The Punjab chapter of the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) has written to Punjab culture and tourism minister opposing the proposal of shifting heritage articles of erstwhile Kapurthala state stocked in central hall of Sainik School building to the War Memorial Amritsar and has suggested that these should rather be showcased in Goal Kothi Kapurthala to save these articles from further damage and also to promote tourism to the town at the same time.

In the letter to minister Harjot Singh Bains, Intach state convener Prof Sukhdev Singh has also said building of Sainik School housed in Jagatjit Palace, which is modelled on Versailles Palace France, also needs repairs and requires immediate attention and intervention of the Punjab government. “We have learnt that the heritage articles of the erstwhile Kapurthala state are stocked in the central hall of the Sainik School building.

Now it has been decided to shift these precious articles to the War Memorial Amritsar since the roof of the building leaks when it rains,” the letter reads. “We suggest that these articles should be showcased in the form of Kapurthala Cultural Heritage and Art Museum in the Darbar Hall building of the Goal Kothi Kapurthala, which have been recently repaired by the Punjab government and are lying vacant. It will help promote tourism in Kapurthala and save these articles from further damage,” said the Intach letter. tnn

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chandigarh/intach-opposes-move-to-shift-heritage-articles-from-sainik-school-to-memorial/articleshow/92117867.cms, June 1, 2022

An exhibition showcasing the numismatic history of Hyderabad and the tools used to mint coins began at the Saifabad Mint Museum at Mint Compound behind the old Secretariat building on Wednesday. The exhibition is being held as part of ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’ celebrations. Speaking on the occasion, P.V. Siva Rama Krishna, deputy bullion officer at the India Government Mint in Hyderabad said, “The sixth Nizam , Mahboob Ali Khan, and the seventh Nizam, Mir Osman Ali Khan are considered to be the fathers of this mint, which was modernised by introducing machinery in 1895.

Later in 1903, the entire process of minting in Hyderabad state was overhauled on the lines of European mints and it was moved to Saifabad to start operations in 1903 with the latest machinery available at that time. Consequent to the Federal Financial Integration of Hyderabad state in 1950, the mint was taken over formally by the Government of India."

Rehan Ahamad, curator, Mint Museum, India Government Mint, Kolkata, said, “The history of coin making started in the stone age era and slowly moved on to other techniques such as die-strike, machine tech and punching tech. The upper side on the face of the coin is called ‘obverse’ meaning the side of a coin or medal bearing the head or principal design (the constant emblem) and on the reverse side of the coin was changed whenever necessary.”Anuradha Reddy, convener, Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH), Hyderabad Chapter, who visited the exhibition remarked, “As a school girl in the nineteen fifties, I remember my father giving me coins and currency notes of the erstwhile era. I remember my father narrating the process of making coins such as melting, rolling, pickling and polishing, annealing, blanking and security edging, minting, examining and finally weighing and packing. I still have a few coins and notes of that era.”Entry to the museum is free for all from Wednesday till June 13, from 10 am to 6 pm.

https://www.deccanchronicle.com/nation/in-other-news/090622/coin-expo-begins-at-mint-museum.html, June 2, 2022

Among the humanities courses, History is one of the most popular subjects at the graduation and post-graduation levels. But most students are probably not aware of the different careers that a degree in this subject may lead to. The most straightforward and well-known career in this field is lecturership in a university or a college, but here also it is important to know how to strategize well in advance for landing up a job once the degree is obtained. At present, in the selection for lecturership weightages are given for the marks obtained at graduation and post-graduation levels.

Therefore, it is important to excel in these examinations in order to get good points. The minimum marks required to be eligible for the post of a lecturer is 55% in MA examination in History. In addition, good points are given for a PhD. degree as well as for publications in journals having ISBN accreditation. Obviously, someone aspiring for an academic position in a university should not waste time after appearing at Master’s examination, and get enrolled for PhD course as soon as possible.

For being eligible to get registered for the PhD course, one has to qualify at NET/SLET/ SET examination. However, an academic career in a university is not the only option available for someone pursuing a course in history. There are exciting opportunities in the fields such as archaeology, archives and heritage management. In the field of archaeology, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), Directorate of Archaeology of different state governments and the departments of Ancient Indian History, Culture and Archaeology in different universities provide jobs in a reasonably large number on a regular basis.

Those aspiring for a career in archaeology are advised to do a diploma course in archaeology after completing their post-graduation. At present, the best option in this field is to join a course offered by Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyay Institute of Archaeology, an institution under the control of ASI. The duration of this course is two years, and one has to qualify in a written admission test followed by an interview to get admission to this course. The other options for doing diploma in archaeology are available at Lucknow University, Sampoornanand University (Varanasi) and Tilka Manjhi Bhagalpur University. At these places, the duration of diploma course is one year. Apart from archaeology, museology is a field of study that has a good potential for decent jobs. The institutions like the National Museum Institute of History of Art, Conservation and Museology, New Delhi and Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda offer two-year Master’s Course in Museology with eligibility of 50% in graduation in any stream. Job opportunities in this field are plentiful, which are provided by national museums, state museums and private museums.

Another option available for the post-graduate students of history with specialization in modern Indian History is in the field of archives. The School of Archival Studies under National Archives of India offers a one-year diploma course in archives and records management. One has to pass an entrance test to get admission to this course and the eligibility to take entrance test is an MA in History with a minimum of 50% marks with one optional paper of Modern Indian History. In this field, jobs are offered by the National Archives of India, state archives and private enterprises having their own archives. Apart from jobs offered by governments and universities, there are exciting opportunities for those with a spirit of enterprise in this field. Heritage, particularly related to historical monuments and sites, has become a high priority both for the Union Government as well as for the state governments.

There is an absolute dearth of resource persons who would assist the government agencies in managing their monuments and sites. Therefore, it is strongly recommended that students, after obtaining bachelor’s degree in any branch of history should opt for courses available in the field of heritage management. The institutions such as the Centre for Heritage Management, Ahmedabad University, and Delhi Institute of Heritage Resource and Management (DIHRM) offer post-graduate courses in Heritage Management.

The passouts from such institutions can hope to find placements in organisations such as Aga Khan Trust for Culture and Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH). After obtaining necessary qualifications and skills one can also think of establishing one’s own startups in this field. One comes across attractive tender notices inviting applications for undertaking highly-paid works in the field of protecting and conserving archaeological monuments, sites and antiquities. In the domain of travel and tourism also, particularly related to heritage tourism, those having specialized knowledge in history and archaeology are in high demand. (The writer is Executive Director, Bihar Heritage Development Society)

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/patna/history-archaeology-offer-variety-of-career-opportunities/articleshow/92076095.cms, June 3, 2022

Built in 1900 by Mir Mahboob Ali Khan but never lived in, Sardar Mahal has long been vying for attention. With the Sardar Mahal, which had once been one of the most prominent tourist spots in the city, crying for attention for a long time, the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) has decided to develop it into a cultural centre on a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model. Built in 1900 by the sixth Nizam of Hyderabad, Mir Mahboob Ali Khan, for one of his consorts Sardar Begum as a token of his love, the Sardar Mahal was never lived in as the palace didn’t live up to her expectations, but it took on her name. The GHMC took over the property in 1965 due to outstanding property taxes.

It was declared a heritage building by the Heritage Conservation Committee and INTACH. The GHMC has now planned to convert it into a cultural centre in order to maximise the historical, cultural, social and tourist potential in the Charminar area. Municipal Administration and Urban Development (MAUD) Minister KT Rama Rao had already laid the foundation stone for the project at the Sardar Mahal in May. Officials say that a total of Rs 30 crore would be spent on the restoration works.

The civic body has proposed to take up the project on a Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) concept for which it has invited tenders for the selection of an agency. The detailed project plan would consist of broad context studies such as tourism, arts and culture including the Charminar Pedestrianisation Project (CPP), positioning of the heritage property in the overall tourism potential of Charminar and its vicinity, formulation of a detailed master plan for its development as a cultural centre and identification of various activities based on the master plan and allocation of space for each activity. The selected agency would have to map tourism assessment in the vicinity of the site and prepare a demand-assessment study and propose a comprehensive activity plan for the development of Sardar Mahal. The agency has to further prepare a valuation report, a feasibility study report, including project structuring, and a financial model for the project. The agency would also need to assess the structural condition of the building and identify the measures required for the conservation and strengthening of the structure. As the Sardar Mahal is a listed Heritage Building, efforts should be made to conserve the building without disturbing its façade of the building, experts say.

The conservation plan would also need to get approved by the Heritage Conservation Committee. After approval of the plan, the agency will have to undertake the conservation works.
Proximity to Charminar

Situated less than a kilometre away from Charminar, the authorities are working out whether it can be part of the same tourism circuit and the changes needed for the same. Tenders for the selection of an agency to carry out the restoration works have already been floated. MAUD Minister KT Rama Rao laid the foundation stone for restoration works in May.

https://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/hyderabad/2022/jun/05/restoring-the-token-of-love--sardar-mahal-2461990.html, June 4, 2022

Even as Hindutva proponents loathe the Mughal period, in the heart of Mughal Shahjahanabad – or the walled Old City of Delhi, is a glorious tradition of at least a 100 Jain and Shaivite temples that were built during the period. It was an exploration I undertook with two history buffs – Rana Safvi, medieval historian, author of books on the aesthetic and sumptuous cultural Mughal history, and a pledged believer of the Ganga-Jamuni tehzeeb of the Gangetic plains; and Sam Dalrymple, a scholar from Oxford University who is currently writing a book on the “five partitions of India”, set to be released next year.

A week ago, they had both set off to the Old City to explore the monuments that were chronicled in Safvi’s last of the trilogy on Delhi, Shahjahanabad: The Living City of Old Delhi and a fortuitous visit to the rare Charandas temple in the area – a saint who lived in early 18th century and whose followers reject the caste system. To their horror, a slapdash paint job masqueraded as the “restoration” of perhaps the oldest Vaishnav frescoes in Old Delhi. As Safvi gasps at the sacrilege, she asks, “Why were these heritage Vaishnav paintings not protected? My book 2019 book on Shahjahanabad captures the original in a photograph. And it does not compare to the present botch up.”It set the duo to undertake a serious look at some of the temples of Mughal India and their series on Instagram has opened up a treasure trove of Shahjahanabad’s “best-kept secret” as Safvi says, of the temples in the heart of Islamic Delhi.

The temples not only reveal the vibrant significance of the Jain and Shaivite communities which resided in Shahjahanabad during the Mughal period, but is an architectural revelation of the design and aesthetic of the time, and also the cultural lifestyle of that period. As Safvi explains, standing in the foreground of Urdu Mandir, now called Lal Mandir, in the former Urdu Bazar, with the Red Fort across the road, “This is the oldest Jain mandir of Shahjahanabad, built during the reign of Emperor Shahjahan,” explains Safvi, “when one of the Jain soldiers in Shahjahan’s army kept three idols in a tent for prayers. Urdu then meant camp, which is how it got its name Urdu temple (camp temple) and Urdu Bazaar (camp bazaar) until Agarwal Jain merchants built a grand concrete temple in the same spot as the tent.”Safvi says the three idols date back to 1436, and the temple was built in 1656, with active or passive patronage and permission from the emperor.

To assert her point, Safvi emphasises that even when the British East India Company took over, the proclamation made in Shahjahanabad was, “Created by god, land of the emperor and command of the Company. In other words, the land still symbolically belonged to the Emperor.” Safvi and Dalrymple’s Instagram pages also received legitimate questions asking whether an emperor or king can be associated with the buildings and architecture of the time. Some people have asked Safvi, can these temples be considered “Mughal” only because they were built during Mughal rule? Did the emperors patronise or fund the temples, they ask? According to Dalrymple, whose main study is on the stories that monuments tell, “The timing of when and where a monument is located plays a big part in its story – the term Mughal does not just refer to the royal family, but also to the Mughal court and empire. A Victorian building is called so, not because it was commissioned by Queen Victoria specifically but because it belongs to the era.” Also, says Dalrymple, Mughal rule was spread across 300 years – while Aurangzeb may have terrorised Hindus, the last Mughal decades had rulers like Akbar Shah II, father of Bahadur Shah Zafar, and Muhammad Shah Rangeela, who was hailed as a patron of the arts. “Can you say Nehru and Modi are the same because both are prime ministers of independent India?” asks Dalrymple. Safvi explains further when she says the erstwhile affluent Jain and Khatri community leaders played a crucial role in the Mughal empire; the rich community members bankrolled the Mughal empire, even underwriting the Mughal economy; including military aid from these semi-independent rulers.

Their clout and privilege can be seen in the heart of Shahjahanabad, designed and built by Emperor Shahjahan when he moved the capital from Agra to Delhi in 1648, with an elaborate blueprint that included specific areas for temples and mosques, amongst all the trappings of a brand new city of fort-palaces, ornate gates, markets, buildings, boulevards, waterways and gardens. The temples in Shahjahanabad were not only designated in specific designed areas – Jain temples in Dharmapura were given the land for the community’s services to the Imperial court since Aurangzeb’s time, and Shaivite temples in Katra Neel (the location got its name from the indigo traders who first set up shop here) – some emperors even took an active role in temple construction, says Safvi. Most notable were Akbar Shah II, Mohammad Shah Rangeela, and Bahadur Shah Zafar, beginning in the early 19th century. The decorative Naya Jain Mandir, in Dharmapura, built in 1807, is a classic example of the clout and privileges enjoyed by the wealthy and influential Jains in the Mughal administration. Climbing atop the ornate and sumptuously decorative Naya Jain Mandir, Safvi explains the prestige swayed by Raja Harsukh Rai, an Agarwal Jain, who built the temple and who was the Imperial Treasurer in the court of Akbar Shah II. While there were several other Jain temples around, Rai wanted his temple to be different and he persuaded Shah II to be allowed to build a giant shikhara (steeple) atop the temple, even though the Mughal decree only allowed the inverted Mughal lotus dome. Spanning the interiors of the ornately sculpted pillars, its delicate, airy tracery carved stone entrance – hard to believe it’s made of stone; a similar one is found in Fatehpur Sikri, says Safvi; apart from the pierced foliage on arches and colonnades, made of polished white marble and classic Mughal inlay work in crushed semiprecious stone. “As you can see, every inch of the walls and ceilings are richly painted with blue and gold, and this temple is a true reflection of what Mughal life would have been at the time,” she says. It is one reason why Safvi wishes these living monuments to be listed and preserved, as they blow away the Hindutva belief that all temples were demolished by Mughal rulers. But crucially, they need to be preserved because they are symbols of a rich history.

“The Archaeological Society of India (ASI) and other institutions have not listed these temples as heritage sites and they have been largely left to the community’s caretakers. A hundred and more have survived but need a conservationist’s eye, while keeping with the community’s practices and aestheticism in mind.” The list of temples is found in Maulvi Zafar Hasan’s book, Monuments of Delhi, who was an assistant superintendent in the ASI and published in 1916. The list is glittering: from the Digambar Jain Meru Temple built in 1845, even though the temple’s idols date back to 1491; and its walls, ceilings and marble fluted columns shimmer with intricate paintings of religious scenes all over. The buff sandstone building and intricate paintings on arches reflect what the Red Fort would have looked like, says Safvi. The Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) has restored the interiors though it is unprotected and continues to be a living monument. Other temples which need to be preserved include Ghanteshwar Mahadev Shivalaya, built during Bahadur Shah Zafar’s time but the temple is built over a Shiva lingam that is probably the oldest in Delhi, say scholars, and it might be the same ‘Visvesara Lingam of Vidyapura’ mentioned in the Saubhare Samhita and the Padma Purana, say Safvi and Dalrymple. Certainly, says the latter, this Shaivite locality of Katra Neel was known as Vidyapura before Shahjahanabad was built. Then there’s Khunnji Shivalaya built during the reign of Akbar Shah II, Baba Lala Jasrai Shivalaya in the same period and as the priest says the marble was brought from Red Fort, given either by the King or by a devotee; Charan Das ki Baghichi and more. The Shaivite temples were designed to be built in Shahjahanabad in enclosed walled gardens and in grand havelis too, but today, many of them have been encroached and only the Shivalayas remain with the gardens all but vanished. The most fascinating for Safvi is also the Ladliji Ka Mandir, one of Delhi’s main Radha temples. It’s also alluring to Muslim devotees of Krishna – like Safvi. She explains the meaning of this as we climb up the steps to the temple and its courtyard haveli. Muslim Krishna devotees believe in the Hadith, sayings of the Prophet, which mentions that Allah sent 124,000 prophets to Earth and that Ram and Krishna were two of them. This is popular among the Muslim community in the Doab region, writes Dalrymple in his Instagram post on the temple. The temple dates back to the reign of Emperor Ahmad Shah Bahadur, in 1756, and was built by Naval Goswami Pradyumanji, whose 10th generation descendants still live in a barely glued together house around the courtyard garden of the temple. Seema Goswami, the daughter-in-law is excited as the family, along with friends, prepares for the anointing of the special day, Flower Shringar of Krishna and Radha. Safvi says Krishna is a symbol of love and is a metaphor for love both in the Sufi and Bhakti traditions. As jasmine flowers are threaded on leaves from the banyan tree, to leaf garlands and intricate petals interspersed on the flower jewellery to be adorned by the idols in the evening, Goswami invites us for the bhog (religious meal offering).

As Safvi talks about her book and matter of factly drops that she is a Muslim, it barely gets a shrug from the boys and girls making the flower jewellery. The bhog is served on a patravali or a dry leaf plate and consists of besan puri, arbi, bhindi, pakora, dahiwale pakora, panna and kheer. Seema is thrilled to serve the bhog to us, the guests. “We’ve been carrying this tradition for over 300 hundred years, and it’s our pride that we can still serve the gods,” she says. As the excitement bubbles in the quarter in the near-ruin Goswami haveli, even as parts of the temple have fallen, its paintings faded, and newer concrete structures and steel bars shut the main temple, the Goswami heirs carry on the noble and syncretic culture of Shahjahanabad – a fusion of Hindu, Muslim, Jain intermingling in culture, communities, and localities – all “keepers of history” as Safvi describes them. It’s indeed an elegant, nonchalant and traditional resistance to the battle cry of xenophobic Hindutva. This article was first published on The Wire.

https://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/hyderabad/2022/jun/05/restoring-the-token-of-love--sardar-mahal-2461990.html, June 5, 2022

Demystifying the art of art deco on city tours in Chicago, plus Instagrammers shining a light on Calcutta art deco. In 2018 the ‘Victorian Gothic and art deco Ensembles of Mumbai’ earned UNESCO recognition as a World Heritage Site. Some of the city’s emblematic art deco buildings include Regal cinema — India’s first air-conditioned theatre. Kolkata also has its share of art deco landmarks.

You’ve probably admired Victoria House (at Chittaranjan Avenue, Esplanade) that is now the headquarters of the Calcutta Electric Supply Corporation (CESC). Victoria House was built in the 1930s and was part of a wave that began just before the Great Depression.

Art deco demystified
It was probably Le Corbusier who first used the term ‘art deco’ as part of a feature for his journal L’Esprit Nouveau. He was writing about the famous International Exposition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts that was held in Paris in 1925. It wasn’t until the 1960s that art deco as a term gained currency, and oddly enough it was a reference to a design style that proliferated in the 1920s. Art deco was characterised by its sleek, linear, often rectangular forms with curved ornamental elements and sometimes gaudy colours. It began as a luxury style with expensive materials like silver, ivory and lacquer but toned down somewhat after the Great Depression of the 1930s when mass-produced materials like plastic started to take over.

However, the unique blend of elegance with functionality stayed. Art deco spread like wildfire — furniture, jewellery, industrial design; but it was architecture that was the most visible sign and one that has survived to tell the tale of a glorious era in design.
Chicago — where the skyscraper was born

New York might be the quintessential skyscraper city, but it was in Chicago that the first skyscraper was ever built. When the city’s Home Insurance Building (ten stories tall) was constructed in 1884, it became the first building in the world to use structural metal in its frame. I explored Chicago’s fascinating skyline with the Chicago Art Deco Society. They organise walking tours that crisscross the city centre taking you up and close to some of the city’s art deco gems. It was in Chicago that I rediscovered my love for art deco architecture. The best views of Chicago’s architecture

I’d recommend exploring Chicago’s art deco architecture on a boat cruise. There are quite a few operators, the architecture tours from operators like Cruise Chicago typically last 75 to 90 minutes taking you through the Chicago River and Lake Michigan. This tour doesn’t just cover the art deco buildings but also other iconic buildings allowing you to stitch together a fascinating history of Chicago through its magical skyline.

Chicago’s landmarks
The Carbide and Carbon Building was the first art deco building to catch my attention. Designed by the Burnham brothers, this building stands out thanks to its golden top and facade, with a hint of green. The Chicago architecture guide believes it was designed to resemble a champagne bottle with ‘real’ gold-leaf. The building is now home to the Hard Rock Hotel. Look out for TheMart (Formerly Merchandise Mart), another art deco landmark. When it was built in 1930, it was the world’s largest building (spread over four million square feet) until it was surpassed by the Pentagon in the 1940s. Two of Chicago’s instantly recognisable buildings from the 1920s don’t quite fit into the art deco mould — the Wrigley Building constructed in the 1920s and the Tribune building, a neo-Gothic skyscraper

Keeping art deco alive in Kolkata
The irony of Chicago’s art deco architectural movement, just like with other parts of the world, was that none of the pioneering architects at the time realised they were part of a distinctive style that would come to be known as art deco much later in the 1960s. Indian metro cities as well are dotted with many such unassuming art-deco specimens as well. A lot of residential buildings in Kolkata adapted art deco design elements in the 1950s and ’60s inspired by the Metro cinema and its facade.

The Instagram page Calcutta Houses documents some of these old architectural gems. Social media groups on Facebook and Instagram such as Calcutta Architecture legacies and Calcutta Art deco, dedicated to the city’s art deco heritage are doing their best to raise awareness. Recently, renowned architect Hafeez Contractor announced Nexome Tripura, a residential development with an art deco design slant. Developments like this should revive interest and hopefully Kolkatans will start looking for art deco treasures in the city that include standout buildings like the Laha Paint House.

https://www.telegraphindia.com/my-kolkata/places/exploring-art-deco-landmarks-in-chicago-and-where-to-find-art-deco-gems-in-kolkata/cid/1869145, June 6, 2022

In Maharashtra’s Kolhapur, Insight Walk is using sustainable and local community-led initiatives to change the face of rural education in four villages. In a small village in Kolhapur, 14-year-old Rahul had been struggling with his studies for a few years. He had been labelled a ‘slow learner’ owing to his inability to cope with mainstream education’s demands, which put him on the receiving end of remarks that deterred the teenager from attending school altogether. What shone bright in the boy was a desire to observe his environment and learn from it. Over his last three years at Insight Walk’s Solidarity Art Farm in his village, Rahul spent time learning more about the birds and animals in his community, gathering knowledge from his elders to put together a book on fauna diversity. Now 17, Rahul hopes to be a wildlife conservationist and inches closer to his dream as he teaches hundreds of kids in neighbouring villages about climate change and its impact on animals. Rahul is not the only one.

Vaibhavi, who lost her mother at a young age and saw her father abandon her after he married another woman, stays with her maternal grandmother in the village. Inspired by her grandmother’s hard work, she decided to document her life, and the lives of other rural women through mediums like crochet, chalk carving, pencil carving, embroidery, painting, miniature art using tissue papers and waste papers, at the farm. Youngsters like Vaibhavi interview and spend time with the community women, most of whom toil as agricultural labourers. They hope to not only archive the efforts of their elders but also find out ways to mitigate the gender bias that plays out in rural economies. Neither could achieve what they have in their schools. Subjects like Maths, Science, Geography make sense on paper, but do they make sense to the kids in villages for whom the ideas that leap out from the books are not rooted in their reality?

Can every child learn the same thing in the same way?
Almost 70 percent of India lives in villages. Millions of children from rural India cannot build a career of their choice owing to the unequal distribution of opportunities and resources. What makes matters far more complicated is the standardised education system that fails to take the rural ecosystem into context. It is here that Insight Walk hopes to make a difference. Insight Walk started its first centre in a small hamlet of Dhakale in Bhadole village, with a handful of students in 2017. Today the Solidarity Art Farm Museum, as the centre is called, is a space for over 100 kids to pick the problems of their choice and figure out their solutions. Founded by Subodh Jain, the non-profit organisation aims at aligning rural education with experiential learning that takes inspiration from the learner’s environment. Rahul and Vaibhavi are two of the 400 students at centres in four villages of Kolhapur’s Hatkanangale who design their own syllabus with a major focus on curiosity, low-cost innovation, problem-solving, and creativity. One of the first things that stand out in a rural educational setup is the gender gap.

Bridging it was one of the first directional aims of Insight Walk. “We understood that gender roles played out in the villages in very general ways. Women ran the household, and if kids had to be sent to school, then it was the boys who were given the opportunity. Girls would often stay back and tend to the farm,” explains Subodh. At their open-air community centre, the duo has tried to break this mould in two ways. Four local women, part of a rural fellowship program at the initiative, teach children from their respective villages at the centres for a monthly salary, with support from other women volunteers. Subodh believes all interventions need to be rooted in the ecosystem’s understanding. “Women often have to drop out from their schools and colleges due to financial constraints, early marriage, patriarchy, gender inequality and a myriad of other reasons. These individuals, who often have day jobs as labourers or stay at home, have taken up the fellowship and contribute to educating the kids of the area,” the 30-year-old founder says. The centre, meant to operate as an outside-school intervention, is open 365 days a year and runs from early morning till midnight, allowing kids to walk in at any time. This was done to ensure girls could come in and study as per their convenience. “Why should education have any set timings?” Subodh muses. There are no blackboards at the farm. An open space lets kids between the ages of 6-14 work together, choosing their own subjects on a daily basis.

Trash is Treasure
In school, I was good at English but Mathematics would make me drop into a puddle of tears every day. My sibling found grammar to be harder than Chemistry but would draw the most beautiful portraits. Every child is different and one standardised educational system can’t ensure equal learning opportunities. At Insight Walk’s Solidarity Art Farm, organic learning is promoted, without the burden of competition. This is ensured by a plethora of programs that run simultaneously, focussed on inculcating different skill sets in the local students. At the heart of all the programs are sustainability and environment. “Rural communities often implement the most sustainable and environment-conscious initiatives. While in urban cities, kids learn science in classrooms, but for a child in the village, the best way is to teach them from examples around them. Trash is treasure here.

Children make toys and other useful resources using locally available trash and materials. This helps push their creativity to build solutions that are easily sourceable,” Subodh adds. Dhakale’s Solidarity Art Farm Museum is home to many such innovations that lie at the intersection of art, science, agriculture and wildlife conservation. A four-feet tall Vulture Art installation, made entirely from scrap, hopes to draw attention to the dwindling population of the bird in the area. It also acts as a support for several climbers and creepers in the field. The interventions are not limited to the art farm. A hands-on approach has translated into a greater interest among the kids at the centre towards applying their knowledge to their environment. “During our fieldwork, we found out that most farm tools are not ergonomically designed and do not cater to impairments. Something as basic as a fertiliser spreader can cost thousands while our students designed a low-cost efficient model for ₹150! Similarly, when kids saw women being overburdened with the work of peeling peanuts, they designed a prototype that could compete with a standard manual peanut peeler which costs around ₹15,000 in the market.

All scientific innovations at the Solidarity Art Farm point towards the fact that technological interventions need to be affordable and also emerge from the communities that are impacted by them the most,” adds Subodh, with a hint of pride. With lack of access to basic amenities, village communities are also driven by the idea of self-dependence. To ensure the young learners here have elementary skill sets that will help them be independent, they are taught embroidery and sewing, farming and 25 other skills.
Contextual Education And Sustainability At Insight Walk, most of the children come from families who are daily wage earners and agricultural labourers; many belong to displaced families that were forced to migrate because of the Chandoli National Park project. Susceptible to vagaries both man-made and natural, village communities are the first ones to be hit during a catastrophe. Still reeling under the effect of the floods of 2019, most families in these villages were once again left without work and at the mercy of external help during the coronavirus-induced lockdown. The location adds to the woes. Kolhapur is a mono cropping district with sugarcane as the primary crop. A water intensive process, sugarcane farming also leaves the land devoid of nutrients due to excessive chemical use. Perturbed by their recurring problems, the children in the area took it upon themselves to question existing farming practices, reaching out to their grandparents for information about organic farming.

Insight Walk emboldens their efforts; they took up the challenge of eliminating hunger crisis after the 2019 floods, merging it with education and sustainability. The aim? To create community-led initiatives that can be replicated and implemented everywhere. To deal with scarcity of food, farming in alternate spaces is encouraged; students at the Solidarity Art Farm practise vertical farming, planting vegetables in discarded resources such as fallen coconut fronds so as to maximise production. A seed bank is also in the works, where indigenous seeds are collected and then supplied to farmers in the area. During the lockdown, the children at the art farm supplied vegetables like spinach, coriander, lemongrass, turmeric powder that they had cultivated to those in need, helping them sustain for at least two weeks. Within two years of practising organic farming, the young villagers managed to increase their crop variety from 10 to 25 in early 2021, ensuring their designs were flood and drought resistant. In July 2021, the district was impacted by floods once again but this time around, with production maximised, there were enough resources to go around.

To ensure that this acquired knowledge is available to future generations, an open space community library acts as an archive of best farming practices and community wisdom, where kids document their day to day life through skills like stitching, hand embroidery, photography, story writing, painting, poetry and illustrations. Some of the materials in the library include a hand embroidery book on the life cycle of crops which they have cultivated, a book on limitations of traditional farming equipment and their modern day affordable alternatives, a book on making organic colours and organic fertilisers and a book on mixed farming.

Vanishing Livelihoods and Dying Art Forms
13-year-old Puja always wanted to learn hand embroidery, but was told the skill had no future. While she couldn’t pursue her ambition in school, she chose to work on the skill at Insight Walk, spending 1.5 years and over a 1,000 hours mastering the craft. She is now a mentor to younger kids in her community. The same skill is now helping students create a book on endangered birds and animals using hand embroidery. Subodh, whose focus on alternate contextual education has helped the villages tackle varied challenges, lists the key factor that has transformed four Kolhapur villages into centres of education, sustainable solutions, while archiving the lives of rural India. “Over the last five years, we have encouraged children to choose their own curriculum and their own teachers and mentors.

If a child wants to learn how to carve wood, they go to the local artisan and seek mentorship,” explains Subodh. This in turn, adds more skills to the curriculum, such as the Vanishing Livelihoods and Dying Art Forms subject, which was inspired by the artisans who have spent decades mastering their crafts. One such individual is Laxmibai Dhangar, a 72-year-old artisan who has been handspinning thread from sheep hair and wool which is used to make Ghongadi (blanket), an artform that is now practised only by a handful of women. Spending 120 hours, students at the art farm paid homage to her talent through hand embroidered artwork. “While students learn a skill (embroidery in this case), they also understand how and why many art forms are on the verge of extinction.

Instead of studying conventional subjects, picking subjects of their own choice provide these kids the opportunity to learn more about their own society,” Subodh elaborates. The non-profit sustains itself on individual donations; they also use crowdfunding to provide art, science, embroidery and other education kits to kids in the villages. Jain, who holds a degree in computer science, is also working with local communities in the villages of Mangaonwadi, Golivane and Sonarli. From making visual books that document the lives of rural women to creating a dam that stores water for periods of drought, learning at the centres continued even in the face of the pandemic. While the world tried to move to e-learning, Insight Walk decided to explore alternatives, and let its communities take the reins on how they wanted to learn. They eradicated hunger with sustainable solutions, worked on understanding the care economy and made scientific innovations to deal with everyday struggles. All this was the work of ordinary rural kids who had been allowed to learn what they wished to learn. A rigid education system that fails to take into account the needs and aspirations of its people is antithetical to learning, and if Insight Walk teaches us anything, it is how focusing on curiosity-led learning models is an innovative way to bring around systemic changes in the hinterlands of India.

https://www.outlookindia.com/travel/at-this-farm-kids-promote-wildlife-conservation-and-protect-dying-art-forms-news-200300, June 10, 2022

Many consider it pop culture heritage and champion its preservation. The same sentiments remain with items closer to home, right here in India. If you are a fashion aficionado — or even just an avid social media user — you may have seen Kim Kardashion wearing Marilyn Monroe’s iconic dress at the Met Gala, the debate that ensued and the subsequent public rage at the deteriorated condition it is in now. A fair share of accusations have been passed around but the collective emotional connection to a dress that many did not even know existed before the Gala — is rather interesting to note.

Many consider it pop culture heritage and champion its preservation. The same sentiments remain with items closer to home, right here in India. “Several people or organisations send objects for conservation to our labs. Some have historical value and others, emotional. Some people want to leave these items for their children to witness. So, it is important to conserve it so others can see the traditions (that existed),” explained Merrin Anil, art conservator at the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) at a virtual talk ‘Conserving Material Heritage’, hosted by INTACH Chennai Chapter.

What’s in the lab?
Material objects for conservation are of distinct nature, informed Merrin. They can be categorised into two — mobile (paintings, wooden objects, taxidermy, wall paintings) and non-mobile (wall paintings). These can be further split into organic materials, that include paper and textile, and inorganic materials, including stone and metal. “There are many environmental factors such as moisture, humidity, and light that contribute to the deterioration of these objects. Light, for example, can act with the pigment and dye of a texture and gradually degrade the fabric. And certain biological factors can take over and destroy an object, like how wood is organic and absorbs moisture. In the rainy seasons when the humidity increases, the wood can invite fungal conditions, termites, and pests.

Human intervention can also add to the problem,” she goes on, as an image of a wood and lacquer sculpture takes on the screen. The sculpture had broken when a packaging service was to deliver it to the owner. The same was reintegrated and made whole by INTACH’s lab in Delhi, where experts work on conservation of various mediums, research and training.

The process of preservation
The process of conservation involves several steps — examination (studying the object to understand what kind of condition it is in, what damage it has taken and more), documentation (for streamlined communication in the form of photographs, text or graphical representation), test and trial (tests on small swatches because sensitivity different based on each objects), treatments, and research and training. “Conservation can also be in different ways.

We take up conservation if we need to expand the lifespan of an object from deterioration. So we need to arrest the problem, understand and then rectify it. Conservation, itself, can be divided into preventive, curative and restorative,” Merrin says. An example of preventive conservation is storing textiles in rolls, as opposed to folding them as that would create a crease that could ruin the fibres over time.

“If you come back to textile, say a sari, that has been folded, after 10 years, and open it, you will see a deep mark where the fabric is fragile. The same could cause tears to occur over the line. In rolls, there will not be much damage over a long time. A curative method would be to mend any issues and you can enhance the beauty of the object by restoring it. You may use a patch of the same shade and material. It may not look good for the sari but if someone has an emotional connect to it, it can retain it,” notes Merrin. Perhaps, we are looking forward to something of the sort when it comes to Marilyn Monroe’s dress as well?

In the lab
The INTACH labs also take in new con-servators and students, who may have come in with the- oretical knowledge but may need practical experience in the field, informs Merrin. They join the lab, and gain exposure to different items, often during their internships. Hence, training students is another duty of the lab.

https://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/chennai/2022/jun/23/the-mark-of-materials-that-matter-2468571.html, June 13, 2022

The 97th tree walk was jointly organised by DHAN Foundation, Madurai Green and Madurai Chapter of India National Arts and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) at the Thiagarajar College of Arts and Science in Madurai on Sunday. Over 50 participants comprising NSS, students from various colleges in the city, volunteers from Oorvanam, a snake rescue NGO, National Green Corps coordinators, doctors, advocates etc participated in the walk led by professors D.

Stephen and Baburaj. Mr Baburaj explained more than 150 varieties of trees on the college campus including known and unknown species like Thotthakathi, Mayil Kondrai, Kadambam, Iluppai, Kodukkai Puli and its salient features, medicinal value and nativity in a crisp and engaging manner. He even decoded interesting sayings like, “Ilavu Kaatha Kili” etc that uses tree names and situations around trees and nature and how the wood from Vagai tree was used to make carts in villages before teak came into the picture etc, during the walk. Further, Dr. Badrinath, eye specialist of a private hospital in the city, threw light upon the type of birds that visit the premises during different seasons. Later, members of INTACH participated in a discussion on preserving Madurai’s Natural Heritage. They discussed the importance of preserving native speed of trees, especially Kadambam and resolved to grow Kadambam saplings at their homes. They also discussed on the planting of appropriate trees along river Vaigai to enrich the waterbody. The programme was coordinated by K.P.Bharathi, advisor, Dhan Tourism and Mr.P. Chidambaram, secretary, Madurai Green.

https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Madurai/150-species-identified-during-tree-walk/article65543314.ece, June 14, 2022

The Cuttack Chapter of Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH), in collaboration with the Cuttack Club, will be organizing a two-day exhibition to mark the 156th anniversary of Great Odisha Famine of 1866. Never seen-before photographs, sketches and facsimiles of newspaper reportage of the famine in overseas press — British, American, Canadian, Australian and South African — during the period from 1865-68 will be on display at Cuttack Club, the exhibition venue, on June 18 and 19.

Dr Justice S. Muralidhar, Chief Justice of Orissa High Court, will inaugurate the exhibition at the Annexe Hall of Cuttack Club on Saturday (June 18) at 10 am. A set of postcards and two Special Covers will be released on the occasion. Cuttack, the epicenter, was the most affected district during the famine which led to the death of nearly half a million people in the region. Cuttack Club was where the Famine Commissioners had stayed from December 1866 to March 1867, when they wrote the epochal Famine Commission Report.

https://odishabytes.com/unique-exhibition-on-great-odisha-famine-of-1866-check-dates-venue, June 14, 2022

St Aloysius Gonzaga School was awarded the ‘Young INTACH Heritage Club Award 2021-22’ by the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH), New Delhi. The enthusiastic students of the heritage club of the school were guided by the Art teacher Jeevan Salian and the Social Studies teacher Sandhya Manoj.

The activities included an Art workshop, Warli Art practical sessions, presentations on India’s Heritage sites, and a visit to the world renowned St Aloysius College Chapel paintings which were painted by the Italian Jesuit Antonio Moscheni in 1899. The principal Fr Melwyn Anil Lobo congratulated the students and the coordinators for their creative efforts.

https://www.daijiworld.com/news/newsDisplay?newsID=967523, June 15, 2022

INTACH releases book by multiple authors; gives insight into unexplored side of Kashmir’s architectural past. While giving an insight into historic architectural ornamentation in shrines and masjids of Kashmir, Kashmir chapter of Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural heritage (INTACH) released a book that authors say has given a totally different insight into the Islamic architecture in Kashmir.

The event was organised by INTACH in collaboration with the Islamic University of Science and Technology at the Institute of Hotel management Rajbagh, Srinagar. The event saw the presence of dignitaries from various fields including VC IUST Professor Shakil Ahmed Romshoo, Senior PDP leader Naeem Akhter, and Senior Academician Professor Siddiq Wahid among others. During the event, multiple personalities spoke about Islamic architecture and praised the book for its contribution towards the historic contribution of documentation and shedding light on the less known architecture of Kashmir shrines and masjids.

While speaking at the event noted architecture expert and convener of the INTACH's J&K Chapter, Dr Saleem Beg shed the light on how the concept of the book came into being and what book has archived in the context of documenting the lesser-known facts about Islamic architecture in Kashmir’s Shrines and mosques. Talking to Greater Kashmir on the sidelines of the event, Beg said that the motive to write this book was to give readers around the world an insight into the little known side of Islamic architecture.

https://www.greaterkashmir.com/todays-paper/front-page/book-documenting-architectural-ornamentation-of-kashmir-shrines-masjids-released, June 16, 2022

Intach is organising a walk and talk around the hotel in Esplanade, which has been renovated by the Lalit Hotels, Palaces and Resorts. One of Kolkata’s oldest bakeries, at The Lalit Great Eastern Hotel, established in 1830, will be awarded the Culinary Heritage Recognition plaque by the Kolkata chapter of the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (Intach) on Sunday. Previously, 14 other heritage eateries have been awarded the plaque. “Great Eastern was first named Wilson’s Hotel and then renamed The Auckland Hotel (named after the first Earl of Auckland, George Eden) and then as Great Eastern Hotel Wine & General Purveying Co,” said Intach convener G.M. Kapur.

David Wilson, who built Wilson’s Hotel, opened the bakery in mid-1830 before he built the hotel, which was inaugurated on November 19, 1840. It was the only popular bakery for Britishers. To keep the sense of history about the hotel, the huge Side Flue bakery oven, which replaced the old beehive oven, has been used in bits and parts in the present bakery. Back then, there used to be a multiple shop or a departmental store on the ground floor. To quote Rudyard Kipling’s description of it in The City of Dreadful Night, “a man could walk in at one end, buy a complete outfit, a wedding present, or seeds for the garden, have an excellent meal, a burra peg and if the barmaid was agreeable, walk out at the other end engaged to be married”. The long name was shortened to The Great Eastern Hotel in 1915.

It was so luxurious and well-managed that Mark Twain called it “the best hotel east of the Suez”. Intach is organising a walk and talk around the landmark hotel in Esplanade, which has been renovated by the Lalit Hotels, Palaces and Resorts. “For the people of Kolkata, The Bakery is an emotion, a true essence of the city. A place where one can feel and enjoy the glory of the erstwhile capital of India. We hope to continue the legacy and preserve the heritage for generations to come,” said Dilip Mishra, general manager, The Lalit Great Eastern.

https://www.telegraphindia.com/my-kolkata/news/heritage-plaque-for-the-lalit-great-eastern-hotels-bakery/cid/1869541, June 19, 2022

They had big weapons, used large swords - some close to 4 feet long - and arms that had msharp, sophisticated shapes, like starfish. Our ancestors, nearly 4,000 years ago, fought brutally and hard, a chance discovery under the ground in UP's Mainpuri seems to suggest. Archaeologists have called the findings "exciting". Earlier this month in Mainpuri's Ganeshpur village, a farmer was levelling his two-bigha field when he found a large number of copper swords and harpoons beneath the soil. He took all of them home as he thought these were precious objects made of gold or silver.

However, some locals informed cops and the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) swung into action. Among what was found were various swords, some that archaeologists are calling "antenna swords and harpoons'", with a hook at the bottom. Experts say a hoard of 4,000-year-old copper weapons discovered by chance under a field in Uttar Pradesh's Mainpuri can be traced to the copper age. "These copper hoards belong to the Chalcolithic period (copper age) and the presence of Ochre Coloured Pottery (OCP) is directly associated with this time," said the director of archaeology at ASI, Bhuvan Vikram. "Bronze was a specialty of the Harappan - basically an urban civilisation during the copper age - but studies have revealed that such hoard implements were primarily made from copper and not bronze," he added. OCP culture is generally dated between 2,000 and 1,500 BCE.

Pottery of this period had a red slip but gave off an ochre colour on the fingers of the archaeologists who touched it, hence the name. Director of conservation and spokesperson of ASI, Vasant Swarnkar, said there have been several discoveries that can prove the material found at Mainpuri was nearly 3,800-4,000 years old. "A carbon dating test was also carried out on samples taken from nearby Sanauli (Baghpat), Madarpur (Moradabad), and Sakatpur (Saharanpur) sites. They have proven to be from 2,000 BC (4,000 years ago)," he said. "The presence of weapons indicates the people of this age were involved in fighting and that could be between two large groups for land or rights. These weapons couldn't have been held by the common man," he added. Superintending archaeologist Raj Kumar Patel told TOI it was a "chance discovery".

Vikram, who was involved in the excavations in Sakatpur village of Saharanpur district, said, "What needs to be explored is why the weapons were found in a cluster. Were the arms being transported or were they being made there?" Historian and archaeologist at AMU, professor Manvendra Pundhir, said it seemed these arms "either belonged to warriors for fights between large groups or were used for hunting". "However, earlier excavations in Sanauli found a 'war chariot', which supports the warrior theory. The findings reveal that war was common during the copper age but this needs to be researched even more."

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/agra/4k-year-old-copper-weapons-found-under-a-field-in-ups-mainpuri/articleshow/92423442.cms, June 20, 2022

The Epigraphy Branch of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has so far copied and deciphered around 74,000 inscriptions found in different parts of the country. The Epigraphy Branch of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has so far copied and deciphered around 74,000 inscriptions found in different parts of the country. The branch, an important research wing of the agency, was set up in 1886 at Bengaluru. In the last eight years, it has discovered and copied more than 2,875 epigraphs including Arabic and Persian writings, said a report presented before the Central Advisory Board of Archaeology (CABA).

According to the report, a total 816 Arabic and Persian inscriptions have been copied between 2014 and 2022. “The main focus of this branch is conducting epigraphical survey, copying, deciphering, and publishing of inscriptions. From the inception of this branch, around 74,000 inscriptions have been copied and reported in the Annual Reports on Indian Epigraphy,” reads the report presented in the CABA meeting which was chaired by Union minister G Kishan Reddy. After a systematic survey of epigraphs spread over different parts of the country, their decipherment, and transcription, it publishes annual reports. Recently examined significant inscriptions by the branch was found at Chennakesava temple in district Chittoor, Shiva temple, Sengalipalayam village in Amaravati, Chola Inscription in Tiruvannamalai and a significant trilingual inscription in Persian, English and Hindi at a tank in Jhajjar district in Haryana.

https://www.newindianexpress.com/thesundaystandard/2022/jun/19/archaeological-survey-of-india-deciphers-74000historical-inscriptions-2467156.html, June 21, 2022

The Epigraphy Branch of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has so far copied and deciphered around 74,000 inscriptions found in different parts of the country. The Epigraphy Branch of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has so far copied and deciphered around 74,000 inscriptions found in different parts of the country. The branch, an important research wing of the agency, was set up in 1886 at Bengaluru. In the last eight years, it has discovered and copied more than 2,875 epigraphs including Arabic and Persian writings, said a report presented before the Central Advisory Board of Archaeology (CABA).

According to the report, a total 816 Arabic and Persian inscriptions have been copied between 2014 and 2022. “The main focus of this branch is conducting epigraphical survey, copying, deciphering, and publishing of inscriptions. From the inception of this branch, around 74,000 inscriptions have been copied and reported in the Annual Reports on Indian Epigraphy,” reads the report presented in the CABA meeting which was chaired by Union minister G Kishan Reddy. After a systematic survey of epigraphs spread over different parts of the country, their decipherment, and transcription, it publishes annual reports. Recently examined significant inscriptions by the branch was found at Chennakesava temple in district Chittoor, Shiva temple, Sengalipalayam village in Amaravati, Chola Inscription in Tiruvannamalai and a significant trilingual inscription in Persian, English and Hindi at a tank in Jhajjar district in Haryana.

https://www.newindianexpress.com/thesundaystandard/2022/jun/19/archaeological-survey-of-india-deciphers-74000historical-inscriptions-2467156.html, June 24, 2022

Designers aimed to refurbish the market’s layout without disturbing the vendors too much. Proposals to redesign Bengaluru’s iconic meat market will be open to public viewing between July 2 and 4 at the MG Road Rangoli Metro Art Centre. Over 20 professional architects, urbanists and students have created the designs at the viewing, organised by Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) and Institute of Urban Designers India (IUDI).

All the designs are focused on retaining the heritage buildings in the area. We believe it is possible to preserve our history while revitalising and upgrading facilities,” said Dr Meera Iyer, researcher, and convenor at INTACH’s Bengaluru chapter. “Five design groups were formed, out of which three will be presented at the venue,” she added.

To ensure a transparent process, the proposed designs were put to discussion with shop owners and meat vendors on June 25. Vendors complained that transparency was missing form the previous redevelopment attempts.

Earlier this year, building occupants were issued eviction notices with plans to resettle them in the main KR Market building. Vendors resisted the attempts saying it would wreck their businesses. They also objected to the demolition of the main building. Designers aimed to refurbish the market’s layout without disturbing the vendors too much. They will present their proposals on July 2, followed by a panel discussion featuring Smart City officials, the BBMP and shop owners’ representatives. “We will take all possible inputs from the proposed designs if they are feasible and functional,” Smart City chief engineer Vinayak Sugur told DH.

“The whole project has to be revamped and therefore, we can’t give a specific timeline. We will try to get things moving fast at the earliest,” said assistant executive engineer Alaganathan H. The designs are open for public viewing from 10 am to 7.30 pm at the Rangoli Metro Art Centre’s Belaku Hall.
A bit of history

The historic meat market building, located adjacent to the KR Market, had been marked for demolition in 2019 as part of the Smart City project. The proposal came under review after shop owners raised objections. To support citizen involvement in preserving the city’s heritage structures, INTACH and IUDI organised an initiative for architects, designers, and students to come up with plans for its proposed redesigning and renovation.

https://www.deccanherald.com/city/redesign-plans-for-meat-market-on-display-at-rangoli-art-centre-1123169.html, June 27, 2022

After decades of wait, Rajmahal Hills in Sahebganj district will host the state’s first and the lone fossil park, classified as the geo-heritage site by the Geological Survey of India (GSI). The Rs 11-crore park is spread on about 95 acres in Mandro hills and will formally be inaugurated by chief minister Hemant Soren on Thursday.

The plan for fossil conservation park was on since early 2000 but administrative and bureaucratic hurdles delayed the project. In 2008, the state government signed an MoU with the Birbal Sahni Institute of Paleobotany (BSIP), Lucknow, and National Building Construction Corporation for setting up the fossil park.

Funds gradually started getting released since early 2019. Talking to TOI, Sahebganj’s divisional forest officer Manish Tiwari said that the park is designed to serve both as a centre of excellence and research, and recreation through ecotourism activities. “Rajmahal Hills in the Santhal Paraganas is believed to a treasure trove of fossils dating back to the Jurassic and Lower Cretaceous era. The area has the finest plant fossils. But at the same time, due to lack of awareness among locals here, several fossils got damaged.

Now, we can conserve the historical heritages at this park here,” he said, adding that the park also houses an auditorium for audio-video display on the evolution of planet, fossils, solar system among others and a rest house for visitors to spend time. “We also have plans to build a research and development centre here,” he said. Among other attractions, he said, a state-of-art museum is developed where different kinds of fossils are exhibited in 3-D format. “For children, we have also designed walking trails and recreational arenas. Our plan is to evolve this unique place into a centre of research and tourism,” he said.

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ranchi/states-first-fossil-park-to-be-opened-today/articleshow/92556696.cms, June 28, 2022

We know India is a rich country when it comes to its heritage and culture. Although a lot of evidence has been lost, through destruction, loot or other reasons, findings from time to time prove that indeed India is a heritage-rich country. It has given the world the teachings of Buddha to learn from, the richness of the Himalayas that make India the hub of a spiritual journey, and more. In a recent finding, archaeologists in Agra have found nearly 4000-year-old weapons from beneath the ground in Mainpuri. The weapons extracted include large swords, some close to 4 feet, and arms having sharp sophisticated shapes.

The archaeologists have termed the finding ‘exciting’.

About the finding
According to reports, in the village of Ganeshpur in Mainpuri, a farmer was leveling his field when he found a large number of copper swords and harpoons beneath the soil. The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) found a variety of swords, some that archaeologists are calling “antenna swords and harpoons”, with a hook at the bottom. Some of these weapons had a starfish-like shape. These copper hoards, 77 in number, possibly date back to 1600-2000 BC – the later stages of the Chalcolithic Age (the transition period between the Neolithic and Bronze Ages). The findings according to Vasant Swarnkar, Director of Conservation and spokesperson, suggest that the inhabitants of the area were engaged in fighting, much like the 2018 findings in Sanauli in Baghpat, although that was a burial site. Earlier in 2018, the ASI in an excavation at Sanauli, Baghpat, Uttar Pradesh found coffin burials, furnaces, and fascinating artifacts.

In 2019, it carried out an excavation to understand the extension of the burial site and also the habitation area in relation to earlier findings. The find will undergo Thermoluminescence dating, a technique usually used on pottery and other ceramic material. According to Director Swarnkar similar discoveries have been made in the past in Sakatpur in Saharanpur, Madarpur in Moradabad, and Saifai district.

https://newsonair.com/2022/06/27/nearly-4000-old-weapons-excavated-in-agras-mainpuri/, June 30, 2022