing of the archaeological sites located in and around the area, starting from Kajolichowki to the Baghjap area of the district. “The idea behind the project is to carry out a historical research about the mysteries surrounding Mayong,” Bora added.

https://www.telegraphindia.com/india/german-firm-funds-project-morigaon-district-of-assam/cid/1729182, December 23, 2019

National Library authorities have written to the Central Public Works Department, asking it to tone down the colours on the rear staircase of Belvedere House on the library campus in Alipore. Constructed in 1838, the mansion was used as the residence of Viceroy of India and later the Governor-General prior to the construction of the Governor House in Dalhousie. The Grade-I heritage building also housed the National Library till mid-2000 when Bhasha Bhavan was constructed and the Belvedere House was handed over to Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) for restoration.

"The deep colour used for staircase of Belvedere House does not suit the heritage status of the building. There has been a lot of criticism and concern raised by people... You are requested to tone down the colours of the stairs as per norms of such heritage building,” National Library assistant library and information officer, Partha Sarathi Das, has written to the executive engineer (civil) of CPWD’s Kolkata central works division.

The National Library’s communication was welcomed by historians, restoration architects and activists. “The red and gold colour were jarring and incompatible with the rest of the building,” said conservation architect, Kamalika Bose. Indian National Trust for Art & Cultural Heritage (Intach) convenor, GM Kapur, who had spoken to the CPWD superintendent engineer on the matter, said he had looked forward to the loud colours being toned down. This is not the first time that the stairs have been painted red and gold. Historian Swapan Chakraborty recounted having seen faded red and yellow paint on the staircase when he was in charge of the library from 2010 to 2013.

“There was no colour when I was a student between 1972 and 1977 and frequented National Library. Even thereafter, I didn’t see any paint. But when I was DG and had sought permission from ASI to hold an exhibition in a section of the Belvedere House that had been restored, I did notice the faded red and yellow colour on the southern staircase,” he said.

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata/tone-down-colours-of-staircase-national-library-writes-to-cpwd/articleshow/72946096.cms, December 24, 2019

Nearly 220 years after it was built, the St. Thomas Church in the Sultan Bazaar area has Christmas celebration as a sombre affair. The small building shaped like a crucifix with gabled roof has a sprinkling of tinsel, and plastic chairs without the hustle and bustle of Christmas revellers. “This is a branch of the Wesley Church in Ramkote. We have regular Telugu service here on Wednesday morning,” says Solomon, the priest who lives in the home attached to the church. Located in the middle of the bustling business area, the church building is barely spotted.

Ringed by a temple, a shop and a municipal market that is on the verge of collapse, the church building doesn’t resemble the image that dates it to 1800 in Pictorial Hyderabad published in the 1920s. A small porch, perhaps added after the photograph was shot, changes the appearance of the church building. The church pre-dates the St John’s Church in Secunderabad which was built in 1818. A small gate with shops on either side leads to the entrance.

“About 100 people visit the church on Wednesday morning. Otherwise, it looks like a residence of the priest. Many families used to live where a big complex is coming up right behind the Wesley Church. They still come, but fewer in number,” says Ramulu, who sells earthen pots on the pavement to the right side of the church. But 200 years earlier, the locality was a prized one by genteel folks as it was administered by the British as it was near the Residency Building.

The Arms Act was strictly enforced ensuring that the roughnecks and toughs of the old city could not molest the businessmen and bankers. The safety brought the wealthier citizens to this part of the city who thrived and built large mansions and office establishments. “We want this area to be part of the heritage walk. If the church could be restored it will be really good and will give a glimpse of the earlier period,” says Anuradha Reddy of Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage, who led a heritage walk in the area recently. “We are limiting the Residency walk to just the building.

But this area is also part of the Residency complex as there is the older doorway here. The Chudderghat School, the clock tower and this church are part of that era and should be restored,” says Ms. Reddy.

https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Hyderabad/220-year-old-church-in-bad-shape/article30390017.ece, December 26, 2019

Eight decades before Hyderabad was founded and Charminar was built by Mohammad Quli Qutub Shah in 1591 CE, Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism, had visited the fort city of Golconda as part of his mission to spread the new religion in the Deccan. A video documentary is now being made on the areas associated with the founder of Sikhism during his second ‘Udasi’ (tour), which fall mostly in Telugu states and regions that were once part of the princely Hyderabad state.

Traveller, historian and documentary maker Amardeep Singh is now revisiting these places to reconstruct and document the holy trail for the posterity. Not many know that Guru Nanak had spent time in Golconda fort in 1511 CE and camped at four places that are now part of Hyderabad.

Incidentally, this year marks 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak and 500th year of Qutub Shahi rule. Apart from Golconda, Guru Nanak also visited Nirmal, Kukatpally, Guntur and Vijayawada. The places Guru Nanak visited were marked three centuries later during the reign of the Nizam III, Sikandar Jah. Mutts were constructed at all these places that the saint visited.

Three such Mutts now dot Hyderabad, the prominent one being at Hussaini Alam in old city. The Mutt, popularly known as Udasin Mutt, in Vijayawada was removed during road widening about three decades ago, while the one in Guntur still exists. According to Sajjan Singh, local Sikh historian, Maharaja Chandulal, prime minister of Hyderabad, had built Mutts at all the places in Telugu states where Guru Nanak had visited. This was in early 1830s. “Up until now we did not know that Guru Nanak Dev Ji had visited Golconda, Vijayawada and Guntur during the reign of Quli Qutub-ul-Mulk in 1511.

He was then the governor of Bahmani Sultans in Telangana. Qutub-ul-Mulk declared Independence after the fall of Bahmani kingdom in 1518. Guru Nanak had visited Golconda from Bidar, which was the capital of Bahmani rulers,” Sajjan Singh said. INTACH Hyderabad convener P Anuradha Reddy told TOI that Amardeep Singh,who is presenting his two documentaries on places associated with Guru Nanak in Pakistan, at Salarjung Museum on December 25, will visit all the places in Telugu states where the founder of Sikhism had camped. He will tour Guntur on December 26 where a Udasin Mutt and a well, which sprang up miraculously during the stay of Nanak Dev Ji, are located. Amardeep will document these places.

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/revisiting-guru-nanaks-sojourn-in-the-deccan/articleshow/72960871.cms, December 26, 2019

We decided to revisit top homes featured in AD India to find out about the type of space design that people are leaning towards. Here's what we found out. There’s something to be said about homes that connect the indoors to the outdoors, and, that employ earthy materials to create warm, inviting spaces, and ones that charm with their vintage bones. As the year comes to a close, we decided to take a look at the most read and popular homes on AD. Looking at these well-designed spaces, we realised there’s a certain trend that residential architecture and home design is moving towards. Here’s a look: Sunlit Spaces with Subtle Aesthetics: Vadodara Home In this Vadodara bungalow, you’d expect the entrance to tower over the rest of a low-lying structure. Not in this case. Adopting a counterintuitive approach, architect Dipen Gada has inverted the centuries-old tried-and-tested design of the entrance in this home in Vadodara—all without sacrificing a sense of arrival. The structure situated on a sprawling 75,000-square-feet lush green plot has clean, bold lines and a linear footprint which runs along the east-west axis. Created for clients who were busy professionals but well-travelled and passionate about their home, Gada received a brief which specified that he should employ a subtle aesthetic rather than an opulent one. But come darkness and the cubes shed their heavy appearance, to come alive with light beckoning through the circular perforations in the corten steel. The house is designed to decline the ingress of heat through its fenestrations, but invite maximum natural light and ventilation into its inner spaces. When needed, the corten steel jalis can swivel onto the walls, making the inner spaces one with the undulating greenery of the garden outside. Seamless views from the inside to the outside can be witnessed via spaces. The bedrooms are finished in a raw materiality—with terrazzo and brass strips and, terracotta coloured IPS. Jean-François Lesage, the co-founder of Vastrakala (the reputed Chennai-based embroidery atelier), lives inside a late-19th-century mansion in Pondicherry. His story goes like this: When it came to finding a place to put down roots in Tamil soil, Lesage scoured the fertile, rural landscape (unsuccessfully) for years, in search of an old house that he and his (late) partner Patrick Savouret could restore as a private idyll. “But most buildings we saw were located thick in the midst of villages. We wanted something more isolated with a bit of land.” Fifteen years ago, shown Kandadu from a distance, they were instantly bewitched. Captivated by its mystery, they knew they had to have it, but were unprepared for the hurdles ahead. The place had lain abandoned and boarded up for so long that some thought it was haunted. “When some of the doors were prised open, hundreds of bats flew out,” recalls Lesage. “And there were rats— and the undergrowth had invaded the house, cracking the walls.” Kandadu was once the manse of feudal landlords of the Mudaliar community, whose wealth came from salt farming in the surrounding salt pans. “There were 14 owners, only 2 of whom lived in India. It took us over a year to find them and settle the dues and litigation before it was ours.” Then came the arduous business—undertaken with the help of INTACH in Pondicherry—of getting the late-19th-century mansion, with nearly a dozen rooms on two floors, back on its feet. Currently, his pride and joy are the 200 trees and 1,300 shrubs he has planted since he acquired Kandadu; he has followed a catholic regimen in following the natural contours of the nine-acre property, accentuating each dip and incline and embankment—for the area can be prone to flooding—to create a tended wilderness of ponds, meandering paths, vistas and sacred spaces. You may stumble upon the painted horses of an Ayyanar shrine sequestered among the gardens, or the image of a guardian naga deva in the hollow of a tree—a precious gift from the late dancer-choreographer Chandralekha when she visited Kandadu. The living and dining spaces of this 100-year-old colonial bungalow were given new lease of life by Huzefa Rangwala, Jasem Pirani and Namrata Tidke of MuseLAB. “We set out with the task of creating an experience with a play of patterns and colours and decided to treat the floor as our canvas to create a contemporary and resplendent rangoli pattern in terrazzo,” says Tidke. The narrative of the furniture and its placement is reflective of the nature of the floor pattern. The midpoint of the rangoli pattern emerges from the living room and bleeds into the formal dining space as a series of concentric rings. “Taking cues from historic Indian structures to soften the transition between rooms and spaces, we created arches, arched openings and an arcade that faces the lawn on the property. Every piece of furniture has been customised—the core idea being that we wanted to create a gallery of furniture pieces which were not only exclusive but also contextual to this space,” adds Rangwala. The ceiling has been kept as bare as possible, with the primary focus on the suspended sculptural elements and the refurbished roof’s structural elements. Just above the 10-seater dining table is the Moooi Meshmatics Chandelier designed by Rick Tegelaar. The 15-feet-long dining table was created in collaboration with the Quarry Gallery to source two slabs of pristine Thassos Bianco marble. The inlay work using floral motifs and semi-precious stones further up the design ante. “The idea was inspired by fall leaves. Essentially, we abstracted a leaf and converted it into a motif, each comprising different stones,” say the designers. For this Hyderabad home, Bangalore-based architecture and design studio CollectiveProject created a tranquil space. Set on the rocks overlooking the Durgam Cheruvu Lake, Hyderabad, the Lakehouse is a seemingly weightless structure of stone, wood, and glass. A rare sense of detachment from the urban surroundings is offered by the structure’s rocky perch. “The natural landscape of the city is unique with massive granite rock formations that are slowly being destroyed by rapid urban development.” In the case of The Lakehouse property, a small portion of the site closest to the road had already been levelled—it is now a parking area and a guest bedroom zone. “It made sense for this to be our anchoring point, allowing for the rest of the site to be undisturbed and celebrated as a feature in the design.” Granite is a strong feature in the façade of the house—as one enters the property, one is faced with a 14-foot stone wall clad in rough matte-finished local granite. “The tension between heavy and light is a theme that we were interested in exploring from the start of the project,” offers Higgins. Indeed—the front door with its full-height carved handle and brass supports is an interesting metaphor for the contrast between interior and exterior. “As an experiential concept, we viewed the weight of the façade as a way to reinforce the sense of privacy that was requested in the project brief. Once a guest is invited in, the interior experience completely transforms into one of lightness with high ceilings, bright natural light, and expansive views.” Anika Mittal Dhawan’s apartment is spread across 2,500-square-feet; the layout of the house tastefully combines different functional spaces, and uses patterns, colours and textures in an aesthetic manner. Exposed brick, cast in-situ terrazzo flooring by Bharat Flooring, and brass is the core material palette. Clean lines with subtle ethnic design elements, bright upholstery, cane weaves and woodwork in furniture add to the rustic yet modern appeal of the apartment. “The house has been planned keeping in mind flexibility, which allowed for the creation of living spaces vis a vis multiple smaller rooms. Even though the balcony, the formal living space, the dining area and the family lounge are individual spaces, they all read as one,” says Dhawan. Exploring materiality in design, the expansive living, dining and family lounge has a ceiling covered in pinewood that traverses across the length of the house, helping increase the sense of openness and expanse. Bookshelves laden with travel curios add a warm and personal touch to the space. All the spaces have a bay window, which makes for a cosy seating space, and can be used for reading or relaxation. The master bedroom follows the same aesthetic as the rest of the house with exposed brickwork, wooden flooring and grey walls creating a cosy environment. Another bay window meant to sit and enjoy the greenery outside enhances the charm while the brickwork behind the bed adds texture and contrast to the room. The furniture is simple with vintage fabric and the hanging lights add quaintness to the space.

https://www.architecturaldigest.in/content/2019-home-trends-spaces-home-design-vadodara-pondicherry-hyderabad/#s-cust0, December 26, 2019

In a significant find, the Epigraphy Branch of the Archaeological Survey of India has discovered the earliest epigraphic evidence so far for the Saptamatrika cult. It is also the earliest Sanskrit inscription to have been discovered in South India as on date. Saptamatrikas are a group of seven female deities worshipped in Hinduism as personifying the energy of their respective consorts. The inscription is in Sanskrit and in Brahmi characters and was issued by Satavahana king Vijaya in 207 A.D. Dr. K. Muniratnam, Director, Epigraphy branch, ASI, Mysuru told The Hindu that it was discovered in Chebrolu village in Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh earlier this month. The inscription came to light when some local villagers informed the authorities of the presence of a pillar with some engravings when they were restoring and repairing the local Bheemeshwara temple.

The inscription was first copied and studied and it transpired that it records the construction of a prasada (temple), a mandapa and consecration of images on the southern side of the temple by a person named Kartika for the merit of the king at the temple of Bhagavathi (Goddess) Saktimatruka (Saptamatrika) at Tambrape; Tambrape being the ancient name of Chebrolou, said Dr. Muniratnam. He said there are references of Saptamatrika worship in the early Kadamba copper plates and the early Chalukyas and Eastern Chalukya copper plates.

But the new discovery predates them by almost 200 years. The verification of all the available records proved that the Chebrolu inscription of Satavahana king Vijaya issued in his 5th regnal year – 207 A.D. — is also the earliest datable Sanskrit inscription from South India so far, said Dr. Muniratnam. So far the Nagarjunakonda inscription of Ikshavaku king Ehavala Chantamula issued in his 11th regnal year corresponding to the 4th century A.D. was considered the earliest Sanskrit inscription in South India, he added. The place also yielded another inscription which is in Prakrit language and of Brahmi characters and belongs to the 1st century A.D. This is the earliest epigraphic reference to Mutts and records the gift of a cloister mandapa and chaitya to the bhavatho (Lord) of the Gadasa Mutt by a person hailing from Tabaava, according to Dr.

Muniratnam. Calling for conservation and preservation of the pillar given its historical importance, he pointed out that there were many such ancient monuments and structures across the country that lacked protection but could contain treasure trove of information.

https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/science/earliest-sanskrit-inscription-in-south-india-found-in-ap/article30397972.ece, December 26, 2019

The ongoing pilot project on documentation of all unprotected monuments in Mysuru taluk has yielded significant results with over 100 sculptures recovered from the rural hinterland. Launched by the State Department of Archaeology, Museums and Heritage, the project will help map and document the number of monuments in the taluk. Based on their importance, they will be added to the protected list. Sources in the archaeology department said so far the team has completed mapping of monuments in two hoblis – Varuna and Jayapura.

“Work in Yelwal hobli is underway and the entire taluk will be covered within the next 15 days,” said C.N. Manjula, Assistant Director of the Department. The pilot project seeks to ascertain the manpower, funds and time that will be required to complete the work. Once the department gets a broad idea of the scale and enormity of the task, it can take appropriate measures to expand the ambit and scope of the project to cover the entire State. The three-member team heads for the field daily around 7 a.m. and it is their interaction with the village headmen that is proving to be critical.

“Senior citizens and village elders are aware as to where a temple, stones with inscription or pillars are located. The younger generation is not well-versed with it. Based on the inputs from the senior citizens, we manage to reach the spot for an assessment and document the presence of artefacts,” said Ms. Manjula. The project is the first of its kind in the State and will help to map both protected and unprotected monuments.

The Karnataka State Archaeological Department has 844 protected monuments under its ambit and the list has not been revised in recent decades. Officials believe if the new discoveries meet the criteria stipulated by the Archaeological Survey of India and the National Mission on Monuments and Antiquities, they could be incorporated in the protected list.

https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/karnataka/over-100-sculptures-recovered-from-two-hoblis-in-mysuru/article30404983.ece, December 26, 2019

INTACH organising the art workshop to promote tribal paintings among the younger generation in Dhalbhumgarh. School students and youngsters from near Dhalbhumgarh in East Singhbhum will get an opportunity to learn tribal paintings. The Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (Intach), Jharkhand, will organise a five-day tribal art workshop to promote tribal paintings among the younger generation in the area.

The workshop will kick off on December 31 and continue till January 4 at Amadadubi Rural Tourism Centre in Panijia village of Dhalbhumgarh, around 60km from Jamshedpur. The workshop, which will feature 15 artists who are experts in tribal paintings, will offer training in pyatkar, sohrai, khovar and wall paintings from various tribes of Jharkhand. Intach has sent invites to private and government schools in and around Dhalbhumgarh.

"The number of good tribal artists is dwindling. Intach is involved in the conservation of tangible and intangible heritage. It is our responsibility in Jharkhand to preserve the indigenous forms of painting and that can be possible only if more people learn about the art,” Devla Murmu, an Intach volunteer, said. Artists from Ranchi, Deoghar, Seraikela and East Singhbhum will be the resource persons for the art workshop. Pyatkar painting is an art form from Amadubi village in Dhalbhumgarh block of East Singhbhum district that uses colours from nature to paint scenes from folklores.

Sohrai paintings, an ancient wall art, originated in Hazaribagh district and was initially done with white clay and later replaced by lime. Khovar is also a form of wall art practised by Santhal, Munda, Gond and Kurmali tribes. The paintings usually depict scenes of harvest and agriculture. “Each tribal art form has its own importance and the new generation will have to understand its soul. The workshop will not only discuss the techniques, but also the stories of origin,” Murmu said. Intach has already organised several workshops in Jamshedpur schools.

https://www.telegraphindia.com/states/jharkhand/five-day-workshop-on-tribal-painting/cid/1730742, December 30, 2019

State archaeology department has decided to ‘adopt’ 12 unknown structures in Mehrauli Archaeological Park in order to repair and preserve them. The state archaeology department (SAD) will take over a cluster of unprotected heritage structures in the Mehrauli Archaeological Park for their upkeep and safeguarding. Government officials, in the know of the matter, said that the department had resolved to ‘adopt’ about 12 structures building belonging to pre-Mughal, Mughal, and British period for which a survey was being done after the ‘ground’ work is expected to begin soon. “Structures to be taken over by the department are more than 100 years old, which are not in the list of protected buildings of Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) or the state department.

Some of them were conserved in last 15 years and some are still buried under silt, partially visible thus require immediate attention,” said an official. Ancient buildings to be acquired by the department have already been categorised and the process of spot verification was also done recently. “Several of those heritage buildings are still in good condition. If we manage to conserve and protect them at this stage, we will be able to showcase them to next generation. They date back to Tughlaq, Khilji, Mughal or British period. A few of them were recently discovered," said the official. The list of the structures includes courtyard, colonnades, wall of a mosque, dwelling quarters, and a double storey building near Thomas Metcalfe’s guest house and behind Rajon Ki Baoli (step well) in the park. Spreading about 200 acres, the archaeological park comprises about 80 structures representing the history and culture of the ancient cities of Delhi, built between 12th century (Chauhan period) and 19th century (British era). The Delhi Development Authority (DDA) is the owner of the land while the ancient buildings are under the custodianship of ASI, SAD, and Delhi Wakf Board.Lauding the efforts made by the SAD, Ajay Kumar, director (projects) at Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH), said indeed, the site is important area and contains several unknown structures, which should be preserved.

"The restoration and preservation can be taken up by respective agencies. Ideally, it should be the state archeology department as it has expertise and resources. A few of these buildings are adorned with lime araish, which is a technique to create smooth, glossy and crack-free surface. One building basically a room has a decorative architectural element — lintel, which suggests that it is a Hindu period structure," he said. INTACH has been carrying out restoration work in the park for about 10 years for SAD and so far the agency has repaired 25 buildings. The tomb of Ghiyas-ud-din Balban (1287), Rajon Ki Baoli (Lodi period around 1506), Jamali Kamali Mosque (1528-1529), and Bagichi Ki Masjid (a 16-century walled structure) are among noteworthy buildings. ‘Adoption’ of unprotected structures is part of the comprehensive conservation management plan (CCMP) directed by the Delhi High Court to prevent encroachment inside the park, said another official of the Delhi government.

https://www.newindianexpress.com/thesundaystandard/2019/dec/29/restoring-over-a-hundred-years-of-history-2082126.html, December 30, 2019

The magnificent forts of Nirmal, instead of evoking some kind of romance — a characteristic of heritage structures — end up making visitors feel pity over their pathetic condition. Even the Shamgarh fort, located on the south just outside Nirmal district headquarters town and one of two in slightly better condition, is threatened by construction activity.

Then there were five
There were seven forts in Nirmal built of stone and mortar in the 17th century, forming part of a chain of such structures, says Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH)-Hyderabad convenor and a member of its governing council, P. Anuradha Reddy. Of those, only five — Soangarh, Shamgarh, Battisgarh, Nirmal fort and Bangalpet fort — now remain. “All these forts formed part of a defence mechanism built by French engineers who were in the employ of Nizam II.

The planning for these forts was done in such a manner that the typical local topography featuring rocky hills and lakes were used as a natural defence system,” she points out. The State government had taken up tourism promotion with Central financial assistance and tried to spruce up the Shamgarh and Battisgarh forts, spending about ₹48 lakh and ₹1.21 crore respectively so far. The forts, however, are still awaiting tourists.

Threats to forts
While Battisgarh or what remains of it is threatened by activity related to stone mining, real estate development is posing threat to Shamgarh. The scattering of heavy boulders, dug up from private lands, a few metres from the latter is a dead give-away of the danger to the fort. There is no entrance to the fort, thanks to an incomplete compound wall hindering the cement road leading to the main gate of the structure. The reception and restaurant built at the entrance from main road and the metal umbrellas, two of the three inside the fort, have been been damaged.

The Nirmal fort located on Khillagutta is already beyond salvage as housing colonies have surrounded it completely and whatever remains of the ruins is also rapidly getting lost. Illegal excavation on the side of Somwarpet near the head post office is speeding up the crumbling of the fortifications, a case in point being the sliding off of a cannon from its moorings on a bastion.

https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/telangana/nirmals-17th-century-forts-left-to-their-fate/article30436592.ece, December 31, 2019

The former National Speaker of the Parliament of Bhutan and the former President of the Mahabodhi Society of India, Dasho Passang Dorji, along with two monks visited the Buddhist sites of Ratnagiri, Lalitagiri and Udayagiri yesterday. He was accompanied by the Venerable Ugyen Tenzin, Chief Secretary of the Chief Abbot of Bhutan and Venerable Pema Dorji , Personal Secretary of the Chief Abbot. Ms. Karma Lhamo, a devout Buddhist too was in attendance.

They visited the museums at Lalitagiri and Ratnagiri and appreciated the efforts of the Archaeological Survey of India and the Government of Odisha for the upkeep and preservation of these important Buddhist vestiges. The relics that were uncovered at Lalitagiri are now kept in the Museum there under proper care and security.

Dorji lauded the efforts of the Government of India in promoting the ancient Buddhist sites and monuments all over the country.

He said that proper research should be carried out on the relevance and spread of Buddhism from Odisha and the role of Guru Padmasambava and his origins from Odisha. Dr. Bimalendu Mohanty, who is the Vice President of the Mahabodhi Society of India and an eminent historian is of the opinion that the growth of Buddhism in Bhutan was first advanced by the great Uddiyana Guru Padmasambava in the 8th century C.E who laid the foundation of one of the most important and unifying forces that has sustained the Bhutanese people and contributed to the evolution of their unique cultural and religious tradition.

Dr. Mohanty had validated the origins of Guru Padmasambava being from Odisha in his book written a few years ago. Anil Dhir, noted heritage expert and a member of INTACH, who accompanied the team to the Buddhist Circuit, said that the scope of religious and cultural tourism of these sites still remains untapped. If proper awareness and promotion is undertaken, these sites and the other Buddhist sites of the State will draw more than a million tourists annually.

He said that he has guided many groups, both pilgrims and tourists to these spots, and seen the overwhelming wonderment that they experience. Nowhere in India or the world are found such a sheer profusion and rich Buddhist artifacts and relics found. Dorji also acknowledged the efforts of Dr. Sourendra Mohapatro of the Mahabodhi Society of India’s Odisha Centre for the good work they are doing to promote the teachings of the Buddha. He said that a research centre or a University Chair should be set up for cross cultural studies of Buddhism in Bhutan and India.

https://orissadiary.com/bhutanese-delegation-visits-buddhist-sites-of-odisha/, December 31, 2019

A sculpture and stone inscription dating back to CE 17th century have been discovered near Trichy, shedding light on construction of a weir during the rule of a local feudatory. P Loganathan, an enthusiast in history, spotted the inscription near a dried-up pond at Velur in the Kilthottiyappatti - Thennalur road near Viralimalai. Terming it a significant discovery, R Kalaikkovan, director, Dr M Rajamanikkanar Centre for Historical Research, Trichy, said that a sculpture for first time is found with a notification of the construction of a weir in Trichy district along with a sculpture depicting a male announcing the same. The 16-line record is in Tamil script and gives the date as Tamil month Ani 22, 1698 CE.

It registers the construction of the weir during the rule of the local feudatory Chinnakar Mada Srinayakkarayyan when Manisarayappillai of Thiruvanaikkavan was the head man of the village (Maniyam). A pond with well-raised bunds has stone and stucco mixed walls of 2.40 metres height on its south embracing the weir with three projecting stones on each side to denote the water level. R Akila, assistant professor, department of history, Arignar Anna Government Arts College, Musiri, and M Nalini, head, department of history, Seethalakshimi Ramasamy College, Trichy, visited the site on receiving information and examined the inscription.

"The granite sculpture that stands on the platform is inserted in such a way that the wall be in the centre with a caved edge to facilitate surplus water to flow through,” said Akila. M Nalini said that a land donation record of Muthukkar Mada Srinayakkarayyan, who is mentioned in the new find, was discovered some time back in Chettiurunippatti of Alundur.

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/trichy/stone-inscription-of-17thc-discovered/articleshow/73052088.cms, December 31, 2019