The legendary singer and Padma Shri awardee Ustad Rashid Khan will be performing in Chennai as part of Banyan Tree’s Splendor of Masters, an annual musical festival that features some of the popular artistes from across the country. The concert will take place at The Music Academy on March 3. Banyan Tree is a pioneer in the field of Indian performing arts’ promotion for the past 21 years. Previous editions of the festival have featured Hariprasad Chaurasia, Ustad Zakir Hussain, Pt Vishwa Mohan Bhatt and many more. “The aim of Banyan Tree is to discover, preserve, nurture and celebrate these creative expressions for which we have created six National Festivals that are held annually in 18 cities across India,” says Nandini Mahesh, director, Banyan Tree Events. “We share a good rapport with 2,000 performing artistes across genres, linguistic groups, and cultural backgrounds. The main focus, of course, has always been classical music, both vocal and instrumental.”

- http://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/chennai/2017/mar/01/celebrate-music-with-banyan-tree-fest-1575918.html, March 1, 2017

Art Culture Festival announces International museum trade fair .The program /Sessions / seminars will bring together More than 3,600 museum professionalsfrom across the world, representing 122 countries, regions and international organizations areExhibitors profile • Building Museums | Technology. Conception of Museums1.2 Planning and consultancy1.3 Architecture1.4 Special glass1.5 Security technology1.6 Environmental technology1.7 Logistics and transport1.8 Illumination1.9 Fire Protection1.10 Climate | Measuring technology1.11 Analytical technologyVisitors:• Museums | Collections | Exhibition centers• Galleries | Cultural institutions• Architecture offices | Consultancies• Creative industry• Municipal administrations | Educational sector• Foundations | Associations | Institutions and organizations• Cultural heritage industry | Museum restorers• Archives | Librariesinvited to attend this major event for the world museum community. Museum Directors and Experts.Venue. ( Exhibition centre New Delhi, India.)[email protected] no.: 9873622215Or visit our website: www.artculturefestival.in

Notes to Editor

For, we must celebrate art in our lives and revel in living traditions... Founded by a group of professionals who are also ardent art lovers, ArtCultureFestival is your gateway to the world of forms and traditions. A first in India, ACF provides a multi-dimensional platform that employs a holistic approach to showcase art and its forms. It brings together the three pillars of creativity and attempts to network the spaces in the creative ambit, promoting talents and connecting the various dots to complete a larger picture. By means of disseminating information, curating events, promoting artists, conducting residencies and encouraging like-minded people to come together, ACF also aims to bridge the gap between the institutions, creative minds and appreciators. The objective is to bring art and culture enthusiasts, connoisseurs together and help them in promoting the art forms across the globe. We are art aggregators who like to explore the realms of creativity and celebrate form and traditions. We walk the talk and bring together a unique platform that covers art exhibits, workshops, installations, book launches, dance, performing arts and much more. In our quest to explore art, we interview the artistes and aficionados who help us delve deeper into the subject and make us explore form like never before. Our reviews and blogs are an attempt to provide a wider perspective, and then some more, via interactive sessions with the users of this platform.

Promoted by Good Cause, an NGO that believes in nurturing inherent skills within an individual, we at ACF work closely to promote the talent that may otherwise get lost for the want of funds or platform. Like Good Cause, ACF firmly believes in bringing out and showcasing this natural talent by providing that push which comes with the right exposure so creative minds connect, engage in a dialogue and flourish.

- http://www.indiaprwire.com/pressrelease/advertising/20170228500837.htm, March 1, 2017

The Sitalpati from the Cooch Behar district of Bengal has been recognised as an ‘Intangible Cultural Heritage' by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).Weaving sitalpati mats (‘sitalpati' translates to ‘cool mat', from the fact that it helps to keep cool, be it as a mat for sitting on or to hang on doors or windows during summer) is an age-old cultural tradition of Cooch Behar region. It consists of weaving together the green cane slips of the murta plants, indigenous to the region. Sitalpati has found a place in the UNESCO-sponsored Rural Craft Hub project, under which, at 10 locations in nine districts of the State, training and marketing centres and museums have been set up to help promote and market crafts indigenous to those regions, to national and international tourists.

Now, the traditional sitalpati-weaving families have earned respect and renown. Through 50 self-help groups (SHGs), promoted by the Department of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) of the State Government, the weavers have access to loans on easy terms.They are given training to improve on the technical and marketing aspects. A museum showcasing the various types of sitalpati has been set up in Ghughumari, a well-known centre for the craft in Cooch Behar district. Importantly, the State Government is also promoting tourism centred on sitalpati. 'Through these measures, the State Government is acting as a facilitator between the artistes and their crafts, and helping in bringing long-term stability to the craft and the craftspeople, Mamata Banerjee led All India Trinamool Congress has said.

- http://menafn.com/1095274081/India---UNESCO-recognises-Cooch-Behars-Sitalpati-as-an-Intangible-Cultural-Heritage, March 1, 2017

Old Ahmedabad is an amalgamation of diverse cultures that will leave you totally amazed, says Mirror reader Sakshi Saxena. “Contradictory architecture testifies to this fact. The result is a charismatic collection.” The fashion communication student says, “I was never one to photograph architecture but the mix of old and new, people and buildings I found in old Ahmedabad caught my eye. The presence of people bring alive these these unique architectural pieces. Capturing the Walled City is a true celebration!” If you have a picture and a story to share, send us the picture with your name and number at [email protected]

- http://ahmedabadmirror.indiatimes.com/ahmedabad/ahmedabad-speaks/celebrating-a-living-heritage/articleshow/57398315.cms, March 1, 2017

Old Ahmedabad is an amalgamation of diverse cultures that will leave you totally amazed, says Mirror reader Sakshi Saxena. “Contradictory architecture testifies to this fact. The result is a charismatic collection.” The fashion communication student says, “I was never one to photograph architecture but the mix of old and new, people and buildings I found in old Ahmedabad caught my eye. The presence of people bring alive these these unique architectural pieces. Capturing the Walled City is a true celebration!” If you have a picture and a story to share, send us the picture with your name and number at [email protected]

- http://ahmedabadmirror.indiatimes.com/ahmedabad/ahmedabad-speaks/celebrating-a-living-heritage/articleshow/57398315.cms, March 1, 2017

Any function of INTACH (Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage) invariable turns out memorable with its meaningful content. If it was the Teacher Training program for Heritage Clubs which saw a heritage walk clubbed, the inauguration of Heritage Clubs in KLE International Bharatesh Central School, Halaga, Dnyan Prabodhan Mandir and Bharatesh English Medium School was where students presented about local heritage, Monday’s event was on par. As part of the INTACH Founder’s day function, INTACH organized a small event at the office of Freedom of Association (FOA) on Picket road, Camp ( Besides Hotel La Camp). If you’ve passed by and wondered about this unique looking building, you definitely missed the event. Vinod Doddanavar, Co-convener of INTACH Belagavi chapter, presented on his experience with restoration of temples at Halasi and Beniwad (Hukkeri Tk).

It is one thing to intend to do something and another one to actually rustle up restoration work. His anecdotes on how they kept the temple’s old charm intact while embracing new techniques and the help that came about in fund raising was worth giving a ear. And then the FOA team presented their experience of restoring a dilapidated but rustic building, replete with large windows, arches, the quintessential backyard and the wood work. Sadiq Desai and Bharat Gouripur shared their experience with local materials in creating some conversation-starter pieces like the Waffle Table, the use of huge unpolished copper roundels for lamps, the fancy looking wall which is infact all the old layers of paint scrapped, the earthy feel of the floor and the walls all decked up in pristine white, adorned with awesome clocks.

The place is a showpiece of how some bright brains can change the look of a building with local materials. Both the restoration works speak of passion and dedication and screams ‘Focus’ in bold. Persons interested in conservation of Heritage of Belgaum can join the active team of INTACH which is routinely conducting, and further intends to conduct, meaningful activities like heritage walks, guest lectures, training programs, heritage clubs in schools, etc. (contact: 0831-2421513) Sculptors, painters, artists can connect with the team of architects at FOA to showcase their works at their Camp office.

- https://allaboutbelgaum.com/news/local-flavors-restoration/, March 2, 2017

Seven months after water was released into a largely dry channel that was dug up to revive the “lost” Saraswati, the Haryana Sarasvati Heritage Development Board (HSHDB) has decided to rename the Indus Valley civilisation as the Sarasvati river civilisation since the “river is no more a myth, its existence is a reality”. This is one of several recommendations that the HSHDB will send to the government — the Board is chaired by Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar — following the successful conclusion of the Saraswati Mahotsav in January. As part of the Mahotsav, a two-day international conference on the Saraswati river was held at the Kurukshetra University. The Board, which spells Saraswati as Sarasvati, has drawn up this recommendation: “Considering the state of knowledge regarding the Sarasvati river in presentations by international and national experts, it was felt by experts that the Sarasvati river is no more a myth, its existence is a reality.

Further, the name of the Indus Valley civilisation in our country be rechristened as Sarasvati river civilisation.” Sumita Misra, Principal Secretary, Archives, Archaeology and Museums Department of Haryana, said: “A large number of Harappan sites have been found in Haryana over the years. The nomenclature of the Indus Valley civilisation should now be changed to the Saraswati-Indus civilisation.” The largest Harappan site Rakhigarhi and the oldest Bhirrana are both in Haryana. The state government is restarting excavation at Kunal in Fatehabad district. Officials maintained that the archaeological sites are along the banks of what used to be the river Saraswati. Prashant Bhardwaj, Deputy Chairman of the HSHDB, said, “We passed a resolution on the concluding day of the conference held during the Sarasvati Mahotsav to rename the Indus civilisation as the Sarasvati civilisation. There are 1097 sites in India associated with the Indus Valley civilisation, while in Pakistan there are only 70 to 80 sites.” “No one should call Sarasvati a myth since it has already been proven that the river was present. No one should also use the word mythology in association with the river. By using this term, we are negating out own culture and heritage.

We will raise objection if anyone uses this word,” he said. The experts have also recommended that archaeological survey of the area deemed to be the Saraswati basin from the Himalayas to Rann of Kutch should be carried out by the Archaeological Survey of India and related organisations. Fresh excavations should be done at locations related to “heritage and culture of the country”. The conference also recommended that “history, culture, language including script of the Sarasvati civilisation should be thoroughly evaluated to understand the geography, culture, language, livelihood and customs of the Vedic civilisation along the path of the Sarasvati river”. A discussion on the Saraswati river was held Tuesday during the Budget session of the Haryana Assembly with Opposition parties questioning the government on its venture.

Congress MLA Geeta Bhukkal questioned the source of the water in the river that is now called Saraswati, and asked if the government was filling it with water from tubewells. Leader of Opposition and INLD leader Abhay Singh Chautala said that as per an ISRO map on the path of the river, it enters Pakistan through Kutch. “Does the river reach Pakistan and then return to Allahabad where the confluence of the three rivers, Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswati, is believed to take place,” he asked. Haryana Education Minister Ram Bilas Sharma, who is also Minister of Archaeology and Museums, said, “We have undertaken digging of the route of the river from Adi Badri to Mugalwali and Ambawali on a 32-km stretch. Even scientists have seen the water. Harappa was the most ancient civilisation in the world. The remains found at Rakhigarhi show that these are even older. Sarasvati has been mentioned 21 times in the Vedas.”

- http://indianexpress.com/article/india/haryana-wants-indus-valley-renamed-as-sarasvati-civilisation-manohar-lal-khattar-4550364/, March 2, 2017

Dotted with verdant wetlands, Odisha’s Lake Chilika, a little before sunset, appears like a dream crafted from an artist’s palette. After a six-hour journey by road from Vizag, I find myself at the picture-perfect postcard town of Barkul, nestled between hills on one side and Lake Chilika, on the other. The drive to it through the seamless roads of National Highway 5 was as relaxing as the destination itself. Chilika, with its large flocks of winter migratory birds and lush islands, is where one can forget all worldly worries in the pursuit and pleasure of bird watching. We reach Barkul in the evening; the town has a tourist lodge by the lake maintained by the Odisha Tourism Development Corporation (OTDC). Not too long ago, the lodge was the only place to stay here. While it still is the best bet if you prefer a standard place of stay, there are quite a few small guest houses and lodges that have sprung up now in the vicinity, which offer value for money. Situated on the east coast of India and connected to the Bay of Bengal through a narrow mouth, Chilika is the largest brackish water lagoon in Asia and the second-largest in the world. The lake is also the largest wintering ground for migratory waterfowl found anywhere on the Indian sub-continent.

Some rare, and endangered species listed in the IUCN Red List inhabit the lagoon for at least part of their life cycle, making the lake one of the hotspots for biodiversity in the country. A number of islands are located in the lagoon, some with and a few without habitation. Prominent among those are Krushnaprasad, Nalaban, Kalijai, Somolo, Honeymoon, Breakfast and Birds Island. Nalaban Bird Sanctuary or Nalaban Island is the core area of the Ramsar designated wetlands of Chilika Lake, which was declared a bird sanctuary under the Wildlife Protection Act in 1973.

In the heart of the island, one can see thousands of birds descend during the migratory season. Curiously, the island disappears during the monsoons due to inundation, only to emerge again post-monsoon. An estimated 165 species of birds are found in Chilika during winters. Of these, nearly 100 species are migratory. Over eight lakh migratory birds visit the lake every winter, which is the best season to spot the birds. By late afternoon, I embark on my first boat ride from Barkul near the OTDC tourist lodge. It’s only a matter of minutes before the scene around me changes dramatically, as I set off into the waters of the huge expanse of Lake Chilika. About 40 minutes later, the silence gets more intense with the land far behind us. With not a bird still in sight, I have an eerie feeling of being watched — a feeling of being an outsider in a new world. Gliding along the waters of the lake, our boatman Behera Babu turns off the engine and we sink into the silence of the zone.

As we lose sight of land around us, a swarm of pink figures floats in front of me like a vision from a painting. That is my first glimpse of the magnificent Flamingo. The Flamingos that migrate here are believed to come from the Rann of Kutch and Iran. They stand guard as our boat makes a quiet circle around them. And then, like a glorious dream, they set off in flight. The boat ride lasts three hours, taking me through the periphery of Nalaban, which is the main island where the migratory bird species arrive. En route, we spot other resident and migratory species like Sea Gulls and Spot-billed Ducks. If you are lucky, you can even get a glimpse of the famous Irrawaddy Dolphins of Chilika. The next morning, I decide to take a 20-minute boat ride to the Kalijai temple, located on one of the islands. Revered by the local populace, the deity is venerated in local folklore and legend. Here, I spot black and red bangles hanging from tree branches.

Tukuna Sahu, who owns a stall selling sweet offerings to the goddess, says that the custom of hanging bangles is practised by local villagers yearning for their wishes to be fulfilled. As I head from the island, scores of sea gulls follow us, pecking on the corn chips thrown by travellers on my boat. After all the bird watching is done, I try out the famous crab curry of Chilika Dhaba located close to the OTDC Tourist Lodge. About four years ago, when not many tourists had discovered this place, the dhaba used to serve lip-smacking dishes and you could enjoy them without having to wait your turn. While I was a tad disappointed to see a fall in standard, the crab curry nevertheless was a befitting farewell to an otherwise spectacular winter retreat.

- http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-metroplus/the-lady-of-the-lake/article17391691.ece, March 2, 2017

Rainwater harvesting is the conscious collection and storage of rainwater to cater to the needs of water for drinking purposes, domestic use and irrigation. Navita Singh explains how to set up such a sustainable system in your home. Rainwater harvesting is a very important step in the direction of achieving sustainability. It gains significance in a nation like ours where fresh water is a scarce commodity. Rainwater harvesting is the conscious collection and storage of rainwater to cater to the needs of water for drinking purposes, domestic use and irrigation. Traditional and time-tested systems were employed in the past in various parts of our country. For instance, baoris in Rajasthan, jhalaras in Gujarat, keres in Karnataka and eris in Tamil Nadu.

So, the system of harnessing rainwater for future needs is not new to the Indian culture. It would be advisable to think about rainwater harvesting when you are planning to build your new home. Carefully planned rainwater harvesting scheme will ensure long-term benefits. It is possible to retrofit an existing building but not without some modifications and additions to the original scheme. Methods & components There are mainly two ways of harvesting rainwater — surface runoff and rooftop rainwater harvesting. In urban areas, the natural recharging of the groundwater by rainwater percolation through the soil is reduced drastically as large areas in the cities are paved. The surface runoff rainwater can be harvested to recharge the aquifers. Rooftop rainwater harvesting is the method that is usually employed in homes. The rainwater that falls on the roof is collected and stored in a tank. The main components of the rooftop rainwater harvesting system are the catchment, transportation, first flush and filter.

Catchment: The catchment area is usually the roof or terrace. The transportation of rainwater should be through the rainwater pipes to the storage tank. Water from sloping roofs should be collected by gutters and directed towards the downpipes. The roof terrace should be clean and not store chemicals, fertilisers, detergents etc. Gratings or mesh must be provided at the mouth of the drain to trap leaves, debris and other floating materials. The size and the number of downpipes required will depend on the size of the roof. Proper slope should be given to the roof to ensure that the rainwater drains well. The rainwater pipes can be of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) or galvanised iron (GI).

First flush: First flush is a device used to remove the first rain shower. This ensures that the first spell of rain which carries a lot of pollutants from the roof surface and air does not enter the storage tank. Each rainwater pipe should be installed with the first flush valve device. Filters: Filters are used to remove the suspended impurities in the collected water before it enters the storage tank or recharge structure. This unit consists of a chamber with filtering material like sand, gravel, fibre etc. Charcoal can be employed for additional filtration. There are many different types of filters that are used, but the most commonly employed are the sand filter, charcoal filter, PVC pipe filter and sponge filter.

The sand filter contains layers of pebbles, gravel and sand. Each layer is separated by a wire mesh. The charcoal filter is like a sand filter with an extra layer of charcoal. The pipe filter consists of a PVC pipe 1-1.2 metres in length and six inches to eight inches in diameter, depending on the area of the roof. It has compartments that are filled with sand and gravel. The sponge filter is made from a PVC drum having a layer of sponge in the middle. For homes, this is economical to install and easy to maintain. Many other readymade rainwater filters are also available in the market. A selection can be made on the basis of your requirement, maintenance and cost. Storage: The storage tanks can be of different shapes, sizes and materials. The shape can be circular, square or rectangular. They can be constructed from reinforced cement concrete, masonry, plastic or metal. Depending on the availability of space, they could be placed above the ground, partially underground or fully underground.

The capacity of the tank has to be carefully designed on the basis of the rainfall received, catchment area and water consumption. Each tank should have excess water overflow system diverting the extra water to a groundwater recharge system. The storage tank may or may not need an electric motor to pump water for usage. This will depend on the location of the tank. Underground tanks usually require a pump for this purpose. The stored water can be used for washing, cleaning, bathing and gardening. Rainwater is soft, so it is gentle on the skin and hair. It is good for clothes, vessels and appliances like washing machines, dishwashers and geysers. Additional purification through filtration or boiling is required to make it suitable for drinking.

Maintenance: The whole rain water harvesting system should be checked before and after each rain. It should be cleaned at the end of the dry season and before the first rain is expected. The storage tanks should also be scrubbed and disinfected. The filter media should also be cleaned before every monsoon season.

Recharging groundwater: Groundwater should be recharged by using only using rainwater. The easiest thing you could do is to leave maximum plot area for natural percolation of rainwater through the soil. Various types of structures can be created for recharging groundwater, such as percolation pits, recharge pits, recharge trenches and recharging of existing wells and borewells. We should install rainwater harvesting system in our homes as it has many benefits. It aids in water conservation and leads to a reduction in the expenditure on water bills. It is useful in decreasing surface runoff and soil erosion.

It not only prevents the depletion of groundwater but also helps to recharge the aquifers. It resolves the problem of flooding during heavy rains. By adopting rainwater harvesting we will also be ensuring that there are adequate fresh water reserves for our posterity. Self-reliant model: A R Shivakumar, known as the ‘Rain Man of Bengaluru’, built his home “Sourabha” in 1994, and has not had to pay a water bill in the last 22 years. This rainwater harvesting expert at the Indian Institute of Science says, “We should learn to keep the rain in our homes”.

His 40 X 60 feet plot gets at least two lakh litres of rain every year, which caters to all the water needs of his home. It rains about 60-70 days in a year and the longest gap between two rains is 90-100 days. A family of four needs between 400 and 500 litres of water everyday. So, four storage tanks of a total capacity of 45,000 litres were required to be self-sufficient. Each tank has a pop-up filter that has been designed and patented by him. The waste water from the washing machine and kitchen is also recycled. The water for drinking is filtered by a system that uses silver plate arrangement. Clean and safe potable water is available throughout the year. (The author is an architect & interior designer)

- http://www.deccanherald.com/content/599112/how-catch-rain.htm, March 2, 2017

The onset of spring in India is marked by celebrations across the country. Bidding adieu to winters and welcoming a new season of freshness and new hopes, spring is synonymous to joy for most. While many parts in northern India celebrate it in form of Holi, the festival of colours, thousands of kilometres to the south, in the coastal state of Goa, locals celebrate what is called the Shigmo Festival. And, it’s about time that Goa geared up for Shigmo. An annual affair, the Shigmo Festival 2017 can be enjoyed from March 14 to March 27. A colourful fiesta of parades, with fancy floats and storytelling, the festival is a display of Goan culture and heritage. People decked up in brightly coloured traditional attires, flying multi-coloured flags, staging local dance forms, re-enacting mythological stories and playing with colours make for a vivacious sight during the festival days.

Otherwise home to various international music festivals, Goa is abuzz, during Shigmo, with the sounds of traditional drumbeats and flutes’ melodies, which flow across its streets along with the various marches. The festivities, which are supported by the Goa government, are a show of the local cultures and a reflection of its history. Celebrated as the spring’s biggest fest in Goa, Shigmo traditionally marks the return of local warriors who had left the Goan land to fight invaders at the end of Dusshera, another widely-celebrated Indian festival depicting the good’s triumph over evil. The colourful processions during Shigmo celebrations. Now a mega celebration and an attraction for tourists, the festivities see many troupes perform traditional dances like ‘Ghode Modni’ and ‘Fugdi’.

The event draws thousands of tourists, who witness Goa’s culture through this street festival filled with colours, music, dance and float parade. The festival is often associated with Holi, but interestingly, it has roots in the history of Konkani people from this state. In fact, the word ‘shigmo’ was derived from the Konkani ‘sigmo’. Shigmo is one of the major festivals of the Hindu community in the state. Over the years, the festival has, like the Goa’s annual carnival, come to be celebrated in major cities of the state. Shigmo in Goa is essentially a festival for the masses and many farmers and cultivators celebrate it with much fervour. Festivals with similar celebrations but different names are celebrated across India, but the coastal area celebrates it like no other place does.

- http://mediaindia.eu/tourism/goas-fascinating-shigmo-festival/, March 2, 2017

Seventeen-year-old Ananya Saluja has a ritual: Every summer, she volunteers in the remotest villages of Leh, Ladakh, and during school days, she raises funds to provide libraries to underprivileged children of the region. So far, she has managed to raise around Rs 10 lakh for her cause! Two years ago, Ananya Saluja was a 15-year-old studying in The Shri Ram School, Moulsari, worrying about her exams, studies and tuitions. Today, she is looking forward to spending her third consecutive summer amidst the mountains of Ladakh, teaching underprivileged children and has raised over Rs 10 lakh to build playgrounds and start libraries in Leh. It all started two years ago when Ananya’s school introduced a community service module in its curriculum wherein the students had to teach underprivileged children. The experience proved to be so enriching for Ananya that when the programme ended, she decided to pursue the cause on her own.

Now, visiting the remote villages in Leh and Ladakh has become a summer ritual for Ananya. In 2015, she visited villages Liktsey, Turtuk and Tialing, all in Leh district, to teach children. The summer of 2016 took her to Matho in Leh district, where she also helped set up a playground for children besides teaching. This summer, she will be travelling to Kargil to set up a library and conduct a workshop. NGO 17,000 ft works towards improving lives of people residing in the remotest and most inaccessible villages in Ladakh. Situated in the Himalayan Mountains, the vast region of 65,000 sq. km remains isolated from the rest of the world due to difficult terrain and harsh winters. Just like the region, people here too, are shielded from the influence of the world, feels Ananya. During the volunteering program, it was she who learnt more than she taught the children, feels Ananya. She learnt about the lives of people and the challenges they faced on a day-to-day basis. The region has over 600 hamlets and 1,000 government schools, which have limited facilities and manpower.

Visiting these schools left Ananya wanting to do something more than a once-in-a-year volunteering program. That’s when she decided to take to crowdfunding to help ‘her children.’ Ever since her very first volunteering program, Ananya has penned down her experiences regularly on a blog as well as a Facebook page. Her journals are a delight to read and reflect the necessity as well as the authenticity of her cause. Here’s an excerpt from her blog:

“Hello! My name is Ananya Saluja, and I’m your average 17-year old girl from New Delhi. I study in the 11th grade at. I volunteered during my last two summer vacations in Ladakh, Jammu and Kashmir, teaching children in the schools of remote villages through the 17000 ft Foundation. Volunteering in Ladakh, staying in homestays, eating the local food, imbibing the local culture and customs, teaching and playing with the children was an absolutely amazing experience, but it also presented many challenges that I had not entirely anticipated. Other than the immense joy and emotional learning the trip gave me, it also taught me how to use the resources available to me, how to make the most of the scarce materials and facilities available in Ladakh.

Spending two consecutive summers in Ladakh has not only taught me so much about the joy that doesn’t come from the things we have, but also how to use whatever we do have to the best of our abilities and find happiness and contentment in it. It was quite eye-opening to see how the Ladakhi people effortlessly achieve that which we strive and aspire for – leading a life in harmony with the environment.”

- http://www.thebetterindia.com/89464/ananya-saluja-17-year-old-crowdfunding-libraries-ladakh/, March 2, 2017

If memorising names and dates is not your cup of tea, chances are you would have dreaded history exams. After all, who wants to know about the emperors long gone and their reigns long ended. But history neither needs to be an inert, dead subject, nor does it belong only to the high and the mighty, as students of the Centre for Community Knowledge (CCK), Ambedkar University, prove. In an effort to record and showcase the life stories and narratives of ordinary people currently living in different parts of Delhi, the CCK team has organised an open exhibition titled 'Hum Sab Mehrauli', where one can catch a glimpse of the past through people's own memories of their neighbourhood. The exhibition has been organised under the community outreach programme named 'Neighbourhood Museums', under which the team records the history of people in Delhi, and also collects local artifacts from various areas, which are then displayed to the general public.

"The idea is to document oral history using collective memory of the locals," said CCK member Mesha Murali. "History is made by people, their lives, and surroundings. There are not many records of this. It is an attempt to engage with the narrative of the locals," she added. The initiative, which is partly funded by the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) and the Leiden University, Netherlands, aims at revisiting existing cultural knowledge by engaging the communities involved. The idea is to establish a link between formal and uncodified knowledge. As of now, the team has put up panels at Nai Basti in Mehrauli. The panels tell the history of the locality in words of the locals who have lived there for decades. "The Neighbourhood Museum is an attempt to represent the diversity of lives and livelihoods in the city, through interviews, recordings, photographs and artifacts. Each Neighbourhood Museum shows a fascinating picture of the growth of the city, as seen by its citizens," the CCK team stated.Many people in Mehrauli told the team members that until a few years ago, they knew every person in the area and could give precise information about where everyone lived. But in the last few years, with an increase in number of apartments and growing population, it was getting impossible to know people in even one's own building. "Apartment buildings started coming up around 1996-97.

The first one, Yogmaya Apartment, was built in Ward 2," said Ankit, Ward 2 resident. Earlier, a Neighbourhood Museum was set up at Shani Bazaar of Shadi Khampur village, which received great feedback from locals, who were amazed to read the history of their area. "Shadi Khampur has been my home for the last 30 years and I had little idea about its history," confessed 62-year-old Raj Kumar Gautam. A group of children excitedly identified familiar pictures of their neighbourhood. "Samosey-waali aunty" exclaimed 12-year-old Sahil Saxena, pointing to the picture of a woman. Joginder Singh Rohilla, in his sixties, was one of those who agreed to have his family history documented and displayed. He said: "My family has been living in Shadi Khampur for over 600 years. The spot where we are standing used to be agricultural land."

- http://www.dnaindia.com/delhi/report-neighbourhood-museums-redefine-history-let-locals-narrate-their-story-2340890, March 3, 2017

The ninth edition of the Sacred Music Festival in association with INTACH and Marabu Foundation was interesting in many aspects. The three-day annual event has become increasingly popular over the years and is looked forward to by both foreign and local audiences. Three beautiful and historically significant locations on the banks of the Cauvery in Tiruvaiyaru act as venues — Diwanwada, the old Maratha Palace, the Pushya Mandapa bathing ghat constructed by the most revered Nayak period Prime Minister Govinda Dikshitar and the magnificent Panchanadeeswarar Temple on days one, two and three respectively. The first evening of the Sacred Music Festival saw the Maratha palace in the back drop of the Cauvery sands with a gentle breeze wafting across.

Exquisitely drawn kolams welcomed the visitors at the entrance. The pigeon tower and the trees in the palace glowed with subtle light providing the ambience for a mesmerising musical experience. The festival opened with the Hindustani vocal-English Bandish performance by Kiran Pathak of the Gwalior gharana, who has been writing English lyrics for Indian classical ragas. His exposition of Raag Maru Bihag, with two compositions in fast and slow tempos each, set to Ek and Teen taals respectively, was absolutely moving. This, followed by his English lyric was interesting.

He was accompanied by Pratik Joshi (vocal), Shreyas Govitrikar (harmonium) and Kedar Pathak (tabla).

Whistle concert: The second performance was something we don't get to witness often — a whistle concert. A self-taught whistle wizard, K. Sivaprasad turned into a complete musician under the guidance of flute expert N.S Srinivasan and the legendary M. Balamuralikrishna. Sivaprasad had the audience literally at the edge of their seats right from his racy ‘Vatapiganapatim’ to a soothing ‘Endaromahanubhavulu’ to ‘Manasaetulo’ to magical Magudi in the end. His exceptional talent was of a high order, so much so that it seemed like a flute concert. Violin by V.V. Srinivasa Rao, veena by Lakshmi Padmavathi, mridangam by Kapa Srinivasa Rao, ghatam by V.B.V Prasad, morsing by Gotta Mukkala Venkatesh had their concert strike a powerful chord with the audience. With a strong Carnatic music base, an artist can do justice to any type of music. This was proved by Karthick Iyer, vocalist and violinist, and his wonderful band of musicians — Vikram Vivekanand, guitarist, Reshwin Nishid, bass Guitarist, Sumesh Narayanan, mridangist and percussionist and Ramkumar Kanakarajan, drummer.

The group offered fresh insights into ragas such as Nalinikanthi (Manavyalakinchara), Saveri (Muruga Muruga) and Abheri (Nagumomu). An emotional rendition of Aasai Mugam Marandu Poche left the audience spellbound. Here was an instance when fusion blossomed without hurting tradition. Chitravina Ravikiran did not disappoint the gathering at the sprawling Panchanadiswarar temple (the courtyard near the Amman shrine). Vittal Rangan (violin), Patri Sathish Kumar (mridangam) and Karthick (ghatam) did not lag behind as Ravikiran opened the concert with a majestic Srivighnarajam Bhaje (Nattai), which was followed by a beautiful exposition of Pantuvarali (Siva siva enaradha). After a moving Evaru Unnaru (Malavashri), Kalyani was taken up as the main raga (Birana Brova) and handled in a very scholarly and appealing manner.

The lilting Eppo Varuvaro (Jonpuri) came as a fitting end to the concert, but not before Patri and Karthik presented a short and crisp thani avartanam. Victor Paulraj needs to be applauded for his brilliance, which takes the festival to a different plane. The decor and use of lights (Mohan and Venlatesh) created a surreal effect. Magesh and Prasad completed the picture by setting up an excellent acoustic system. A brain child of Ranvir Shah (Prakriti Foundation), reviving music in the land of Tyagaraja is only one of the aims of the Sacred Festival. The other is to restore the past glory of Tiruvaiyaru.

- http://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/music/Sacred-Music-Festival/article17393842.ece/, March 3, 2017

Ujjain, little known until now to bird lovers, is fast gaining reputation as a paradise for Avian lovers and migratory birds, thanks to its wet lands. Its climate and geographical location have been attracting several varieties of migratory birds of late, so much so that today it is home to almost 200 species of beautiful migratory birds. Some of them have even started breeding around the water bodies during the breeding season and new ones are being added on to the list almost every year. The water bodies have not only attracted birds from India but also from places like Northern China, Siberia, Baluchistan, Europe and Tibet.

The Babool trees surrounding the wet lands have made it a good roosting place for birds. Here, Painted Storks, Egrets and the Gracious Saras Cranes start building their nests before the onset of monsoons and are easily visible to the naked eye. Rosy Starlings and Wagtails mark the beginning of the arrival of migratory birds. Also noticeable are the water fowls, bar headed Goose, Grey Leg Goose, Common Cranes and Black Storks. This year also marked the arrival of four sub adult Flamingoes.

The ducks which are easily seen are Pintais, Common Teal, Ruddy Shelduck, Northern Shovelers, Gadwal, Red Crested Pochard and predatory birds like Marsh Harrier, Common Kestrel and Short Toed Snake Eagle. Birds like Kingfishers, Orange Throated Flycatcher, Grey Headed Canary Flycatcher, Babblers, Quails, Partridges, Sparrows, Parakeets and Orioles are also seen in plenty. The year long activities of the winged beauties have made these wet lands a pilgrimage for bird lovers. The water bodies bear water nearly throughout the year in spite of water being used for irrigational purposes. Open Bills, Spoon Bills, Cormorants, Black Headed Ibis Jacanas and Moorhens also add to the beauty of the wet lands. Ornithologist Saikat Chanda has been tracking several new water bodies and finding out different species of birds that are migrating to the city.

He has been attempting to create a checklist for the last 17 years on the number of migratory and residential birds arriving every year while trying to find out reasons responsible for the decline in the number of birds relative to the previous year. He has been responsible in spreading awareness amongst people of the villages close to the wetlands and encouraging them to conserve them. According to him, community based conservation is the most important and result oriented way to conserve the winged species.

- http://www.freepressjournal.in/ujjain/ujjain-wetlands-turn-into-pilgrimage-site-for-bird-lovers/1028100, March 3, 2017

Summary: In order to get the perfect light on the buildings, the photographers will come at various time for the next three-four days and click pictures of the heritage buildings. Once explained about the significance of the structures, the students could connect to the subjects and capture them through their lens." SVS Ravi Kumar, faculty at the AU photography department and a member of Intach and Vizag Photowalkers, said, "This heritage photoshoot was a beautiful learning experience. The buildings mostly dated back to the 19th and 20th century, while a few are even older. The best ones would be showcased in the exhibition," said Hatangadi, who also explained the architectural and historical significance of the buildings before each photoshoot.

Visakhapatnam: In a bid to capture the essence of the Old Town in Vizag, a group of around 15 photographers undertook a heritage 'photo walk' through the narrow lanes and colonial structure on Sunday morning.They would later put up an exhibition of the historic Old Town to make the public aware of the beauty and significance of the colonial era structures.The photographers consisted of mostly students from the department of photography in Andhra University and members of Vizag Photowalkers. Organised by Intach (Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage) member Jayshree Hatangadi, the four-hour photography session commenced from Town Hall and progressed through the lanes leading to the Kurupam Market structure, European Cemetery, Victoria Pavilion, St John's Church, Dargah, Abu Sarang Street, St Aloysius School, Queen Mary's School and Lavender Canal. The buildings mostly dated back to the 19th and 20th century, while a few are even older.

"Every picture tells a story and every story has to be captured through the lens. This was the motto behind today's photography session. In order to get the perfect light on the buildings, the photographers will come at various time for the next three-four days and click pictures of the heritage buildings. The best ones would be showcased in the exhibition," said Hatangadi, who also explained the architectural and historical significance of the buildings before each photoshoot.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/visakhapatnam/photographers-walk-through-the-heritage-of-old-town/articleshow/57482922.cms

- http://www.nyoooz.com/news/visakhapatnam/750174/photographers-walk-through-the-heritage-of-old-town, March 6, 2017

Irshad Alam’s workplace is a stage he can set up just about anywhere — in a busy market, on the steps leading up to Jama Masjid, or in an MCD school’s classroom. Alam, a kissa-go (storyteller), makes his living conjuring up glimpses of the capital through different ages. Sporting bright red and blue Nehru jackets and matching topis over a white attire, Alam (31) and a few friends narrate tales at Jama Masjid— mostly in a question and answer format laced with innuendos and bawdy humour — of ageing havelis in old Delhi; kings, queens and slaves; and love affairs and palace intrigues. Their audience comprises curious visitors perched on the steps of Jama Masjid’s gate one. “I borrow from the medieval art of dastan-goi and kathawachan traditions of storytelling. But my stories on the many deaths and rebirths Delhi has lived through and my style are local — based out of the confines of the six gateways of Shahjahanabad,” says Alam, seated at his friend and fellow artiste Akram Khan’s clothes shop in Meena Bazaar. Alam traces his ancestry to the days of the Mughals, who brought in artisans from Central Asia to build Shahjahanabad.

Alam’s ancestors were professional tangawalas, ferrying construction material, and later people, on carriages drawn by mules and horses. Alam grew up watching his grandfather, Haji Ibrahim Sheikh Farooqi, shout out gossip and tales of Old Delhi while journeying from one gate to another within the Walled City. While Alam’s father discarded the family profession, buying an autorickshaw around 40 years ago, Alam decided to keep the stories alive. “I got involved in theatre in college and decided to revive my grandfather’s style of storytelling through a theatrical art form. That way, I could keep up with my theatre and keep alive my ancestral legacy, which has virtually vanished with the tanga going out of use as a mode of transport, especially during the urban facelift before the Commonwealth Games,” Alam said.

Alam spent months forming his troupe of artistes, gathering roughly 40 youths from Old Delhi to form the ‘Talent Group’ in 2000. The group began performing at small nukkads and market corners, and eventually got a chance to perform on stage. Over the years, they have performed across the country for INTACH, the Union Ministry of Culture, the MCDs, the Delhi government and other cultural bodies. Alam’s troupe is currently under a contract to narrate stories in municipal schools in Old Delhi. Alam, however, feels that cultural shows have become less of a priority for the central and state governments, and the number of shows and contracts have dipped as a result. His group, too, has shrunk to a few members, with most getting married or taking up work elsewhere. Struggling to keep his profession going, Alam occasionally helps with his family’s fish business in Ghazipur mandi.

“My art is my identity. Through this oral tradition, I am keeping alive a way of life and an art that the tangawalas of Old Delhi embodied. They were the traditional raconteurs of Delhi, indulging their sawari with tales of Old Delhi’s galis and mohallas and its erstwhile kings and wazirs. Those stories and my grandfather’s andaaz of storytelling is something I want to keep alive,” Alam said.

- http://indianexpress.com/article/cities/delhi/all-the-worlds-a-stage-in-old-delhi-he-keeps-history-alive-4554954/, March 6, 2017

Queen Victoria’s statue at Cubbon Park sports an orb in the left hand and a sceptre in the right one. But after restoration by the state archaeology dept, she might end up with a flower basket in the left hand. It’s not clear what will happen to the orb. In its enthusiasm to restore the 100-plus-years-old five heritage statues in Cubbon Park that are giving in to the vagaries of time, the government seems to have gone over the top. So much so that they want to dump a flower bouquet/basket in Queen Victoria’s left hand. Yes, that is what the state department of archaeology’s project report on statue restoration has included.

In fact, according to the history and the old postcard pictures of what the queen stood with, it was a scepter, a decorated rod/staff symbolising regal power in her right hand and an orb (or globe) with a cross on it in her left hand. Over the years, the sceptre has been damaged and the cross is missing. Probably without checking with the original records and also not keeping conservationists in the loop, the government has concluded that it is a broken flower basket which they have to replace! This has obviously left the conservationists amused. Queen Victoria’s statue, which turned 111 years in February, was officially unveiled in a fanfare-filled ceremony in 1906 by the then Prince of Wales, George Frederick Ernest Albert (later King George V). Apart from the queen, Cubbon Park has four more marble statues of Maharaja of Mysore Chamarajendra Wadiyar (installed in 1927), King Edward VII (1919) and , Dewan Seshadri Iyer (1913), and Lord Mark Cubbon which are a part of the Rs15.5-lakh restoration programme being taken up jointly by the horticulture department and department of archaeology, museums and heritage. The restoration work is currently under progress. It was the horticulture deputy director (in charge of Cubbon Park) Mahantesh Murgod who had noticed the statues that were giving in, proposed restoration, and wrote to the archaeology department.

“Over the years, the statues had damaged, were never washed too. Queen Victoria’s right index finger is damaged, the stick is broken, the cross is missing. At the rear portion, there are cracks and the face has some holes. Marble artists from Jaipur have been specially engaged for the project. Finally, the statues will have a good chemical wash. We have deposited Rs15.5 lakh with the archaeology department, which will not only restore the statues but also maintain them,” says Murgod. Subsequently, when the restoration project report was being readied in the archaeology department by a committee, somehow it was assumed that there was a flower basket in Queen’s left hand, on top of the orb and, accordingly, a plan was made. Deputy director, in-charge of the project KB Akkoji stressed that a flower bouquet/basket in the statue’s left hand was missing, which will be restored.

“We are going as per the original statue, which had a flower basket,” said the senior officer. However, conservationists are certainly amused. It’s Queen Victoria and not some fancy Little Red Riding Hood. Meera Iyer, heritage conservationist and architect, co-convenor of the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (Intach), who has chronicled the statues, said: “If you look at the old postcards of the city, you can see very clearly in them that Queen Victoria does not have a flower basket. This kind of makeover should stop; we cannot be showing Queen Victoria as a Red Riding Hood. The horticulture department should be more careful while taking up restoration of such landmarks. Ideally, it should leave the job to experts.” History books have recorded that Queen Victoria was Empress of India from 1876. She died in 1901 and the British government deliberated over setting up installations in the queen’s memory. As Meera Iyer puts it, it was finally decided to commission a memorial statue to be funded by public subscription -- Rs10,000 was raised and the erstwhile Maharaja of Mysore, Krishnaraja Wodeyar IV, chipped in and ensured that the statue was set up. Thomas Brock, a UK-based celebrated sculptor was called in for the job. It was shipped here from England. “Of the more than 50 statues of Queen Victoria installed in India, only five remain in their original locations, including Bengaluru’s.

Early photographs show the statue encircled with ornamental chains, and a soldier and two cannons standing guard,” adds Iyer. The empress’s regalia are battered now. The orb lost its cross years ago and the sceptre was broken along with the right index finger when, during a politically rally, a banner was tied around the sceptre and the finger.

- http://bangaloremirror.indiatimes.com/bangalore/others/raiders-of-the-last-orb/articleshow/57470352.cms, March 6, 2017

The 184-year-old Asiatic Society of Mumbai is was one of the first buildings for which the Maharashtra government sanctioned funds towards conservation Even as the refurbishment of the wide steps leading to the city’s most iconic building, the 184-year-old Asiatic Society of Mumbai, will be completed in six weeks, the recently restored Town Hall and library within has become the focus of admiration. Regular visitors are thrilled at the new, restored look that transports readers into an opulent era of chandeliers, dark wood furniture and shiny floors. The best part is that readers can now enjoy good lighting — a result of skill and art on the part of the designer. When Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis inaugurated the renovated Town Hall a few days ago, he remarked that Mumbai gets back its Town Hall retaining its old grandeur. Dedicating this prestigious heritage structure to Mumbaikars, he appealed to people visit the library with such a historic collection.

Town Hall has been classified as a Grade I heritage building among the list of Mumbai’s finest architectural masterpieces under the Heritage Regulations of Greater Bombay. This was one of the first buildings for which the Maharashtra government sanctioned funds towards conservation and appointed Abha Narain Lambah Associates for taking up this task of restoring it. India: Historic library in Mumbai gets restored. The 184-year-old Asiatic Society of Mumbai is was one of the first buildings for which the Maharashtra government sanctioned funds towards conservation. The restored Town Hall library of Asiatic Society of Mumbai. Even as the refurbishment of the wide steps leading to the city’s most iconic building, the 184-year-old Asiatic Society of Mumbai, will be completed in six weeks, the recently restored Town Hall and library within has become the focus of admiration. Regular visitors are thrilled at the new, restored look that transports readers into an opulent era of chandeliers, dark wood furniture and shiny floors.

The best part is that readers can now enjoy good lighting — a result of skill and art on the part of the designer. When Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis inaugurated the renovated Town Hall a few days ago, he remarked that Mumbai gets back its Town Hall retaining its old grandeur. Dedicating this prestigious heritage structure to Mumbaikars, he appealed to people visit the library with such a historic collection. Town Hall has been classified as a Grade I heritage building among the list of Mumbai’s finest architectural masterpieces under the Heritage Regulations of Greater Bombay. This was one of the first buildings for which the Maharashtra government sanctioned funds towards conservation and appointed Abha Narain Lambah Associates for taking up this task of restoring it. “The first phase started in 2009, which focused on the structural restoration of the roofs and waterproofing,” said Kruti Garg, Director, Conservation, at the architectural firm. The roof of this building was never opened and the condition of the wooden trusses were in a highly deteriorated state with cracks and deflections ranging from 8 inches to 21 inches, she told Gulf News.

“These would not have lasted another monsoon in Mumbai and it was in time that retrofitting works were done from 2009-2011,” Garg said. The next phase dealt with the restoration of the interior of Central Hall occupied by the Central Library. The work commenced in February 2015 and was completed in January 2017. It entailed the restoration of the false ceiling using original techniques; restoration of the wooden floor; removing layers and layers of paint from cast iron columns which were imported from England back in 1833; restoring the Corinthian capitals and bringing them back to their original colour scheme of ivory and gold. Even the furniture, “has been made new based on original designs and details and nuances found in the building to reflect the time period and character of the historic interior,” Garg said. Lambah said that the relationship Mumbaikars share with their heritage is distinct from that other Indian cities where such historic buildings are fenced off from visitors. In a newspaper article, Lambah wrote, “It is most likely that you as a Mumbaikar would have been born in a heritage hospital building [Bhabha, JJ, Grant Medical, Wadia hospital], gone to school or college in a heritage building [J B Petit, Avabai Petit, Cathedral, Bombay Scottish], graduated from a historic college or university [JJ School of Arts, SNDT Kanyashala, Elphinstone, St Xavier’s, University Fort Campus], played cricket in a historic ground [Oval, Shivaji Park], worked in a heritage building [HSBC and Deutsche Bank, BMC head office, Mantralaya and even Old Customs House] or even fought a court case in one.” Any restoration or renovation to such historic buildings always bring on a feel-good smile on a Mumbaikar’s face.

- http://gulfnews.com/news/asia/india/india-historic-library-in-mumbai-gets-restored-1.1988510, March 6, 2017

The Sitalpati from the Cooch Behar district of Bengal has been recognised as an ‘Intangible Cultural Heritage' by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO). Weaving sitalpati mats (‘sitalpati' translates to ‘cool mat', from the fact that it helps to keep cool, be it as a mat for sitting on or to hang on doors or windows during summer) is an age-old cultural tradition of Cooch Behar region. It consists of weaving together the green cane slips of the murta plants, indigenous to the region. Sitalpati has found a place in the UNESCO-sponsored Rural Craft Hub project, under which, at 10 locations in nine districts of the State, training and marketing centres and museums have been set up to help promote and market crafts indigenous to those regions, to national and international tourists.

Now, the traditional sitalpati-weaving families have earned respect and renown. Through 50 self-help groups (SHGs), promoted by the Department of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) of the State Government, the weavers have access to loans on easy terms. They are given training to improve on the technical and marketing aspects. A museum showcasing the various types of sitalpati has been set up in Ghughumari, a well-known centre for the craft in Cooch Behar district. Importantly, the State Government is also promoting tourism centred on sitalpati.

'Through these measures, the State Government is acting as a facilitator between the artistes and their crafts, and helping in bringing long-term stability to the craft and the craftspeople, Mamata Banerjee led All India Trinamool Congress has said.

- http://menafn.com/1095288669/India--UNESCO-recognises-Cooch-Behars-Sitalpati-as-an-Intangible-Cultural-Heritage, March 6, 2017

The folk in contemporary Indian art survives in frequently bewildering heterogeneity. In 1960s, Jagdish Swaminathan abandoned his career as a journalist and became a professional painter. In August 1962, he founded Group 1890. The name was derived from the address where the first meeting took place. Group 1890 had no regional or aesthetic affiliations and did not promote any particular type of painting. Rejecting ‘vulgar naturalism’, the ‘pastoral idealism’ of the Bengal School and the ‘hybrid mannerism’ of European modernism, it urged artists to draw inspiration from the natural world and interpret it into symbolic and abstracted forms; to see phenomena in their ‘virginal state’.“Swaminathan’s artistic ambition was to establish a continuum between folk, tribal, and urban contemporary art. Questioning the notion that Modernism developed from an encounter with the West, he sought to redefine contemporary practice by taking into account the philosophical underpinnings of Indian Art. A truly Indian art could only develop, he felt, by overcoming the divide between art and craft,”’ says Amrita Jhaveri.

Banjaras were traditionally suppliers of bullock and salt merchants. The word Banjara is said to be derived from Sanskrit word vanachara (wanderers in jungle). The word Lambani or Lamani is derived from Sanskrit word lavana (salt) which was the principal good they transported across the country. “Lambanis, elsewhere known as “Banjaras”, who originally came from Marwar are semi-nomadic people who reside mostly in Southern and Middle India. As with many tribal groups, especially those with a nomadic heritage, there is a modern tendency to either isolate or assimilate. The Banjara women, however, are holding steadfast to their ancient mode of dress, which is perhaps the most colourful and elaborate of any tribal group in India. The Lambani women practice a unique mirror and embroidery craft, which they mostly use for making their own traditional dresses or for giving to their daughters for their weddings. “The Lambani embroidery is an amalgam of pattern darning, mirror work, cross stitch, and overlaid and quilting stitches with borders of “Kangura” patchwork appliqué, done on loosely woven dark blue or red handloom base fabric. “Lambani embroidery is commonly mistaken as Kutchi (Kachhi) embroidery because of mirror work, but shells and coins are unique to this type of embroidery. Also, the stitches used are different.” A line thread connects the works of Pradeep Kumar D M, a contemporary artist who studied in Davangere and Bangalore Univeristy. The young artist has been looking into his own Lambadi community for inspiration to assert his identity in a cosmopolitan urban world.

His vision of getting back to the roots sounds romantic and idealistic and he seems to celebrate the contradictions of our urban reality with wit and humour. A key distinction between folk and outsider art is that folk art typically embodies traditional forms and social values, where outsider art stands in some marginal relationship to society’s mainstream. Since the last four decades or so, folk and tribal art of India has evolved to not only include traditional aesthetics but also encompass contemporary visuals and attitudes, making the individual artist the centre of their creation and vision. The focus is on the individual artist to give their art a new voice and lead it to the new phase of global art and help in the revival of these art forms. When I see Pradeep Kumar D M’s work, I recollect the Warli master Jivya Soma Mashe who sums up the deep feeling which animates the Warli people, saying, “There are human beings, birds, animals, insects, and so on. Everything moves, day and night.

Life is movement.”We also need a word of caution. Cultural historian Jyotindra Jain says about the commercialisation of the folk. “You can map this change back through the past decade. When such forms began to be recognised worldwide, artists began to get a different kind of exposure and some started rethinking their oeuvre altogether.” After the Festivals of India and the mapping of the tribal and folk landscapes by many art historians, Pupul Jayakar’s Earth Mother has been my inspiration as a teacher and is highly recommended to understand the fundamentals of our living traditions. The standard traditional themes have become old and monotonous. So much has happened lately in the contemporary art scene and Pradeep has uniquely situated himself to examine the altering and expanding cityscape, and this has prompted him to move away from established norms for his exotic folk art. In this show, he is exploring the possibility of working on uneven surfaces of terracotta tiles and dried gourds. This show is curated by Giridhar Khasnis, in a attempt to support and encourage artists of Karnataka and is called Karnataka Kalayatra - an inciative of visual art collective and 1Shanthiroad studios. Pradeep has evolved a visual language that is linear and intimate. It has the intricacy of his native needle work and is minimal in choosing monochromatic colours. The pictorial space is two dimensional, linear and elaborate with patterning of the broken line like the running stitch. The artist is inventing a contemporary folk language using new materials like white paint on terracotta titles collected from the rural houses that are fast changing to ape city dwellings. The subjective preoccupation of the young artist is varied and eclectic, it digs into looking at mythology through the lens of the contemporary - popular gods like Ganesh and Hanuman are seen as urban saviors flying around to save humankind.

The iconography details are innovative and move away from the cliches of folk representations that are commonly seen by folk artists who mass produce them for the urban market and the safe collector who invests in modern religious icons. A series of animals and birds from the Panchatantra who have cleverly morphed into cartoon characters from Disneyland. Myth marries humour and satire in an unholy marriage. The results are charming and delightful to the eye. The more innovative works reflect his urban angst living in cosmopolitan Bangalore. Winged lovers in flight, erotic encounters of men and women who have entered the gates of the garden of earthy delights. The best works of Pradeep are in small format, a collection of intricate works that capture the contemporary context of urbanisation, ecology, sexuality and gender and the angst of a nation that looks like a overcrowded autorickshaw, aimlessly rumbling into an unknown future. Pradeep’s talent and enormous patience are his virtues.

If he can continue to innovate and respond to his times without succumbing into exotic traps and overcoming the dichotomy of art and craft, we can look forward to future work. (Suresh Jayaram is a visual artist, curator and art historian. His column features perspectives on the arts)

- http://bangaloremirror.indiatimes.com/bangalore/others/what-you-see-when-you-see-drawing-from-the-eye-of-the-needle/articleshow/57481400.cms, March 6, 2017

Remnants of pre-Harappan civilisation, which are presumed to be of more than 6,000-year-old, were found in the district during excavations works to revive the Saraswati river. “Remnants found during excavations along the river course may be the oldest as the Harappan civilisation is around 3,500-year-old and the pre-Harappan civilisation is around 5,000 to 6,000-year-old,” Deputy Commissioner of Fatehabad N K Solanki said on Saturday. The excavation team found ornaments, beads and bones at Kunal village in the district and Archaeology and Museums Department would keep these in a museum, he said. The Deputy Commissioner said after the mapping of Kunal village the excavation work was started and sand particles found indicate that there is a possibility that the Saraswati river used flow through there. However, it is yet to be proved, though satellite images indicate that the river used to flow in this area, he said. On the directions of Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar and state Archaeology and Museums Minister Ram Bilas Sharma, the excavation work was started under the supervision of officers of the Haryana Archaeology and Museums Department and Archaeology Department of the Central Government. Solanki said an agreement for the excavation work was recently signed between the Haryana Archaeology and Museums Department and Indian Archaeological Society, National Museum, New Delhi.

- http://indianexpress.com/article/india/pre-harappan-remnants-discovered-during-excavations-to-revive-saraswati-river-4554564/, March 6, 2017

A five-member team of archaeology enthusiasts, led by city-based general surgeon Dr Satyakam Phukan discovered a brick wall, perceived to be a part of the city’s pre-Ahom or Ahom era fortification to save it from the invaders, atop the Narakasur Hills. However, only systematic archaeological excavation will be able to determine the date of the brick wall. Strategically, Guwahati was an important place for the Assamese as well as the Muslim invaders. All of them viewed Guwahati as an important location for its ideal setting. And this made the fortification of the city an obligation for the defenders, who were essentially the indigenous people. Such fortifications prevented entry of the marauding forces from outside the city. The team of archaeological enthusiasts has also recorded extensive archaeological ruins on the Narakasur Hills during its exploration of the hills between the west of the television tower atop it and its end in the Birubari area of the city. The expedition was undertaken on February 19 and the members of the team included Pradip Dewan, Binoy Kumar Das, Alexander Chakma and Haren Das, besides Dr Phukan, who could get the cue of the existence of the wall from an elderly gentleman of Uzanbazar locality, the late Prabhat Malla Barua, long back. Late Barua was the brother of noted poet late Ajit Barua.

At many places along the crest of the hills, the team could uncover many brick structures hidden under the soil. Dr Phukan told this newspaper that along the crest of the hills, remains of an extensive wall, possibly some ancient fortification, can be ascertained. Remains of the brick structure were evident all along the track, he said. He maintained that a professional excavation will surely yield more positive results on the Narakasur Hills. A road has been built along the crest up to an under-construction water treatment plant. Many people have settled in the area and earth cutting is on along the crest of the hills, where the road is laid. The brick structures are visible there.

In one place below that road, a completely untouched part of the brick wall is well visible. “These ruins were never explored neither during the British era nor in the post-Independence era of India by any authority. But we are certain that systematic archaeological exploration will bring to light many hitherto unknown facts about the history and archaeology of Guwahati and Assam,” said Dr Phukan. In a letter to the State’s Director of Archaeology, he requested the authority to initiate necessary steps for undertaking systematic archaeological exploration of the site.

- http://www.assamtribune.com/scripts/detailsnew.asp?id=mar0517/at055, March 6, 2017

The 12th Ekamra Walks, heritage walk of the City, on Sunday saw a large turnout of participants including members of UN organisations and officials of Airports Authority of India (AAI) here. Three students of the Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneswar (XIMB) also registered for the event through social media. At least 75 participants joined the walk on Sunday morning. Officials of city-based UNICEF, WHO and WFP were accompanied by UNFPA members who termed the experience as educating. The walk depicts the story of the ancient city through the age-old traditional architecture and art forms, they said. The walkers visited the sole abode of Lord Brahma located in Old Town area. This is the only temple of Lord Bramha in the Ekamra Kshetra, where the deity is worshipped in a dark complex located in front of the Ananta Vasudev temple. During the last stage of Ekamra Walks, the participants were educated about the medicinal plants at Ekamra Van. Senior forest and tourism officials narrated the tales behind the origin of holy lake Bindusagar and Lord Shiva’s connect to the region. The participants also witnessed a dance performance staged by students of Odissi institutes. The artistes performed Trivangi, Chouka, Batu and Abhinaya of the dance.

-http://www.newindianexpress.com/states/odisha/2017/mar/06/un-officials-join-heritage-walk-1578168.html, March 6, 2017

Nineteen-year-old Sahil*, who lives in Kolaheda village in the northern state of Rajasthan, felt embarrassed and confused about the way his body changed during his adolescence. It was not the kind of subject anyone in his village ever discussed and neither his parents nor his relatives volunteered any information. Then he heard a story on his mobile phone, accessed through a toll-free number. "I liked the way the grandfather in the story openly discusses the topic of bodily transformation with the kids," he says. After hearing it, he stopped feeling ashamed. "I have heard all the stories many times, and even shared it with my friends." The stories Sahil listens to are part of a Hindi-language interactive audio series disseminating information to teenage boys about gender and sexual issues in an engaging way.

The programme, called Kishor Varta, which in Hindi means "Discussion for Adolescents", was introduced to about 250 villages in Bundi district of Rajasthan, the Indian state with the largest gender gap in youth literacy rates and the second-highest number of domestic and sexual violence cases. Across the state, child marriages are widespread - the median age at which girls are married is 15, and for boys, it is 19; the legal marriage ages are 18 and 21 respectively.

Educating about male privilege The story Dada ka Gussa - Grandfather's Anger - the one which Sahil first listened to, addresses sex education, and is one of four available stories, each 10 to 15 minutes long with relatable, compelling fictional characters. Halfway through a story, callers are asked to respond to multiple-choice questions in order to listen further. The caller is told whether their answers are correct or not and why, allowing the boys a chance to reflect on where they stand on the issues before the plot progresses. "We focus on men and boys because we cannot achieve gender equality without involving men and boys in the conversation," says Badar Uzzama, from the Centre for Health and Social Justice (CHSJ), a New Delhi-based charity that launched the programme through the toll-free number 1-800-112013 back in July 2015.

"As adolescents, they are at a vulnerable and influential stage and could be encouraged to work with girls and women in their homes, schools and communities to bring change in unequal gender relations," says Rimjhim Jain, the programme manager. "It is about holding them also accountable for changing gender social norms by reflecting on their own male privileges and preferential treatment and opportunities." The use of mobile phones - ensuring privacy, mobility, and conducive to listening at one's own pace - encourages a large number of callers. About 1,000 boys call each day - though not all calls go through to the end. The programme uses a digital platform with an interactive voice response system, allowing callers to ask questions, respond to the stories and share their experiences. Queries are later answered by text message. Of the 50,000 calls received in the first three months, 6,000 callers shared their responses and asked for more information. At the village level, the intervention is implemented through youth clubs whose members are between 15 to 25 years old.

A community leader, chosen from among the older youths in the village, acts as a mentor and counsellor for his peers, and as a mediator between adults and boys. One group successfully stopped the early marriage of a boy among them by explaining to his parents and relatives about the destructive effects of child marriage, such as hampered educational and social growth, or the how girl brides are more likely to suffer from sexual violence.

Kishor Varta was also introduced to the 30 co-educational secondary and higher secondary schools in Bundi, after a local partner, Manjari, an NGO focusing on social justice and equality, convinced the district education officer and the police in Rajasthan about the importance of equipping adolescents with life skills and knowledge about their rights and sexual and reproductive health. The programme is now part of the standard school curriculum, having been integrated as a monthly class. During the sessions, a facilitator meets pupils, urging them to call the number and listen to the stories. They meet again a month later to discuss the issues and answer their questions.

A tool for mass awareness "The changes did not come all of a sudden, but only after the children listened to the stories regularly for over two or three months," says Adarsh, a facilitator from Nainwa village. The project spread by word of mouth as boys discussed the issues they were learning with friends and relatives. Other adolescents living 100km away from the initial target villages started calling in, asking for more information, says Bajrang Singh, from Manjari. "It is a very effective tool for mass awareness," he says. When the number of calls shot up in March 2016, CHSJ was forced to halt the digital component, unable to bear the rising costs of maintaining it. Facilitators kept disseminating the stories as Bluetooth files. In November 2016, the programme won the Vodafone Foundation "Mobile for Good Award" in the women's empowerment and inclusive development category, one of six winners in a national-level competition with 300 entries, CHSJ received a grant of around $22,500, allowing them to continue the mobile platform in January, at least for another year. With adults in the villages ill-equipped to talk about sexual and reproductive issues, the stories provide a crucial opening point into these topics.

"Despite being a science teacher, I did not know the information given in the Dada ka Gussa story," said Sarafat Ali, a teacher at Jajavar village, referring to the sex education story that Sahil also learned from, in a documented interview with a CHSJ facilitator. "The students in the school also discuss these stories with us now. It feels good that a change is coming in their thinking," he said. Considering the frankness with which otherwise taboo issues are discussed in the stories, the organisers felt it necessary to involve parents. "It is important that they know what is going on. Most families were against the particular story discussing sex education because they thought it will badly impact their sons," Singh says. "We wanted to send a clear message that we do not have any wrong intention," he adds. "The best change comes when you convince everyone, and get everyone on the same page. When things happen by force, there are going to be some consequences."

Stopping child marriages The stories have also directly affected adolescent girls. They have encouraged them to continue their education, allowed for more independence, delayed marriages and convinced their brothers take part in domestic chores. One 16-year-old girl, Kriti, heard the story Haldi ki Jaldi - Hurry to Marry - about the consequences of child marriage and its illegality in the Indian constitution. Afterwards, she refused to get married because she wanted to continue her studies. Her future father-in-law and his brother visited her village to take her to their home, so she called the police and administrative officials. The police arrested the men, and, after questioning, released them on bail. Local Hindi-language newspapers reported Kriti's story - given its rarity in a state where child marriage is common - drawing attention to how she took the matter into her own hands. Kriti now regularly attends school with the support of her parents. Even so, there are challenges reaching other girls.

The gender divide gap in technology use is wide. Across India, males are 25 percent more likely than their female counterparts to own a SIM card, according to a survey by GSMA, a global mobile association. Most girls and women in villages do not own a phone and if they can get access to one, their use is usually controlled by their brothers or fathers. According to one testimony, from a collection of 50 compiled by CHSJ into a document titled "Impact Stories", one pupil, after hearing the recordings, bought a phone for his sister, and encouraged her to listen to them. Prateek, who is 16 years old, says his 15-year-old sister dropped out of school last year. "The moment I heard the 'Lakhanpur ka Raju' story" - which addresses gender inequalities - "I insisted to my sister that she continue her studies," he told Al Jazeera. "I also convinced my parents for the same and they said that they will get her enrolled in the school in the forthcoming sessions." According to another testimony collected by CHSJ, one boy started helping his mother and sister with chores around the house after listening to this story. Previously, he had assumed it was normal for them to do the household tasks, while he and his father were responsible for anything to be done outside the home, such as the shopping. Although he now helps his mother and sister, he does so in secret; he is scared of his father, and too ashamed to tell his friends. READ MORE: Halting the blow of domestic violence in India.

True change is difficult, but possible. CHSJ recognises that progress will be slow. "Changing the centuries-old social norms is difficult, but we also recognise that it is possible," Uzzama says. The issues that the stories address were themselves selected after a door-to-door baseline survey conducted in 2014 in 30 villages in Rajasthan. The issues of dropping out from school, early and forced child-marriage and pregnancy, malnourishment among women, forced sex and dowry-related violence among young brides, as well as their secondary status in the household and workplace are just some of the problematic norms in Rajasthan. Story modules were developed by incorporating feedback on draft content from adolescents and youth groups engaged in other CHSJ and Manjari projects. This feedback was crucial in shaping narratives that could address cultural practices and prejudices, identify the key issues and resonate with the youth. CHSJ wants to expand the programme's reach to neighbouring communities of Bundi as well as enlist more male peer leaders. "We are trying to find ways of upscaling it, the major issue being cost. The pilot project has proved the success of this methodology and its potential for reaching directly enormous numbers of people.

We are on the lookout for partners in Kishor Varta who are willing to bear the cost of the digital platform," Jain says. The cost of running the system - and the need for more facilitators - are only some of the challenges. The project also needs to be closely monitored and periodically evaluated. "It is not like adding sugar to milk that you could see the impact right then," says Singh, "Kishor Varta has started a process and reaction with the pilot project, results of which might be seen over next two to five years. "Getting the boys ready to listen to the stories is the first important step - in which we have been successful."

*All the children's names have been changed to protect their identities.

- http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2017/01/digital-tool-teaches-indian-boys-gender-equality-170131120007840.html, March 6, 2017

The oldest church in the Capital, Saint James, is all set to get a facelift. The church, built in 1836, is a major landmark in the Kashmere Gate area. Built on a Greek-cross plan, the church sports fine colonial classical architecture with a florentine dome. As it was constructed by James Skinner CB, it is popularly known as Skinner's church. Its construction started in 1826, with army engineer Major Robert Smith, and finished in 1836. "The structure not only speaks volumes about the associational value but it also boasts of introduction of a new style of architecture in Delhi," says Sarmishtha Chatterjee, Conservation Architect, Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH). "It sits amidst Mughal architecture-inspired buildings on the Lothian Road, which connects it to other buildings such as Dara Shikoh Library. In fact, the church is a living testimony to events of the last 150 years in the city," she adds.

However, over the years, rising pollution and quivering due to trains passing by have left the building vulnerable to damages. INTACH submitted a detailed project report (DPR) for conservation of the church in 2016, and has now commenced the first phase. In their report, they listed valuable objects belonging to the church, which has high antiquarian value and needs to be restored using scientific methods. The list includes original European stained-glass windows depicting the crucifixion, ascension of Christ and his resurrection, a painting titled 'The Prodigal Son', original work of Italian painter Pompeo Batani, a processional cross gifted by Lord Irwin, a rare pipe organ gifted by T Ralph in 1899, and the church bell.

"Conservation is a cultural, artistic, and technical activity, based on humanistic and scientific studies and systematic research. As a team of experts, we are trying to undertake the conservation work with great respect for the historic fabric and the antiquities that hold high cultural and historical value," says Ajay Kumar, Director of Projects, INTACH. Due to its historical significance, the church falls under Grade II heritage buildings category. Thus, the building's authenticity and integrity need to be retained.

- http://www.dnaindia.com/delhi/report-st-james-delhi-s-oldest-church-set-to-get-a-facelift-2345902, March 7, 2017

On a recent evening, Bengalureans from all walks of life (there was a dentist, a thespian, a conservation architect among others in the audience) gathered at the Max Mueller Bhavan to hear a Londoner speak about the Chettinad mansions of Tamil Nadu. George Michell, an architectural historian, was talking about Mansions of Chettinad: Early Splendours, Climax, New Directions, a delectable looking coffee table book, which he has co-authored with photographer Bharath Ramamrutham. The evening saw a full house. Even INTACH (Indian National Trust for Art and Culture), which had organised the talk, was pleasantly surprised by the turnout. One of INTACH’s core members, architect Sathya-prakash Varanasi, commented on having missed a large part of the talk as he had to stand outside the packed auditorium to stop people from entering. As Michell pointed out, about 30 well-preserved Chettinad mansions have made it to the book. Access to these mansions was possible thanks to the publisher of the book Meenakshi Meyappan, owner of the Bangala, a Chettinad mansion-turned-hotel, at Karaikudi. The Chettiars, Michell said, are a remarkable community and it is by understanding its social history that the architecture of the mansions could be better understood.

The Chettiars lived in an unattractive arid place (Chettinad) where they couldn’t make money or livelihood. They turned to moneylending and trading conducted throughout Southeast Asia. “By the 1930s, the Chettiars owned more than half the rubber plantations in Rangoon. They used their wealth back home in Chettinad to build mansions.” On his field visits, Michell has seen some of the most opulent houses, some with a hundred and more rooms, replete with Burma teak, Venetian glasses, stained glass panels made in England, imported marble tiles and chandeliers. The architecture ranged from European to neoclassical, tweaked with local sensibilities. Local tiles were used for the ceilings and for the floors, handmade Attangudi tiles were the norm.

“Every Chettinad mansion, no matter its scale, had an East-West alignment,” he pointed out. “There was a marked transition from public to private spaces and between the male and female areas.” So, it isn’t unusual to find majestic roads approaching the mansions, elaborate entrances, intricately-carved front doors, the all-important tinnais (verandahs) where business was conducted, spectacular interior halls with double height ceilings, painted wooden ceilings as well as austere interior spaces where guests were not allowed and large kitchens which were bereft of any aesthetics. It is also the reason why walkways within the mansions were done in granite stones instead of plush imported marble or the decorative Attangudi tiles. The historian in him was surprised that even though the Chettiars kept a meticulous record of their financial transactions, there is practically no information about the designers of the mansions or anything pertaining to them. As is the norm these days, most of the mansions he visited were empty as the owners live outside the country. The mansions are looked after by caretakers or by select family members who live in a small portion of the house.

“These mansions are used more for social occasions like marriages when the entire family gathers, which could mean more than a hundred people at times.” In an interview before the event, Michell spoke about the need for books on heritage that would appeal to the general public who wish to educate themselves. “A book is not just about research and writing,” he explained. “It is about how much information to be put in and at what level.” A world authority on South Asian architecture, Michell’s roots are in Romania – his Jewish parents migrated to Australia during World War II. His academic qualifications are impeccable – a degree from The University of Melbourne and a doctorate from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), London. But whenever he is asked about how it all began, his answer goes back to his student days in Melbourne when he visited India as part of an exchange programme. “As a 21-year-old in the ’60s, I remember visiting Badami, Hyderabad and Mama-lapurram. I travelled a lot, spent my birthday in Chennai and ran out of money.

My parents sent me a ticket back home via Bangkok and Cambodia and somehow, Australia seemed dull and unexciting afterwards.” He chose Badami as the research subject in 1970 at SOAS and justified his choice by pointing out that it was the best preserved big group of temples built in different architectural styles. “Nowhere do you find such a well preserved set of monuments.” Since then, he has authored over 50 books on the architecture and heritage of places such as Rajasthan, Badami, Aihole, Varanasi and more; some with his partner John M Fritz.

He is working on a book on the Lepakshi temple as well as one on early Buddhist rock-cut monasteries, finalising the design of his book on Islamic architecture in Deccan, and editing a book on Jewish synagogues and heritage in Maharashtra. “Hinduism, Islam, Buddhism and Judaism, I get to do everything,” he laughed with a glee that historians can well identify with. Downtime, for Michell is about spending time in Goa, playing his cello with friends in London – “I am highly educated in classical music but not very talented”, and of course, travelling around the world, just to enjoy and relax rather than research. But whenever possible, he tries to save precious chunks of heritage. In fact, part of the proceeds from the sale of The Chettinad Mansions will go to renovate the heritage building of the Fort High School in Chamrajpet.

- http://bangaloremirror.indiatimes.com/entertainment/lounge/say-hi-to-the-world-of-past-grandeur/articleshow/57500002.cms, March 7, 2017

Some archaeologists working on Moenjodaro and other Indus valley civilisation sites have expressed concern over the safety of Moenjodaro — the 5,000-year-old world heritage site, and suggested that the ancient remains should be reburied to save them from further decay caused by climatic changes and human intervention. This point was brought to the fore at the three-day International Conference on the Moenjodaro and Indus Valley Civilisation held earlier this month. A number of archaeologists were of the view that a replica of Moenjodaro can be created for public viewing like the one created by experts for the Lascaux cave paintings, a Palaeolithic cave in south-western France. Moenjodaro was excavated under the supervision of Sir John Marshal in 1922, who was the director-general of the Archaeological Survey of India from 1902 to 1928, and the government has planned to hold the civilisation’s centennial celebrations in 2022. When asked, why these ancient remains should be reburied, Dr Jonathan Mark Kenoyer of the University of Wisconsin, USA, one of the archaeologists to have worked on the site for decades, said, “It’s necessary because this area has high salt content and when the salt comes out of bricks, it breaks them.

So the tip to protect the bricks from salt damage is to keep them without oxygen underground.” “The protection of ancient artefacts is our duty. If we find an ancient object and we dig it out of the ground, it will be destroyed, sooner or later,” he said.

“By taking it out we study it, we can record our findings but then we can put it back and make a replica of it. If a replica is destroyed it doesn’t matter because we can make another one. But we cannot make an ancient artefact once it’s destroyed,” he said. Explaining his argument, Dr Kenoyer said, “When your minister comes here, he only walks to stupa. He doesn’t walk to the other areas of the site.” Why does the rest of the area need to remain exposed when, “Ninety per cent of the visitors never go beyond the S D area,” Dr Kenoyer raised the question. “And then you celebrate festivals inside the fragile site,” he said while referring but not mentioning to the Sindh Festival organised by Pakistan People’s Party government. The archaeologist was of the view some of characteristics of Indus valley civilisation are in continuity and we can view Moenjodaro people’s features all around. “Some of the characteristics have modified and some of them are in continuity like hospitality of the people in the lower Indus valley, brick making, some costumes and lifestyle”. However, Dr Michael Jansen, who supervised the Unesco project for the safeguarding of Moenjodaro, said, “We cannot remove stupa, we cannot remove the great bath and make replicas of them.” The site doesn’t need to be rebuilt, he said while rejecting the notion of Dr Kenoyer altogether.

“This is the old theory of conservation. Because if we look at the structures, this clay and crystallisation takes place in this very thin layer of Moenjodaro. So reburying would be complete non-sense.” Dr Jansen said, “We are dealing with a city spread over 40 kilometres. If we are to rebuild another city with walls spread over the same area, one can only imagine the resources it would take to do so.” “The right way to go about preservation is that we find a recipe to preserve the site,” he said. "What we need is a proper mechanism for sustainable maintained of the structures. The government needs to protect the site from human intervention,” he added. Dr Aurore Didier, the director of French Archaeological Mission in the Indus Basin, who currently excavating Chahojodaro in Benazirabad, was of the opinion that Indus sites must be explored by digging out buried objects but then be reburied to save them. “I’m carrying out excavation at Chahojodaro because I would like to know more about the Indus civilisation. It is important to collect evidences through more extensive excavation to know more about early people and their society,” she said. Dr Didler is of the opinion that there is continuity in Pakistan not from the Indus valley civilisation but also from the Neolithic period. Traces of coal recovered from the ancient site.

—Tauseef Razi Mallick. She stressed, however, the need for technological solution for the Indus valley civilisation sites. “There are scientific ways to know what is buried without excavation," she said, but added that this technology would only inform archaeologists about the presence of artefacts, which would, ultimately, will have to be dug out if more information is to be gathered from them. About Dr Kenoyer’s suggestion of reburying the site she said, “Of course with excavation architecture is exposed to wind, sun light and rains and artificial elements.” For that reason, she said, in the excavations at Chahojodaro the architectural remains once they have been exposed.

- https://www.dawn.com/news/1318790/moenjodaro-to-bury-or-not-to-bury-the-ancient-city, March 7, 2017

To celebrate International Women’s Day, Google has put together a Doodle slideshow. The Google Doodle features 13 “female pioneers” – not all of whom are household names although each enjoyed great success in their chosen fields. It features a little girl whose grandmother tells her “the best bedtime story ever” before the child visits the 13 remarkable women in her imagination. The 13 women Ida Wells An African-American journalist and activist born in Mississippi in 1862, she wrote prolifically on the fight for women’s suffrage as well as the struggle for civil rights. She documented the practice of lynching black people in the southern states showing how it was often used as means of controlling or punishing black people who competed with whites rather than as a means of “justice” for crimes.

Lotifa El Nadi Egypt’s first female pilot born in 1907 in Cairo. Although her father saw no need for her to pursue secondary education, expecting her to marry and have a family, she rebelled and worked as a secretary and telephone operator at a flying school in exchange for lessons as she had no other means to pay for the training. Her achievements made headlines around the world when she flew over the pyramids and competed in international flying races. Frida Kahlo A Mexican painter and activist born in Mexico City in 1907, her work has been celebrated internationally as emblematic of Mexican national and indigenous traditions and by feminists for its honest depiction of female experience.

Lina Bo Bardi A Brazilian architect, born in Italy in 1914, she devoted her life to the promotion of the social and cultural potential of architecture and design. She is also celebrated for her furniture and jewellery designs. Olga Skorokhodova A Soviet scientist born into a poor Ukranian peasant family in 1911, she lost her vision and hearing at the age of five. Overcoming these difficulties in a remarkable way, she became a researcher in the field of communication and created a number of scientific works concerning the development of education of deaf-blind children. She was also a teacher, therapist and writer.

Miriam Makeba A South African singer and civil rights activist born in Johannesburg in 1932, she was forced to work as a child following her father’s death. She became a teenaged mother after a bried and allegedly abusive marriage at 17, before she was discovered as a singer of jazz and African melodies. After becoming hugely successful in the US and winning a Grammy, she became involved in the civil rights struggle stateside as well as in the campaign against apartheid in her home country, writing political songs. Upon her death, South African President Nelson Mandela said that “her music inspired a powerful sense of hope in all of us.” Sally Ride An American astronaut and physicist, she was born in Los Angeles in 1951 and joined NASA in 1978 after gaining her PhD. She became the first American woman and the third woman ever to go into space in 1983 at the age of 32. Prior to her first space flight, she attracted attention because of her gender and at press conferences, was asked questions such as, “Will the flight affect your reproductive organs?” She later worked as an academic at the University of California, San Diego. Halet Cambel A Turkish archaeologist born in 1916, she became the first Muslim women to compete in the Olympics in the 1936 Berlin games as a fencer. She declined an invitation to meet Adolf Hitler on political grounds, and after the conclusion of the Second World War, she trained as an architect and later worked as an academic in Turkey and Germany.

Ada Lovelace An English mathematician and writer born in 1815, she became the world’s first computer programmer. The daughter of poet George Byron, she is chiefly known for her work on Charles Babbage's proposed mechanical general-purpose computer, the Analytical Engine, and was the first to recognise the machine had applications beyond pure calculation, creating the first algorithm intended to be carried out by such a machine. Rukmini Devi An Indian dancer and choreographer credited with reviving Indian classical dance, she was born in 1904 and presented her form of dance on stage even though it was considered “low” and “vulgar” in the 1920s. She features in India Today’s list of “100 people who shaped India” having also worked to re-establish traditional Indian arts and crafts and as an animal rights activist. Cecilia Grierson An Argentine physician, reformer born in Buenes Aires in 1859, she became the first woman in Argentina to receive a medical degree having previously worked as a teacher. Women were barred from entering medical school at the time, so she first volunteered as an unpaid lab assistant before she was allowed to train as a doctor. She was acclaimed for her work during a cholera epidemic before going on to found the first nursing school in Argentina. The harassment she experienced at mediacl school helped make her a militant advocate for women’s rights in Argentina.

Lee Tai-young Korea’s first female lawyer and judge born in 1914 in what is now North Korea, she was also an activist who founded the country’s first legal aid centre and fought for women’s rights throughout her career. Her often mentioned refrain was, “No society can or will prosper without the cooperation of women.” She worked as a teacher, married and had four children before she was able to begin her legal career after the Second World War, becoming the first woman to enter Seoul National University. She also fought for civil rights in the country and was arrested in 1977 for her beliefs, receiving a three-year suspended sentence and a ten year disbarment.

Suzanne Lenglen A French tennis champion born in 1899, she popularised the sport winning 31 championships and dominating the women’s sport for over a decade. She was the first female tennis celebrity and one of the first international women sports stars, overcoming a childhood plagued with ill health including chronic asthma – which continued to plague her in her adult life. At 15, she became the youngest ever winner of a major championship and lost only seven matches during her entire career. She received widespread criticism for her decision to turn professional, but defended her right to make a decent living in the days when the grand slam tournaments paid a relative pittance to the winners.

- http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/international-womens-day-2017-who-are-they-frida-kahlo-ida-wells-sally-ride-ada-lovelace-a7617201.html, March 7, 2017

President of India Pranab Mukherjee handed a national award to the Khasi and Jaintia communities for creating the living root bridges, which is an attraction the world over and also provides communication network to remote villages. The award was given at the 9th National Biennial Award function of Grassroots Innovators and Outstanding Traditional Knowledge Holders, organised by National Innovation Foundation-India at Rashtrapati Bhavan on March 4.

This is the first time that all communities who are engaged in developing living root bridges in Meghalaya have received such recognition and award. A total of 62 awards were given to 73 innovators, traditional knowledge holders and community representatives in the function. They came from 22 States and Union Territories. These innovation awards have been decided after a rigorous screening at different levels. All the entries were subjected to technical test to ascertain the novelty, distinction and cost effectiveness. Mukherjee gave away the 29 National, State, one lifetime achievement and one posthumous scout award during the ceremony and also inaugurated the Innovation Exhibition at the venue, which remains open till March 10, a State Government official said today. The Living Root bridges are unique to this part of the world and are found in the southern slopes of the State.

Villagers from Khasi Jaintia communities have been building these bridges from ages to form network communications to remote areas.

- http://www.assamtribune.com/scripts/detailsnew.asp?id=mar0717/oth051, March 7, 2017

The Pitalkhora caves, one of the earliest centres of rock-cut architecture in India and older than the world-famous Ellora caves, especially the paintings over there, are lying in a state of utter neglect. Experts and historians accused the ASI, Aurangabad, of not paying due attention to conservation of images at the caves while calling for chemical treatment for the paintings on the lines of Ajanth to control the damage. A ToI visit to the caves revealed that the paintings are getting rapidly damaged, largely due to natural weathering process and biogenic influences. While the ancient heritage itself dates back to 2nd century BC, the paintings found in cave number 3 are believed to be artwork of the 5th century surviving. The front pillars and upper portion of the walls of the cave house these impressive paintings, but most of them are getting worn out.

Located around 75km from Aurangabad and 45km from Ellora caves, the Pitalkhora caves are governed by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). Dulari Qureshi, an expert in art history, accused the ASI of confining its focus to Ajanta and Ellora caves and allowing other more ancient structures like the Pitalkhora caves to "die a natural death". "The Pitalkhora caves and the paintings have already received a lot of damage due to natural weathering process in the absence of scientific intervention. It is very unfortunate that these ancient paintings have been totally ignored and deprived of chemical treatment," she said. Umesh Bagade, head of history department at Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University, said government authorities concerned should waste no more time in ensuring that ancient heritage in the form of paintings at Pitalkhora remain intact.

"Pitalkhora epitomises earliest rock-cut architecture in the country and it is unfortunate that it is lying in such a state of neglect. The ASI top brass and the ministry concerned should ensure that what was once hailed as a landmark for the ancient trade route in the world remains available for future generations," he said. While a dedicated chemical laboratory has been set up at the Ajanta caves for conservation of paintings, similar arrangement has been sought by experts for the Pitalkhora caves. When contacted, A M V Subramanyam, acting superintending archaeologist of the ASI, Aurangabad circle, questioned the knowledge of experts who have been pressing for conservation of paintings at Pitalkhora. Subramanyam skirted further queries, stating that the ASI has separate science branch for western zone that is mandated to look after conservation aspect of caves and monuments.

Other senior ASI officials said the restoration work at Pitalkhora is already under way and that the conservation aspect of the paintings could also be considered. "Unstable slopes, huge rock overhangs and seepage problems are the main contributors for the damage at Pitalkhora caves, which are carved in somewhat brittle rocks as compared to the rocks at Ajanta and Ellora. Still, remedial measures are under way," a senior official said. When contacted, Shrikant Mishra, deputy superintending archaeological chemist with the science branch of the ASI's Aurangabad zone said that the concerned ASI departments have not raised any need for conservation of paintings at Pitalkhora caves. "We have not been intimated or informed in writing about the possible need of chemical treatment to the paintings in question. Also, no other third-party or experts have communicated the need for the same," he said.

- http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/aurangabad/ancient-paintings-at-pitalkhora-caves-on-the-verge-of-extinction/articleshow/57515220.cms, March 8, 2017

Sudarsan Pattnaik has always left lovers of art spellbound by his sand art creations. The internationally acclaimed sand artist, who is now in Bahrain for a workshop, paid tribute to womanhood by creating a beautiful sculpture that depicts a woman’s face. He was also amazed by the enthusiasm the teachers, who had participated in the workshop exhibited. Pattnaik, who hails from the eastern coastal state of Odisha, is a Padma Shri awardee and has won a number of international sand art competitions. He recently created a new record with the Guinness Book for creating the world’s tallest sand castle.

- http://zeenews.india.com/culture/international-women-s-day-2017-sudarsan-pattnaik-s-sand-art-at-bahrain-beach-a-tribute-to-womanhood_1984375.html, March 8, 2017

A woman who survived being buried alive at birth by a snake-charming tribe before setting up a successful dance company in Rajasthan was just one of a number of women awardees at the Maharana Mewar Foundation Annual Awards in Udaipur last night. The awards, now in their 35th year, held at the iconic City Palace, recognise exceptional individuals across Rajasthan, India and the world and attract an audience of more than 1800 guests, many from overseas. A strong message was sent out from this year’s awards committee encouraging female achievement and challenging prejudice against women, which remains a major social problem in parts of India. The committee is headed by Shriji Arvind Singh Mewar of Udaipur, the 76th Custodian of the House of Mewar and the Chairman and Managing Trustee of Maharana of Mewar Charitable Foundation. Gulabi Sapera caught much of the attention on the night as she was awarded with the Maharana Mewar Award. Many in the audience were stunned by her story of being buried by elders just an hour after her birth before being rescued by her aunt. The seventh child born into a nomadic serpent hunting tribe in Ajmer, Rajasthan the elders did not want to be ‘burdened’ with bringing up Gulabi in a tribal culture where infanticide of baby girls was common.

Gulabi’s attempted murder was undertaken against her father’s will and without his knowledge. She later rose to prominence after being spotted dancing to snake charming music by an official in the Rajasthan tourism department in 1981. Gulabi has since taken her celebrated whirling dance style ‘Kalbeliya’ around the world, performing in 165 countries. The dance, whose steps match the movement of a snake, has won international acclaim being listed in UNESCO’s representative list of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. The dance is also now one of the major features detailed on tourism maps in Rajasthan. Meanwhile, Captain Radhika Menon the Indian Merchant Navy’s first woman ship-captain was bestowed the Panna Dhai award in recognition of acts beyond the call of duty. Captain Menon captured intentional media attention for her role in saving the lives of seven fisherman whose boat sank in rough seas in the Bay of Bengal.

Another woman awardee was Moti Meena who refused to follow the traditional custom of remaining housebound after being widowed aged 28 with three sons to provide for. Moti faced stern community disapproval after declining to remarry and lost the support of her parents-in-law when she refused to be housebound. Against these challenges Moti has spent the last nine years establishing herself as an independent woman and health worker running three health clinics in remote villages around Salumber Block in Udaipur. Shriji Arvind Singh Mewar said the awards have always been committed to progressive values of empowering women through education and acknowledging their contribution to rural development work often in village communities. He praised the women awardees as ‘beacons of inspiration’. This category of the MMCF Awards resonate with the ideals and achievements in the late 19th century when Maharana Shambhu Singh, an illustrious Maharana of Mewar, established the first secondary school for girls in Udaipur. Education was important for Maharana Singh who was not formally educated himself. “We applaud all of tonight’s awardees and their outstanding achievements need to be acknowledged in our times,” said Shriji. “They need to be encouraged to carry on with their exceptional work. Women still face enormous prejudice in some parts of India but as tonight’s awardees have shown it can be overcome and fought.” Meanwhile, other notable awardees included Sir Angus Deaton a Scottish born Professor of Economics and International Affairs at Princeton University in America. Sir Angus was honoured with the prestigious Colonel James Tod Award for his work researching healthcare in Rajasthan and India. The award is given to a foreign national each year who has contributed ‘permanent value’ in understanding of the spirit and values of Mewar. It is named after the British officer Colonel Tod who spent 22 years in India at the turn of the 19th century, several of those in Udaipur helping to develop a productive relationship between the British East India Company and Mewar. The awardee of the Haldighati Award for journalism was Praveen Swami, an international affairs editor at the Indian Express. Accepting his award Praveen called for greater respect for differing opinions in public debate, raising his concerns about the increasingly abusive and intolerant tone of discussion in the media. The awards function was chaired by one of India’s leading poets Balkavi Bairaagi, aged 87, who continues to produce inspiring poetry and was applauded by the audience.

“As I travel across India, I am often asked what does the Maharana of Mewar Foundation actually do?,” he said. “It is committed to instilling ancient Vedic and Indian values in new generations. Triggering a positive transformation in people of today’s time and age.” Awardees were presented with ceremonial shawls, toran plaques, certificates, commemorative medals and cash awards, depending on the category of Awards.

About Maharana of Mewar Charitable Foundation (MMCF) ‘Eternal Mewar’ was conceptualized in 2006 to provide an expression to the vision of the House of Mewar. Eternal Mewar, underlined with the words ‘Custodianship Unbroken Since 734 AD’, expresses, embodies and encompasses the core values, principles and legacy of the House. It covers all initiatives of the House of Mewar, which as an institution is bridging a historic past with a volatile, uncertain future in the 21st century. Today, in the age of globalization, Eternal Mewar is no longer just an established heritage brand but essentially a vibrant catalyst which continues to sustain the living heritage of Mewar and the civilizational ethos of India. The City Palace at Udaipur is a rare and exemplary living cultural heritage under Eternal Mewar.

- http://indiagbnews.com/education/infanticide-survivor-given-top-honour-women-shine-maharana-mewar-foundation-awards/, March 8, 2017

In order to highlight and discuss the issues related to the preservation of cultural and heritage sites in J&K, the Indian National Trust for Art & Cultural Heritage (INTACH), Jammu Chapter organized one-day seminar on the theme “Preserving the Built Heritage of Jammu and Kashmir & Evolving Technologies & Processes”, here today. The objective of organizing this important event was to sensitize the stakeholders, especially the engineers about the significance and preservation of ancient precious cultural and heritage sites in Jammu and Kashmir. Minister for Public Works (Roads & Buildings), Naeem Akhtar was chief guest while as Chairman, INTACH, Maj Gen (Retd) L.K. Gupta was guest of honor on the occasion. Commissioner/Secretary Transport, Hemant Sharma, State Convener, INTACH, Saleem Beig, Convener Jammu Chapter, S.M. Sahni, Managing Director, JKPCC, Daleep Thussu, Chief Engineer, R&B, Alok Mengi, Chief Engineer, PMGSY, P.L. Bhushan, prominent environmentalist, Dr. C.M. Seth, Members of INTACH, intellectuals and large number of engineers from Jammu division attended the seminar. Speaking on the occasion, the Minister said that Jammu and Kashmir is known for its unique and diverse cultural and natural heritage values, for which the history is testimony. He called for a coordinated and tangible approach by various stakeholders to preserve this valuable treasure to maintain the legacy for the coming generations. He said culture, art and languages are the identity of every individual, State and nation which inspire the coming generations, thus all out efforts must be made to conserve these. Appreciating the efforts of the INTACH in restoring and preserving some identified important monuments in the State, the Minister said that the State will devise a well-knit strategy to protect these heritage sites with the help of INTACH and other such credible organizations. He stressed the need for organizing such events in all three regions of the State on regular basis to enlighten the people on this important subject, which he said will greatly help in preserving whatever left back in the State. The Minister said that engineers have greater responsibility to save these valuable sites and also keeping alive the age old cultural heritages. He called upon them to evolve innovative techniques/ideas to create the heritage value added assets by using traditional material and craftsmen. He asked them to keep in mind the old architectural features which were linked to the local civilizations while executing the new projects to showcase these as heritage to the futuristic generations. He stressed the need for deputing the engineers to INTACH workshops, research centers at Delhi or elsewhere to acquire the knowledge in preservation of heritage sites so that they can contribute effectively in preserving the numerous heritage sites in the state. He also suggested for carrying out the mapping of all the ancient heritage sites/buildings/structures/shrines with their present status across the State to develop a data base so that the Government can formulate a comprehensive plan for their proper conservation. Maj. Gen. L.K. Gupta and Mr. Saleem Beig deliberated in-depth on the subject and apprised about its activities in the State. They suggested several measures for effective preservation of these valuable assets and maintained that the State has been bestowed with rich and diverse cultural and natural heritages which need to be preserved under a well devised strategy for which the INTACH will extend its wholehearted support. They suggested that the engineers and architects must keep in mind while executing the new projects that protected heritage sites are not harmed or disturbed. They also called for paying focused attention on the preservation of natural heritages like water bodies, springs, forests to maintain the ecological balance of this rich diverse State.

- http://www.scoopnews.in/det.aspx?q=65467, March 9, 2017

Jammu and Kashmir State Archaeology Department (SAD) has discovered over 800 ancient copper coins dating back to 11th and 12th century from a village in Budgam district of central Kashmir. It is said to be the largest numismatic discovery from the district. “A team of experts, under the supervision of the Director Archives, Archaeology and Museum M S Zahid, recovered over 800 ancient copper coins from a plateau of village Nonar in Khan Sahab area,” an SAD spokesperson said today. He said the plateau, apparently rich in archaeological treasures, was under consideration of the department for long time. During the trial excavation, the coin hoard was recovered. The hoard consisting of more than 800 coins were later on collected by the team of the state archaeology, the spokesperson said. Archaeologists of the Archives, Archaeology and Museums Department, who are investigating the findings, in their preliminary report, has dated the coins to 11th to 12th century AD, when Yassakara and Lohora dynasties ruled over Kashmir, he said. The discovered coins have gathered dust and rust and are being given chemical treatment in the conservation lab of the SPS Museum at Lal Mandi. “After the coins are cleaned and given necessary chemical treatment, only then these would be properly identified and deciphered by the department experts and research work on these coins will be shared with the heritage lovers and archaeologist of the state. “It will certainly help us in filling up of the gapes in the numismatic collection of our museums,” the spokesperson said. He, however, said this kind of numismatic discovery from the Budgam district is very rare as it is first time when the department has recovered such largest coin hoard from this area. Earlier, sultanate period coins were recovered from Chrar-e-Sharif area of Budgam, while the department also recovered a huge hoard of more than 2000 ancient coins from Watnar village of Anantnag district in south Kashmir in the past. The department under the supervision of Zahid has made 11 discoveries in last 13 years, out of which four such discoveries pertains to numismatic field, the spokesperson added. He said these discoveries helped to fill the gaps in Archaeological field viz-a-viz numismatics, Sculpture, Art and Archaeological sites of the state s glorious past. “All the finds are well preserved in the SPS Museum at Lal Mandi here. This museum houses the largest collection of ancient coins in copper, silver and gold, estimating more than 70,000,” he said.

- http://www.india.com/news/agencies/800-ancient-copper-coins-discovered-in-budgam-1905900/, March 9, 2017

Two cubs belonging to the Asian black bear (Ursus thibetanus) family, also known as the moon bear, Asiatic black bear and white-chested bear, were recently rescued in the jungles of Sendenyu village under Kohima district. The Asiatic black bear is classified as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), mostly because of deforestation and hunting for its body parts. A youth volunteer of the community conservation of Sendenyu village feeding goat-milk to the recently rescued Asian black bears from the village forests. A youth volunteer of the community conservation of Sendenyu village feeding goat-milk to the recently rescued Asian black bears from the village forests. The rescued cubs, weighing around 3-4 kg, were said to have been found by woodcutters during the first week of March. Upon hearing the news, youth volunteers of the Sendenyu Community Biodiversity & Wildlife Conservation Committee reportedly took over custody of the cubs. “For two nights we left them where they were found in the jungle but the mother bear did not return, so we are taking care of them for now. The cubs are being fed with goat milk as they are very young. Once they grow bigger, we plan to let them go in the reserve forest,” a volunteer said. Stating that the nearby jungles have been a habitat for the Asian black bears for a long time, the volunteer expressed concern that deforestation is chasing the species away. The Sendenyu village, under Kohima district, conserves about 22 sq km of the forest around the village, and is gaining popularity with environmentalists with the village’s community conservation efforts. In 2015, the Sendenyu Community Biodiversity & Wildlife Conservation Committee called a public meeting with its three associate villages wherein it was decided that an indefinite ban on hunting in the village land would be imposed. The village’s avid efforts in conservation which spans for the last 15 years or so, reportedly saw a visible migration and increase in wildlife population in the neighbouring village areas where, until the recent past, were almost thought to have gone extinct. The Asian black bear species is morphologically considered very similar to some prehistoric bears, and is thought by some scientists to be the ancestor of other extant bear species (aside from pandas and spectacled bears). Adult Asiatic males weigh 60–200 kg (130–440 lb) with an average weight of about 135 kg (298 lb). Adult females weigh 40–125 kg (88–276 lb), and large ones up to 140 kg (310 lb). Although the black bear is protected in India, after being listed as vulnerable in the Red Data Book in Appendix I of CITES in India and in Schedule I of the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act and its 1991 amendment, it has been difficult to prosecute those accused of poaching black bears due to lack of witnesses and lack of Wildlife Forensic Labs to detect the originality of confiscated animal parts or products. Moreover, due to India’s wide stretching boundaries with other nations such as Pakistan, Tibet, China, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Myanmar, it is reportedly difficult to police such borders, which are often in mountainous terrains.

- http://www.easternmirrornagaland.com/villagers-rescue-bear-cubs-from-sendenyu-forest-in-nagaland/, March 9, 2017

75 percent of the world’s biodiversity today is located on indigenous people’s lands—preservation of this knowledge makes indigenous people the ‘gene banks’ of the world. The loss of this could mean the loss of planet Earth as we know it. This was stated by Phrang Roy, Coordinator, Indigenous Partnership for Agrobiodiversity & Food Sovereignty, Italy, and Chairperson, North East Slow Food & Agrobiodiversity Society (NESFAS), India, during the Biodiversity Festival held at the North East Network (NEN) Resource Centre here today. The Festival drew 11 communities, NGOs, State Government representatives, church and village bodies from the region. Most of the knowledge contained on indigenous lands is understood to be held in seeds that are at the centre of their biodiversity. Women farmers in Nagaland are going back to their roots, becoming seed investors by storing and exchanging indigenous seeds, restoring sovereignty of the peoples in its true sense. “Women are the guardians and custodians of this knowledge,” said Roy while speaking as the Guest of Honour at the Festival today that saw women from various parts of Nagaland exchange seeds with each other as well as with women from Kalimpong (Lepcha people) and Jaintia Hills (Khasi people). The Biodiversity Festival saw an exhibition of cultivated, uncultivated crops diversity, an Earth Market and healing plants, as well as indigenous seeds from the region. Women from indigenous communities have not just preserved biodiversity but also cultural diversity, tying together the forests and the people, culture and generations through storytelling. With the onset of global capitalism, much of global biodiversity has been lost. There used to be 30,000-50,000 varieties of rice found in the east of the Indian sub-continent at some point of time, for instance, explained Roy, who was the first and only person of indigenous origin to become Assistant Secretary General of the United Nations. Many have been lost due to uneven development and unequal opportunities throughout the world, particularly for women who are seed and culture guardians of communities. Women and men are known to share equal responsibilities among indigenous communities. “Unless we recognise that women play an equal role, indigenous people will lose out tremendously,” he said, referring to the social, economic and political aspects of life. March 8 is commemorated around the world as International Women’s Day.

Climate Change
Intensive agriculture and production has degraded lands and forests. Carbon Emission and Climate Change have become irreversible. 3-4 companies around the world control most of the world’s seeds. Thus, “this exchange of seeds” that was facilitated by NEN between women seed keepers/farmers of the North East region is an act of resistance towards such “dangerous” trends, reminded Phrang Roy. “Let us go back to the cuisine of our grandparents,” he appealed to ensure humanity’s common longevity. The upkeep of agro ecology has to become a “social movement” where in “believers” must be created through leadership among young people to take the process forward, he suggested. Further, science and traditional knowledge must also go hand-in-hand to ensure a shared future.

Building solidarity
In 2014, women from Chizami village in Phek district of Nagaland exchanged millets seeds with Khasi women in Meghalaya during NEN’s Biodiversity Festival that year. In 2017, the Khasi women had managed to distribute millets grown out of Nagaland’s seeds to five villages in the East Khasi Hills. “We are here to get more experience and share ideas so we get the confidence to preserve traditional farming systems,” said Phirianda Diengdoh, a farmer and seed banker from the East Khasi Hills who has tasted the fruits of Chizami’s seeds before. Now the West Khasi Hills also want to become seed bankers and promote exchange, she said in her solidarity message for the day. For Tushar Pancholi from the Millet Network of Indian (MINI) in Gujarat, visiting Nagaland for the first time, all this biodiversity, and its friendly exchange, was “like a dream” as development has left no space for such in Gujarat anymore. He maintained that women farmers should be given the Nobel Prize for maintaining these “seed labs” and becoming the “backbone” of society. Exchange of seeds, he noted, ensures that if damaging capitalist trends do reach one location, all seeds are not lost. Solidarity messages were also given by Dorip Lepcha from the Lepcha community from Kalimpong and Dr. Rinku Bharali from ICAR, KVK Phek. Folk performances were presented by the women of Sangtam, Chakhesang, Lepcha and Pochury communities. With prayers given by Mary Lasuh, the program was hosted by Wekoweu Tsuhah. The final event saw the screening of films on farmers of Phek district that led to a vibrant discussion between visiting and local farmers.

- http://morungexpress.com/indigenous-people-gene-banks-world/, March 9, 2017

Bangalore holds much importance with regard to the reign of Tipu Sultan. While the third Anglo-Mysore war was fought between the king and the British on this very land, few are aware of its history. INTACH now proposes to take you on a walk through Old Bangalore, so that you can live the experience March 21, 1791. The recent shifting of the Tipu Sultan armoury that stood on the Bengaluru-Mysuru railway track in Srirangapatna hindering its doubling work, has almost coincided with yet another historical milestone this month -- 226 years of the III Mysore War also called Third Anglo-Mysore war -- the last major battle fought in Bengaluru where the British forces captured Bangalore Fort. Ulsoor Gate and Bangalore Fort hold prime prominence in this war which were the crucial points of attacks. In between comes Jumma Masjid road, Taramandalpet, Kote Anjaneyaswamy temple opposite to which the non-descript “breach’’ plaque is engraved on the fort wall, Tipu’s favourite summer palace which was still under construction and finally his armoury which stacked the ammunitions underground -- all are testimony to the great war. According to historians, the city’s old areas -- Pete -- was the battlefield that saw the two warring contingents -- from the present Ulsoor gate side to Bangalore Fort. To mark the event, Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) is coming up with the 1791 War Walk -- for the first time, people will be taken through the battle-led trail on March 26. Bangalore Mirror digs into the history books, chats with historians and takes a sneak peek back into the historical event and the monuments associated with it. While INTACH wants to spring some surprise to its walkers (by not sharing complete details of the walk and the monuments to be visited), the two-km walk will be from Avenue road and end at Tipu Armoury near Bangalore Medical College in Kalasipalya (more details can be had from INTACH’s page on Facebook). The “battle honour of Mysore commemorates the action of native units of the British East India Company in the Third Anglo-Mysore War of 1789–92,” says history. Lord Cornwallis, who had then taken over the command of East India Company led the contingent for the III Anglo-Mysore war against Tipu Sultan and the first attack was launched on March 21, 1791. According to historians, Cornwallis’ primary goal was to take control of the then Bangalore, which would give the British forces a strong base for future operations against Srirangapatna (then called Seringapatam), Tipu’s stronghold. Suresh Moona, well known historian who has chronicled Bangalore, says the first attack was by Colonel Moorhouse who first stormed the Pettah gate (now called Ulsoor Gate) which was the north of the city. Similarly, down South, Cornwallis led the attack near the Fort. Hence goes the plaque in white on the Fort wall opposite Kote Anjaneyaswamy temple which reads: “Through this breach, the British attack was delivered in March 21, 1791,’’ thus recording one of the most important events in the city’s history. “Launching the attack on the Fort was a strategy used by Cornwallis to weaken Tipu’s army. The battle ended with the East India Company capturing the Bangalore Fort and Tipu had to retract to Srirangapatna. But unfortunately for Tipu, he could not spend much time in his summer palace after the war,’’ explains Moona.Tipu’s summer palace is opposite Bangalore Fort and its construction had started in 1781 by his father Hyder Ali and was completed by the son in 1792. Tipu died in 1799 and this war did not go well with him. Another landmark and remnant of the war is Tipu’s armoury in Kalasipalya that today lies in the state of utter neglect -- in quite contrast to its “big brother’’ in Srirangapatna which is being restored and shifted at a cost of Rs 13 crore to make way for the railway line. The 200-odd-year-old Tipu Sultan armoury is virtually nobody’s baby. This is where Tipu had stacked the cache of his ammunition and missiles. The armoury construction is timeless -- it is below the ground level and the style of construction has also been replicated by the army’s Magazine. With one entrance that is oblivious to the world and camouflaged by grass, the armoury gave a safe protection to Bangalore. Not very far away, near Jumma Masjid Road lies Taramandalpet where missiles, rockets and ammunitions were experimented. The area near Nagarathpet also housed Tipu’s missile manufacturing factory, explains Moona. Not just the war, even post-battle scenes were captured through paintings. James Hunter, who was a lieutenant in the Royal Artillery and a famous painter of his time, has shown the war-ravaged city including the Fort damage in subtle colours. So much so for the city -- originally Bengaluru according to an ancient stone inscription found in Begur, which was later called Bangalore and again renamed as Bengaluru -- which has done very little to keep its roots strong. And a war in Bengaluru centuries ago might seem totally misplaced now.

- http://bangaloremirror.indiatimes.com/bangalore/others/trail-of-tribulation/articleshow/57562335.cms, March 10, 2017

Students of Gitanjali Devshala thanked the Council for Green Revolution for giving them an opportunity to visit Silarpally village in Mahbubnagar district. Based on their visit to the model village, they made a movie The Growing Hope which speaks about the green crusaders of the village and how youth are working for its betterment. The film won the ‘Best Documentary Film’ in the Film-It Intach Club Film Festival, 2017.

Women’s Day
The pre-primary children of Gitanjali Devshala celebrated the spirit of ‘Being a Woman’ with a ramp walk of three generations. The fun-filled morning, which included poems on mothers and grandmothers, a dance performance and games, ended on an empowering note.

Graduation Day
Delhi Public School, Mahendra Hills, pre-primary Graduation Day was held on the school premises on March 2. The chief guest was Amruta Varshini, a Balaratna awardee and a playback singer. Academic director T. Sudha, principal Sunita Rao and headmistress Kiran Khanna delivered the convocation address and handed over the certificates to the students. Addressing the parents, Ms. Sudha said children should not compared with others as their aims and purposes are different. All the prep classes had different themes and shared their memorable years in the pre-primary in various ways.

Ramp walk
The eighth graduation ceremony for the tiny tots of pre-primary section (UKG) of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan’s Atmakuri Rama Rao School, Jubilee Hills, was celebrated on March 4. The function began with the lighting of lamp by the school principal which was followed by the school prayer. The principal, in her welcome address, said every child was unique and individual differences matter a lot. She spoke about the significance of the role of parents and teachers in helping children grow. She urged the parents to spend quality time with them. The cultural programme commenced with a dance performance by the children of LKG on the theme ‘Indian sports’. The UKG children walked the ramp wearing the convocation cap and gown.

National Science Day
The students of Gitanjali Devshala presented their science models during Science Fair held at the school on February 28. This year’s theme was ‘Science and Technology for specially-abled persons’. The differently-abled children improved their sensory motor skills by identifying alphabets on sand paper flash cards. Everyday items were used effectively for the purpose.

Grandparents’ Day
Play School, the pre-primary wing of Sister Nivedita School, Ameerpet, celebrated Grandparents’ Day on March 4. Grandparents attended the event in large numbers. On the occasion, a grandparent sang a song. Games were conducted for the audience and winners were given prizes. The objective of the programme was to show that grandparents play a vital role in the upbringing of their grandchildren.

Street play
A street play, Bas Ek Boondh , was organised by Gitanjali Devshala as part of its Community Outreach Programme. The objective was to create awareness on water conservation highlighting certain feasible solutions to reduce water wastage.

Graduation ceremony
The kindergarten students of DDMS P. Obul Reddy Public School celebrated Graduation Ceremony on March 4. The occasion was graced by chairman of DDMS P. Obul Reddy Educational Academy, S.V. Rao, secretary E. Narasimha Rao and principal Anjali Razdan.

- http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-in-school/students-movie-on-green-crusaders-adjudged-best-documentary-film/article17438012.ece, March 10, 2017

Delhi of the Mughals never ceases to astonish one. Besides the vast literature on the subject one sometimes gleans gems of information that lie buried in obscurity. Would it surprise modern readers to know that Shah Jahan (whose birthday fell on 15 January) built not only a new Capital but also imparted a certain unique tradition to it. According to Shama Mitra Chenoy, Delhi was not only Darul Khalifa but also 22 Khawaja-ki-Chaukhat (royal patronage hub and threshold of 22 saints). The city had 14 gates: Delhi Darwaza, Rajghat Darwaza, Khizri Darwaza, Calcutta Darwaza, Nigambodh Ghat Darwaza, Kela Ghat Darwaza, Lal Darwaza, Kashmiri Darwaza, Badarroo Darwaza, Kabuli Darwaza, Pathar Ghat Darwaza, Lahauri Darwaza, Ajmeri Darwaza and Turkman Darwaza. There were also 14 Khirkis or windows in the Walled City. According to Prof Aleem Ashraf Khan, writing in the Indo-Persian Society’s publication, Delhi of the Mughals, printed by Mohammed Anees, the enclosing wall of the city, a mud one, built in four months, crumbled a year later in heavy rain and the emperor ordered it to be rebuilt in stone and lime-mortar. It was about 6,664 yards in circumference, four yards in width and nine yards in height with 27 bastions, each 10 yards in diameter. The cost was Rs.4 lakh though the mud one had cost Rs.1.5 lakh. But the value of the rupee at that time was more than a hundred times of what it is now. The saying was that Delhi had many gates of entry but none for departure (meaning that those who came to the city just stayed on). And why would anyone want to leave a city, which was grander than any in the world at that time? European travellers like Manucci were amazed by the beauty and variety of Shahjahanabad, whose Chandni Chowk was like a fairyland (the meeting place of writers,poets and storytellers), where one could buy anything from an elephant to a pin or even an afrit or jinn. There were precious stones as big as turkey's eyes and enchanted maidens, who could sing one to the land of the Lotus Eaters and bewilder both the residents and visitors. The poet Bedil, records Prof Rehana Khatoon, was witness to the Rasm-e-Sati in the 26th year of Mohammad Shah’s reign in 1156 A H (corresponding to 1745 AD). He says: "On 2nd Jamadus Sani, the wife of Bhagwan Narain Khatri, who lived in Vakilpura, became sati with her husband at the age of 35. His father was a friend of Rai Rayan Nagarmal and Nagarmal tried this not to happen but she (the wife) did not accept his advice and went to a jungle with the body of her husband. Bedil saw this rasm and remained disturbed for the whole day. Then he went to the Dargah of Qutubuddin Bakhtiyar Kaki (in Mehrauli) and wrote some rubais (quatrains)." Dr Narayani Gupta says the city was divided into 12 thanas or wards, each in charge of a Thanedar. The thana was a honeycomb of mohallas, each of which was sealed off from the other and could be entered only by one gate. Each mohalla was named after the affluent resident, whose haveli dominated it. The Thanedar of Daryaganj saved the life of Sir Theophilus Metcalfe when he was fleeing to Rajputana during the revolt of 1857. Incidentally, each ward also had the house of some prominent Iranian official, who exercised good control. Dr Khalid Alvi of Zakir Husain College recounts that Sufis and poets would always gravitate towards Jama Masjid. There were many Kehwa Houses in Chandni Chowk (kehwa is a Kashmiri green tea). Coffee was introduced to India by Sufi Buddhan Baba in the 14th century. Incidentally, tobacco came in Akbar's time but smoking became popular only in Shah Jahan's reign. After Aurangzeb there was a deluge of courtesans and cadamites in Delhi. In Moraqquae-Delhi Dargah, Quli Khan writes that Kasalpura and Nagul were the slums where prostitutes were habilitated. Delhi residents used to go to Arab-ki-Sarai to watch Arab cadamites. A rich man named Meeran hosted an all-night cadamites' revelry on the 11th of every month. Homosexuality was so common in the 18th century that both the feudals and commoners showed interest in it. Effeminate boys were frequently found dancing in Chandni Chowk and Chowk Sadullah. Besides the Armenian Sarmad, who befriended Abay Chand, Wali Dakhini, who came to Delhi in the 17th century, fell for a boy named Amrit Lal. Faiz composed poems on a boy, Ramzani. Another poet, Mazhar-Jan-e-Jana loved Abdul Hai Taban and Mohammed Yar Khaksar was in love with the great Mir Taqi Mir. There were many other aspects of Delhi, which made one fall in love with it.And this holds true even today. Sadly, Delhi's glorious heritage is fast getting eroded because of rampant despoliation, encroachment, urbanisation and neglect. Nawab Dojana's haveli, known as Dojana House in Matia Mahal, is now a flatted building, which is already showing signs of deterioration. Haveli Sadr Sadur, bang opposite it, has been so encroached upon and rebuilt in parts that it is hard to recognise it. The haveli of Nawab Buddan, said to be a great fashion trendsetter, could not be traced, perhaps because of alterations. The old hamam in the same street, which had become a shop, is also not easily recognisable. The building behind Jama Masjid associated with Dara Shikoh had become a school. The monuments of Mehrauli that are not among the official list (despite Maulvi Zafar Hasan's classification) are slowly disappearing as most of the care and attention is lavished by the Archaeological Department on the well-known edifices. The same is the case in Nizamuddin area. The gateway of the house of Mirza Jahangir, favourite son of Akbar Shah II and Queen Mumtaz Mahal II, in the Nizamuddin Dargah complex is showing signs of deterioration. His tomb and that of Mohammad Shah Rangila (which look almost identical) are also showing signs of wear and tear. Mirza Jahangir is the one whose return from exile in Allahabad in the early 19th century resulted in the institution of the annual Phool Walon-ki-Sair. The Tughlak period Langar Khana in the same complex is a picture of neglect as is the eastern gateway of the Dargah. However, the two dalans, or verandahs, of Atgah Khan's tomb complex, which were used as khanqas, or hospices, in Mughal times, look less dilapidated after repairs. Atgah Khan was the husband of Ji Ji Angah, a wet nurse of Akbar, who was murdered by Adham Khan, son of the other wet nurse, Maham Anga,out of jealousy. Atgah's mausoleum lately been renovated under the restoration plan of the Aga Khan Trust. But Bari-ka-Gumbad, east of Atgah Khan's tomb, is deteriorating, so also a gateway north of the Chausath Khamba. The gateway of Inner Kot, west of Kali Masjid, is in a bad state. It leads to a small fortification which, according to INTACH, once had the houses of the Pirzadas of the Nizamuddin Dargah. Khan-iJahan Tighlinani's tomb in Nizamuddin village shows signs of serious deterioration. He was the Wazir of Firoz Shah Tughlak and father of Khan-i-Jahan Junan Shah, who succeeded him as Wazir. It is supposed tobethe first octagonal tomb built in Delhi. New buildings have come up close to the tomb so that it is hedged in between them. Such grand monuments would have been preserved with care elsewhere but not in the capital.

- http://www.thestatesman.com/travel/the-delhi-of-14-gates-and-14-windows-1489062225.html, March 10, 2017

In a bid to promote the country’s architectural heritage, the central government will be digitally recreating monuments using 3D technology, an official said on Thursday. At an Assocham event on “Artificial Intelligence (AI) & Robotics”, Union Science and Technology Secretary Ashutosh Sharma said India needed to deeply think of using Artificial Intelligence to fulfil its need for creating two crore jobs annually. “The Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi (IIT-D), (under a project) recreated the lost city of Hampi, 3D printed it and also embedded all the information related to the monuments, sculptures, their whole history,” he said. “We (Union Science and Technology Ministry) are going to reproduce using the same technology now all the monuments,” he added. Emphasising the impact of Artificial Intelligence on sectors like education and healthcare, Sharma called for “strong policy statements”. “To deal with the future, we need to modify existing policies and introduce new elements and policies,” the minister said. “We certainly need best of our technologists, scientists, even social scientists, economists to think very deeply about using artificial intelligence to generate jobs,” he added.

- http://www.newsx.com/tech/58161-indian-government-to-digitally-recreate-heritage-buildings, March 10, 2017

In a major breakthrough, ruins of Buddhist sculptures have been discovered in the Kelua river bed at Bedipur under Dharmasala tehsil in Odisha’s Jajpur district, nearly 100 km from here. Eminent Buddhist researcher Mr Nrushingha Charan Sahoo has discovered the century-old sculptures from the river bed during his research conducted in Brahmani-Kelua island area. The ruins of sculptures, including a residential place belonging to 7th or 8th century AD Buddhists and an ‘Arghya stupa,’ carved out of the Brajagiri and Ratnagiri stones, were discovered, said Mr Sahoo. The sculptures were destroyed as the river water entered into the land during the rainy season before the construction of bridges over the Brahmani river by the British, he said. “Bedipur area is surrounded by old Buddhist sites such as Kaima and Langudi. Our search has yielded around ten stone images, bricks and pottery in red colour. The mounds were formed on huge boulders on which a brick-built stupa was raised,” said Mr Nrusingh Sahoo. Mr Sahoo has already informed the cultural department and other officials about the discovery of a Buddha Stupa in the river bed. “We also found two tanks during our excavation work. We believe the Buddhist monks used to store drinking water in both the tanks. The discovery of some more earthen materials like potsherds and decoration pottery may have given rise to the suspicion that a treasure trove was lying buried under the river bed,” added Dr Sahoo. “The Buddhist remains yielded in the river show that Buddhism existed from 1st century BC to the 10th century AD,” said Mr Sahoo.

- http://www.asianage.com/india/all-india/100317/ruins-of-buddhist-sculptures-discovered-in-odisha.html, March 10, 2017

The Unesco, in its recent survey, has enlisted 33 languages of Arunachal Pradesh as endangered out of which four are critically endangered and on the verge of extinction, a state minister said on Thursday. Responding to a question raised by BJP MLA Gabriel D Wangsu during question hour, Mohesh Chai, state art and culture minister, told the assembly that according to the survey, 17 languages were definitely endangered and 12 were vulnerable. The department has so far documented 42 languages covering most of the major and minor tribes of the state, he said. "The research department had initiated a project - Linguistic Survey of Arunachal Pradesh in 2015-16 - which was included in the state annual development agenda of 2016-17," the minister said. Replying to a supplementary from Wangsu, Chai said the state government was contemplating to use local language as the third language in all schools.

- http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/itanagar/33-languages-of-arunachal-endangered/articleshow/57569980.cms, March 10, 2017

One of the major areas that the policy focuses on is the decentralised treatment of waste water and increasing use of recycle water. Decentralising waste wat-er treatment across Delhi, introducing a groundwater bill, setting up of a water commission, and bringing a water device rating system are some of the novel steps mentioned in Delhi’s water policy, which is to be announced by the government soon. Prepared by Intach (Indi-an National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage), the report also lays strong focus on demand management and reducing the fresh water footprint. “So far, the focus has been on enhancing supply, getting water from Bhakhra and Tehri, and plans to get it from Lakhwar-Vyasi. But all this includes focus on increasing the supply, whereas there has been no focus on demand so far. So we need to manage the equation between supply and demand,” said Manu Bhatnagar, principal director at the Natural Heritage Division, Intach.

One of the major areas that the policy focuses on is the decentralised treatment of waste water and increasing use of recycle water. According to the report, the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) has set a target for itself to reuse 35 per cent waste water by 2019 and 70 and 80 per cent by 2024 and 2026, respectively. Decentralising waste wa-ter system essentially me-ans setting up small sewa-ge treatment plants (STPs) across the city so that the waste or the sewage system is treated locally. In the current scenario, a long-distance pipeline network is wasted in carrying water to the STPs. “In case of a local STP close to the source of the generation of sewage, it will be treated there without crossing long distances.

This will also reduce a lot of energy which is otherwise required in pumping the sewage at a further distance,” said Mr Bhatnagar. The work on this is already ongoing with DJB about to set up six such STPs at different locations. Besides, the report also says that campuses like IIT and JNU will have their own treatment systems. A groundwater bill, which will enable metering of the tube wells, is also suggested in the policy. This is aimed at reducing extraction of groundwater and bringing the water table to the desired level, which was prevalent during the year 1995, by 2030.

- http://www.asianage.com/metros/delhi/120317/govt-to-announce-new-water-policy-soon.html, March 11, 2017

In one of the classrooms of Vasyaa- International School of Design in Panjagutta, students of Fashion discover the world of dots, dashes and lines. Gond artist Bhajju Shyam explains the various nuances of traditional art — from preparing colours and canvases to the process. Seated in a corner, Anuradha Reddy, INTACH co-convenor Telangana, is enthused at the response of the youngsters. “I told them about the history of Gonds in our region,” she says.

Revealing her experience in Adilabad, she says, “We had just come back from Nagoba jatara in Adilabad with all communities of Gond. The Pradhan Gonds are the minstrels, bards of the community; they sing and highlight the role of women in the community. Interestingly, Shyam ji comes from Pradhan Gonds. It is a learning for us to watch them learn and share.” She also speaks of the link connecting the Gond community. “We are also linked directly with Maharashtra, Telangana and Madhya Pradesh areas because the Gonds are from here.”

Traditional arts With multiple Gond workshops by Shyam at different venues, the city was cast in Gond! The main aim of these sessions was to encourage people to look at traditional arts, informs Padmaja of Heart for Art, the event organisers.

“Whenever we travel, we usually have two workshops every day. It is an art appreciation session as we want people to understand the art form, the artist and the immense hard work which goes into their traditional art,” she says. Along with artists of different art forms like Madhubani, chhau masks, Orissa paam patachitrta , Bengal patachitra, the group travels to different schools and colleges to popularise these art forms.

- http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-metroplus/with-a-touch-of-gond/article17460054.ece, March 11, 2017

Indians smeared each other with color powder and drenched fellows in colored water as they celebrate the Hindu festival of Holi on Monday (March 13). Celebrated in the month of Phagun (February-March) according to the Hindu calendar, Holi is associated with the uninhibited expression of love and affection. Holi revelers in northern holy town of Varanasi city celebrated the festival by beating traditional drums called ‘dholaks’ and singing folk songs. People along with foreign tourists got drenched in colored water as they danced to upbeat tracks. “Here the whole environment is very enjoyable and we all have come in the town of Lord Baba Vishwanath and are enjoying the festival of colors,” said a local. Foreign tourists, who participated in the festival for the first time, were also seen dancing around the streets in merriment. “It’s fantastic. It’s our first time in India, first time doing Holi. It’s very good fun, everyone is very friendly, very happy today,” said one tourist from England, Emiley.

In the national capital, New Delhi, there was less movement of vehicles on its main routes, which are known for its endless snarls of smoke-emitting engines. But, streets in residential neighborhoods were filled with locals holding pichkari (water guns) and gulal (pink color). “Holi spreads message to clean our mind of discrimination based on caste, creed, region and religion and smear ourselves in the color of nature.

We from Talkatora want to give a message to whole country that this is not only the festival of colors, but our cultural heritage,” said a local, Anil. Similar scenes were played out in Bhubaneswar city of India’s eastern Odisha state. People from all walks of life were seen dancing to the beat of drums and throwing colors on each other. Peoples of all age groups visited the temples to offer prayers and some even consumed the traditional drink known as ‘Bhang.’ Holi is seen as the only festival in India where people get thoroughly drenched in colors, forgetting their social divisions.

The exuberant festival is associated with the eternal love of Hindu lord Krishna and his consort Radha. Celebrated at the onset of spring, it also holds a mythological significance—that of the triumph of good over evil. Holi also celebrates the survival of Prince Prahlada, whose devotion to the God, kept him safe even when he was sent to death by sitting in the midst of a bonfire.

- http://www.ntd.tv/2017/03/13/india-celebrates-love-coming-spring-colorful-holi-festival/, March 13, 2017

The Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC) is set to brighten up heritage structures in the city. The civic body will be illuminating the structures in a way that their ornate architecture stands out. The decision to illuminate the heritage buildings was taken up in line with the announcement by the VMC to develop the old city areas as the heritage city. The civic body is to develop roads as heritage roads in the old city. It is also widening congested streets there to make the area more accessible. "We illuminate the structures with temporary lighting on important days. The idea is to have these installed permanently and in a manner that adds to their beauty," said VMC commissioner Dr Vinod Rao. Rao said that the civic body will begin with the process by installing lights on the Maharani Chimnabai Tower, better known as the Raopura tower.

Tentative plan for the same is ready and will be implemented soon. "With street art, public sculptures and other such additions to the city, we want to establish its identity as a heritage and cultural city. In the long run we will regulate hawking in the city and decongest it further," said Rao. He added that the shifting of the courts to a new premises will also decongest the area around Nyay Mandir.

- http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/vadodara/city-monuments-to-be-illuminated/articleshow/57600080.cms, March 14, 2017

The excavation carried out in the Narmada valley at Mehtakhedi village under Khargone district has led to the discovery of 350 archaeological remains which the experts claim to be 50,000 years old. “The excavation conducted by Shridhar Vakankar Archaeological Research Institute led to the discovery of 350 archaeological remains which the experts claim to be 50,000 years old,” Anupam Rajan, commissioner, Archaeology department of Madhya Pradesh under which the institute functions, said on Sunday. “The work to explore micro relics was being carried out by dissolving and filtering the soil obtained from the excavation,” he added. Rajan said that a team led by the former head of the department of archaeology at Deccan College in Pune Prof Sheela Mishra was formed after obtaining permission from the Archaeological Survey of India in January this year.

The team included Institute’s research officer Jinendra Jain, research assistant Dhruvendra Singh Jodha and research scholars of Deccan College Neetu Agarwal, Namrata Vishwas and Garima Khansali. “The excavation was started in the second week of February by Prof Mishra and the team. Around 350 antiquities were found during excavation. Further conclusions will be drawn after analysing them,” he added. Rajan said the development of human civilisation was studied on the basis of underground deposition, ancient geographical analysis and types of apparatus.

- http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/mp-50-000-year-old-archaeological-remains-discovered-in-narmada-valley/story-z7nQYgxard3jP0DzS4fLJN.html, March 14, 2017

Central Railway has appointed Indian National Trust and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) as consultants for improvement of facade of CST, which is UNESCO nominated world heritage site. Conservation architect Vikas Dilavari said, "We will identify the spot that needs restoration on the East and South side of the CST building. Based on this, Central Railways will invite tenders for the works to be carried out." The CST is among the 10 iconic locations that are to be developed as cleanliness models under the ambitious Swachh Bharat Abhiyan.

- http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/intach-to-work-on-improving-csts-facade/articleshow/57638350.cms, March 15, 2017

A group of 12 artists from India and Sri Lanka will be showcasing their works at New Delhi's IGNCA as part of A Tale of Two Cities, conceptualised as a means to explore the ancient and contemporary histories of Varanasi and Anuradhapura. Anuradhapura – a sacred city in Sri Lanka, where the only sounds that can be heard are those of the Buddhist chants and the low murmurings of pilgrims’ prayers. In sharp contrast is the city of Varanasi, in Uttar Pradesh, India, roughly 3,200 kilometres away, where sharp sights and loud sounds are sewn into the city’s fabric. For centuries, the two sub-continental cities have served as sites of heritage, myth and memory. It is to allow artists to respond to the histories – both ancient and contemporary – that underlies the two living cities, that Renu Modi of Gallery Espace, in collaboration with Theertha International Artists’ Collective, Colombo, came up with the show, A Tale of Two Cities.

A group of 12 artists from Sri Lanka and India, such as Paula Sengupta, Anoli Perera, Jagath Weerasinghe, Ram Rahman, Manisha Parekh, and more, visited the two sites in the course of a year and interpreted their architecture, music, politics, and religion through a variety of media such as photos, textile, video, and installations. The show, which opened at the Serendipity Arts Festival, Goa in 2016, has now made its way to Delhi at the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts. I ask two artists — Anoli Perera and Paula Sengupta — to share their interpretation of the “living city” as an archive. While the artists have drawn on the sacred aspects of Varanasi and Anuradhapura (both being ancient Buddhist sites), each has approached this theme very differently. While Perera looks at the institutionalization of Buddhism through her work, Sengupta’s creations stem from her personal journeys.

Cities of contrast Both their works also bring out the contrasts between the two cities. “Anuradhapura is a very silent city, in spite of the number of pilgrims that visit it. It is separate from the city centre,” says Perera. “Varanasi, on the other hand, is a living city. It’s not set apart from the main hub.” Having said that, pilgrims end up finding that intimate space between God and themselves in both the cities. Various events in history have shaped the socio-cultural ethos in Anuradhapura and Varanasi. “There was a big army camp near Anuradhapura, which used to service army operations in the north. So many other elements came into play as well — liquor places, brothels – a modern city cropped up alongside the sacred one,” she says. The presence of the Bodhi tree imbued the site with a lot of political power as well. According to tradition, it is imperative for a new leader to visit the Bodhi tree and the Temple of Tooth, in Kandy, after being elected. “Just like Anuradhapura, Sarnath, near Varanasi, has been a key Buddhist site.

For hundreds of years, pilgrims going through Varanasi have made sure to visit the stupa. So, in some ways, they have made their own cartography of the sites,” says Perera, who has used fabric, paintings and prints in her installations. Personal journeys For Sengupta, the point of engagement with both the cities was a little different. For years now, she has been a spiritual traveller, visiting places significant and sacred to the Buddha. “Anuradhapura held great interest to me as I wanted to see how Buddhism travelled to Sri Lanka. The story of Sanghamitra travelling to Sri Lanka with the Bodhi tree added a sense of continuity in that journey,” she says. In Varanasi, she engaged with Sarnath and its archaeological, historical and religious significance. She investigated the history of Sarnath vis-a-vis Varanasi and found out that the site used to be a forested area on the outskirts of Varanasi. The king designated it as a site for mendicants and seers to meditate in and practice medicine. “One of the main things which drew me to Varanasi was the seamlessness of existence, in terms of religion, life and death unfolding simultaneously on the ghats. It is one of the reasons that I chose the textile practice to apply my ideas as I wanted to draw from the seamless history of textiles in Varanasi,” says Sengupta. The practices settled in the city over centuries, continue to blend with those from far-off lands even today.

“Even now, Tibetan and Chinese brocades are woven in Varanasi,” she says. At the IGNCA, you can see these exquisite pankha installations, on which she has thrown fabrics that she has embroidered herself. Another aspect that attracted her about both the cities is that they have served as sites of conflict in the past. “For many centuries, even a peaceful religion like Buddhism has had, in places, histories of violence. I have done a panel on Sarnath in which all of this comes together,” she says. A Tale of Two Cities can be viewed at the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts till March 31, 2017.

- https://www.architecturaldigest.in/content/tale-of-two-cities-new-delhi/, March 15, 2017

When you think fossils, you probably think of impressively preserved bones; the last remains of dinosaurs that strolled (or flew) across the Earth eons ago. But it took evolution a long time to work up to dinosaurs. Or any kind of animal, for that matter. For about 2 billion years in Earth’s early history (give or take a few hundred million years) single-celled organisms ruled the planet. Then, life started branching out. In a paper published Tuesday in PLOS Biology, researchers from the Swedish Museum of Natural History announced the discovery of the earliest known evidence of plants in the fossil record; 1.6 billion-year-old red algae that lived alongside mats of bacteria in our planet's shallow waters. These particular fossils were found in India. “Back in the days when they were living and growing this would have been a shallow marine system with plenty of sunlight,” says study co-author and geobiologist Therese Sallstedt. Instead of frolicking fish or even decorative corals, these sunny, warm waters were filled with a different life form: vast mats of photosynthesizing, slimy cyanobacteria—single-celled organisms that grow in colonies. And among these cyanobacteria were at least two different kinds of red algae, one forming thin threads, and one forming a fleshy mass. Sallstedt was originally studying the cyanobacteria, which are preserved in bulbous formations of rock known as stromatolites, when she came across the fossils. The algae are tiny—the thread-like fossils are microscopic, and the tissue-like organisms only a few millimeters across—but for Sallstedt, it was a big find in more ways than one.

“I’m used to studying cyanobacteria, which is even smaller,” Sallstedt says, laughing. At least one of the algae fossils is visible to the naked eye, if only barely. “Usually my stuff is a lot smaller than that,” she says. And finding fossils of such an advanced age is no small feat. At 1.6 billion years, they outstrip the next oldest red algae specimens by 400 million years. “From what we know today, these are the oldest red algae ever found,” Sallstedt says. That also makes them the oldest plant-like fossils—with distinct cell structures like walls and tiny organelles (likely chloroplasts) that are distinct to red algae—ever found. These fossils fit into an interesting period of evolutionary history, long before the eruption of biodiversity known as the Cambrian explosion 550 million years ago. Both bacteria and algae met their end in a sudden event—perhaps a rapid burial—that preserved their little ecosystem for 1.6 billion years.

This portrait was painted in phosphate, a mineral that can help preserve even tiny details of a cell’s structure. The minuscule fossils of a time long-past might not seem to have much of an influence on your daily life. But in reality, we owe these pioneering lifeforms a huge debt. Though tiny, organisms like cyanobacteria and the red algae eventually altered our world entirely. “[Cyanobacteria] changed forever the state of the atmosphere, releasing oxygen that we breathe,” Sallstedt says. “As did plants, in a way. They didn’t invent photosynthesis, but they took it to the next level.” Remember that the next time you ponder the plants in your yard or algae in a pond. It’s not mere scum: it’s next-level biology, with the potential to change the world.

- http://www.popsci.com/worlds-oldest-plant-like-fossil#page-2, March 15, 2017

Manthan Mahotsav, the largest street play festival in India, started off its 10th edition on March 4 and is slated to continue this month in 40 cities all over India. The brainchild of Verve, the street play society of Shaheed Sukhdev College of Business Studies, University of Delhi, Manthan 2017 created history with street plays being performed in 15 different locations across India, simultaneously. Manthan 2017 features around 125 teams performing street plays throughout and outside the country about relevant social topics such as political issues, ragging, women empowerment, and other prominent social issues on the roads, in schools, markets, slums, villages, outside monuments, etc. As of yet, 18 cities, including Bhopal, Bhubneshwar, Solan, Jammu, Janipur, Bangalore, Manesar, Chandigarh, Gandhinagar, Noida, Ghaziabad, Lucknow, Durg, Mumbai, Karnal, Kolkata, Janipur and Delhi, have seen street play performances as a part of Manthan 2017.

The one-of-a-kind, not-for-profit street play festival steers clear of amphitheatres and cash prizes and focuses on using the medium of street play to bring awareness and change in society. Manthan is Verve's initiative attempting to reach out to the public and spur them towards transformation. Over the years, Verve has performed street plays on topics like inequality, whistle blowing, physical disability, political consciousness, religious fanaticism, censorship of arts, and plight of the red corridor tribal. Manthan 2017 will continue seeing various performances throughout India in March. Follow Manthan's Facebook page to know the schedule and get regular updates for this year's street play festival: https://www.facebook.com/Manthan.cbs/

-http://indiatoday.intoday.in/education/story/manthan-photos/1/903819.html, March 15, 2017

‘Roshanara Bagh’ and ‘Qudsia Bagh’ in the national capital will be redeveloped with Union Tourism Ministry allocating funds for the purpose. Under the Centre’s ‘Swadesh Darshan’ scheme, Rs 10.69 crore is allocated to ‘Roshanara Bagh; while Rs 1.5 crore to ‘Qudsia Bagh’, an official release said. The funds will used for providing drinking water facilities, cafeteria, modern toilets, benches and proper lighting in parks and monuments, among others, it added.

- http://www.india.com/news/agencies/roshanara-bagh-qudsia-bagh-in-delhi-to-be-redeveloped-1925436/, March 15, 2017

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday asked the Delhi Development Authority (DDA), the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and the Waqf Board for a status report regarding removal of encroachment in Mehrauli Archaeological Park, which contains hundreds of protected monuments. A Bench of Justices B. D. Ahmed and Ashutosh Kumar directed the DDA to file a status report regarding laying of a pipeline for a drain running through the park. SDM Saket has been directed to file a demarcation report.

Map of area The court has ordered the authorities concerned to superimpose the area on Google map. The Bench was hearing a petition filed by The Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH). “The monuments of the park such as Quli Khans tomb, Balbans Tomb, Maulana Jamalis mosque and tomb and Rajon ki Baoli constitute a huge cultural asset and potential heritage recreation space for the city,” the plea stated, adding that the park had been encroached upon at several places.

- http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-newdelhi/hc-asks-for-report-on-removal-of-encroachment-in-mehrauli-park/article17469780.ece, March 16, 2017

An interactive session was conducted on Conservation and Preservation of Heritage and Culture by the University Grants Commission, Faculty Induction Development Cell (UGC-FIDC), Central University of Jammu at its Temporary Academic Block (TAB), Sainik Colony, Jammu. S M Sahni, Ex Director Tourism, Jammu and Convener INTACH Jammu Chapter, was the guest speaker on the occasion. He deliberated on the need and significance for preservation of rich cultural heritage of Jammu and Kashmir State. He sensitized and motivated the participants for acting as ambassadors of heritage conservation in the State.

This interactive session was attended by the students and faculty members of School of Business Studies along with the newly inducted Assistant Professors, Higher Education Department, J&K Govt, who are undergoing general orientation course at Central University of Jammu. Central University of Jammu is conducting induction programme for the newly inducted Assistant Professors under UGC-FIDC, established in April 2015 with a mandate to conduct training and development programmes for teaching and non-teaching staff. Eminent resource persons are being invited for delivering lectures for the said programme. It is pertinent to mention here that UGC-FIDC has been made functional after Prof Ashok Aima took over as Vice Chancellor of the University. The Centre is functional under overall guidance of Prof Lokesh Verma, Academic Coordinator.

Dr Jaya Bhasin and Dr Shahid Mushtaq are coordinating the 2nd batch of GOC. The present session was coordinated by Manjeet Singh, Assistant Professor, TTM. Earlier, Dr Jaya Bhasin, Head TTM and Member UGC-FIDC, informed that University Business Incubation Centre is also organizing two day National Workshop on Intellectual Property Rights on March 28-29, 2017 sponsored by M/O MSME, GOI.

- http://www.dailyexcelsior.com/ugc-fidc-organizes-interactive-session-on-heritage-conservation/, March 16, 2017

A century after Rabindranath Tagores visit to Seattle in 1916, a South Asian Arts Organisation based in the Washington State area of the US, is bringing one of Tagores finest compositions to the public. Pratidhwani, a non-profit driven to create and promote performing opportunities for arts and artists of South Asia, has just announced its 10th flagship dance show, “Chitrangada”. It’s the story of a warrior princess from the ancient Hindu epic “Mahabharata” that Tagore retold as a dance drama in 1892. Tagore is India’s first Nobel Laureate as well as the first non-European to win the prize in Literature. “Chitrangada,” one of his finest compositions, is a lyrical saga of one woman’s quest for love, courage, and the true meaning of beauty.

This tribute to the myriad facets of femininity make it as relevant today as it was centuries ago. Comprising of a group of professionals who have full-time careers and dedicate their late evenings to creating art, Pratidhwani is committed to bringing South Asian performing arts and artists to audiences in the greater Seattle area since 2001. The lyrical saga has been directed by Moumita Bhattacharya and produced by Nitya Gupta.

“Chitrangada is a lyrical expression on gender stereotypes. And yet, it is a story of love. Of the ability of love to transform and the fact that love needs to embrace and support a person’s raison d’être. This piece of art is a showcase of multiple music genres, dance forms, and costume styles of the Indian subcontinent,” said Bhattacharya. It will be performed in The Allen Theatre at ACT, 700 Union Street, in downtown Seattle. The production opens on April 28 and runs through May 20.

- https://www.canindia.com/seattle-audience-to-get-a-flavor-of-tagore/, March 16, 2017

The art gallery set up inside the international departure terminal of the Karipur Airport was inaugurated by noted sculptor Kanayi Kunhiraman on Wednesday. The art gallery is aimed to provide encouragement and support to local artists to showcase their talent. The art works, mainly paintings, are displayed in the gallery wall which is 24 feet long and eight feet high. The airport's embrace of arts follows the decision of Airport Authority of India (AAI) in 2015 to open up airport spaces for display of works by artists. A token fee of 10 percent of the sale value of the work of art will have to be paid to the airport authority. The airport's art foray is expected to help upcoming painters and sculptors by providing them an opportunity to display and sell their works. Speaking at the function, Kanayi Kunhiraman expressed his willingness to create a sculpture to be installed at the airport.

- http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kozhikode/art-gallery-opened-at-karipur-airport/articleshow/57654418.cms, March 16, 2017

The Department of Archaeology and Museums (DAM) has sought increased cooperation of the Archaeological Survey of India so that monuments of Karnataka and Telangana can be nominated for the coveted World Heritage Site tag. The Deccani Sultanate serial nomination entails joint dossier preparation by the Telangana and Karnataka governments. Telangana nominations include Charminar, Qutb Shahi Heritage Park (QSHP) and Golconda Fort. Those from Karnataka include monuments in Vijaypura (Bijapur), Bidar and Kalaburgi (Gulbarga). In a letter addressed to the ASI Director General, department director N.R. Visalatchy requested that, apart from officials at the head office in New Delhi, the ASI also nominate superintending archaeologists of the Hyderabad and Dharwad circles so that the nomination dossier and site management plans can be chalked out.

AKTC role
While the recently extended MoU with the Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC), which is involved in conservation of QSHP, states that the latter will assist DAM in preparing a nomination dossier, it is unclear if that will be done. Speaking to The Hindu, Ms. Visalatchy said the serial nomination process is at a preliminary stage and so, it would be difficult to comment on whether the department will prepare the dossier on its own or engage a consultant.

- http://www.ptinews.com/news/8504069_Chadha-to-donate-Partition-film-costumes-to-Indian-museum.html, March 16, 2017

When a mountain of trash collapsed at the fetid Reppi dump outside of Addis Ababa on Monday, at least 82 people died. It could've been worse: Hundreds of people live atop Reppi, Ethiopia's biggest waste dump, trying to make a living from salvaging what city residents throw away. Despite well-known dangers, and the best efforts of the government, they've done so for decades. And that's not so unusual. In the developing world, open dumps are the most common way to dispose of the rising tides of waste that accompany economic growth. Some are small. Some, like Reppi, are vast, rolling landscapes of trash, home to recycling businesses, ad-hoc housing, children, livestock and swirling clouds of dust, plastic bags and opportunistic birds. Such dumps loom as one of this century's most pressing health and environmental challenges. According to the World Bank, cities will generate 2.2 billion tons of solid waste by 2025, up from 1.3 billion in 2010. Open dumps, typically located on the fringes of urban areas, are the primary destination for that trash. This leads to a variety of potential hazards, including water pollution, loss of biodiversity, increased greenhouse-gas emissions, and the spread of mosquito-borne illnesses such as malaria. Accidents like the one in Addis Ababa are only the most high-profile danger. Yet dealing with waste is one of the most expensive services that governments offer. Global solid-waste management costs will likely hit $376 billion in 2025, up from $205 billion in 2012.

Some cities spend fully half their budgets on trash management, with the bulk devoted to collection and transportation. (In India, those costs account for three-quarters of solid-waste budgets.) It shouldn't be surprising, then, that more than half the globe's population doesn't have access to regular trash pickup at all. Open dumps offer a cost-effective solution to that problem. Compared to composting, methanization and other potential remedies, landfilling remains the cheapest and most easily managed way to throw out trash in poor countries. Dumps also sustain vast, informal recycling programs that are often far more efficient than those run by municipalities in richer areas. Any effort to improve waste management in the developing world must reckon with these advantages. And as Addis Ababa shows, the answer isn't as simple as building more modern facilities. Last year, the city opened what was supposed to be a sophisticated sanitary landfill, complete with liner to prevent leakage into groundwater, protocols for reducing dust and controlled access points.

But mismanagement, disputes with farmers living nearby, and increased costs have all given new life to the 74-acre Reppi dump, along with all its hazards. Addressing such intractable problems will require more creativity. The trash-management tools commonly used in wealthier countries -- such as waste reduction and waste-to-energy projects -- don't work as well in poorer cities, where budgets are strapped, corruption is rife and technical skills are lacking. What those cities need are cheap, safe methods to manage their garbage. And that starts with building cheaper, safer landfills. City governments should follow the lead of World Bank projects in places such as Tanzania, where workers in the informal waste sector are subsidized based on the number of households they serve and whether they transport trash to approved disposal sites, which can reduce environmental risks. Another promising example is Brazil, where armies of waste pickers are organized into cooperatives, which cities then incorporate into their formal trash-management plans.

Such community-based approaches make use of an already skilled workforce, and build support for more disruptive changes in how waste is managed. Ultimately, building better garbage dumps involves balancing environmental and public-health concerns with the demands of tight budgets and vulnerable people. It isn't an issue likely to motivate celebrities or documentary filmmakers. But as Addis Ababa demonstrated this week, it's a matter of life and death.

- https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2017-03-15/why-garbage-dumps-are-so-dangerous, March 16, 2017

Restoration of the Chhota Imambara using cement, that an inspection report of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and IIT-K termed as 'irreversible intervention', seems to have damaged the 180-year-old monument. Taken up initially by the Husainabad & Allied Trust (HAT) on a PIL to restore heritage monuments in 2013 by heritage activist Mohammad Haider, the restoration drew flak from the high court for using material harmful to the original structure, against National Policy for Conservation of the Ancient Monuments Archaeological Sites and Remains (AMASR), 2014. Subsequently, after its orders of September 16 and September 23, 2015, the work was put on hold and ASI asked to take it up with help from INTACH. The inspection carried out had then been submitted to the Lucknow bench of the high court, in November 2015, observing that the adverse impact on the breatheability of the lime-based structure will be visible sooner than expected.

While work has remained stalled, as was mentioned in the report, the interior walls and ceiling corners, on both the left and right ends of the first hall of the Imambara, are now crumbling to pieces. "The use of cement on the structure, as was pointed out by experts, has affected the breatheability of the original lime mortar foundation. This is causing water seepage and the plaster to come off soon after the supposed restoration. The originality of the monument should have been maintained instead of ruthlessly killing its foundation. ASI needs to take responsibility too," said Haider. Officials at ASI said the matter had been brought to the office's notice and will be reviewed in-depth. "ASI still sticks to its stand that the work has caused damage to the monument and will continue to do so because cement is an adverse agent used for monument's strengthening," said N K Pathak, head, Lucknow circle of ASI.

"We will conduct a review of the noticeable alterations and, if need be, also submit a supplementary affidavit in court for it," he added. Originally, the structure is made up of a mixture of bael fruit, Urad pulse, jaggery, gum, sahares (adhesive), fenugreek, lime and powdered lakhuri bricks. HAT had scraped off the original layers, put a mixture of cement and sand in 2:1 ratio, applied a layer of white cement followed by water primer and then bucket matte for final layering.

- http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/lucknow/asi-report-comes-true-chhota-imambara-restoration-a-failure/articleshow/57697768.cms, March 17, 2017

The Philadelphia Museum of Art’s current exhibition, Phulkari: The Embroidered Textiles of Punjab from the Jill and Sheldon Bonovitz Collection, digs into the past of the ancient craft. “There is an increasing impetus in fashion to revive the conversation about heritage. It certainly brings a sense of gratification to see our crafts being recognised on a global platform,” says designer Manish Malhotra. Ensembles from his Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week 2013 collection ‘Threads of Emotion’ are up on display as part of the The Philadelphia Museum of Art’s exhibit. The showcase seeks to explore the history and unravel the beauty of the vibrant phulkari embroidery, which faded into oblivion after the partition of 1947. The Bonovitz’s assemblage of 19 phulkari works comprises almost all types of phulkaris – ranging from the baghs (all-over embroidered phulkaris, almost like a floral garden), darshan dwars (which were replete with architectural motifs and meant to be presented at gurdwaras), sainchis (which depicted scenes of routine village life) and the thirmas (which were embroidered on plain white khaddars for elderly women and widows) to the chopes (which were presented to a girl by her maternal grandmother on her wedding day).

Malhotra’s work, on the other hand, reveals the technique’s geometric allure through ethnic anarkalis, sarees, kurtas and dupattas. Through this display, the viewer is transported back to olden-day Punjab, to a time when the embroidery – far from being just a pretty piece of work – was used as a medium of expression… and had sewn into its fabric, layers of meaning and multitude of tales. Phulkari: The Embroidered Textiles of Punjab from the Jill and Sheldon Bonovitz Collection is on display at The Philadelphia Museum of Art until July 9, 2017.

- http://www.vervemagazine.in/arts-and-culture/phulkari-philadelphia-museum-of-art, March 17, 2017

The annual Taj Mahotsav will take place from March 18 to 27 in Agra at Shilpgram near the Eastern gate of "Taj Mahal". For the coming 10-days staring from March 18th Agra will witness a `rendezvous` of art, culture, music and craft. This Mahotsav was started in year 1992 and since then its grandeur has reached to greater heights. This year Uttar Pradesh Tourism will be celebrating the 26th year of this Mahotsav. Each year, Uttar Pradesh Tourism takes the initiative to organise this `nostalgic` festival. The city has been decked up, stage has been set to welcome guests, delegates and large number of performers, artisans.

Hotels, guest-houses, bread and breakfast and even make shift arrangements are full. Even locals in city are excited over the festival. "We wait for this festival, it has become a part and parcel of Agra`s `tehzib` (culture). You must experience the `nostalgia` that the city holds", said Rashmi, local resident of Agra. Shopkeepers and traders who usually have a brisk business in the city due to tourism factor attached to Agra get double, triple customers at this time. The festival, also offers the perfect platform to experience the best of India’s arts, crafts, culture, cuisine, dance and music. Those who are fond of handicrafts and artifacts have a wonderful time as they can watch artisans, crafts-person giving shape to their creativity. Interested people can sit back and interact with these people which is an added bonanza at such festivals. They can also purchase paintings of Madhubani, furniture of Saharanpur, wood carving from south India, carpets from Bhadohi in Uttar Pradesh to name a few. and more.

Similarly, music lovers van sit back and enjoy live performances like Bundelkhand, nautanki (drama), sapera dance of Rajasthan, lavani of Maharashtra and likes. "The atmosphere across the mahotsav turns divine when you hear these singers performing at backdrop of iconic Taj Mahal on the banks of River Yamuna", smiled Zakir who also shared his personal experience of watching a Sufi performance earlier. Food lovers too have a gala time tasting delicacies from `chat-papri` to `kebabs` and biryanis. Ofcorce, not to forget the iconic `Petha` (sweet) for which Agra is popular. This year which happens to 26th year of Taj Mahotsav will have over 400 legendary artisans from across Kashmir to Kanyakumari. Artisans from North East India, Paper mash work from South India and Kashmir, the marble and zardozi work from Agra, wood carving from Saharanpur, brass wares from Moradabad, hand made carpets from Bhadohi, Pottery from Khurja, Chikan work from Lucknow, silk & zari work from Banaras, shawls & carpets from Kashmir/Gujarat and hand printing from Farrukhabad and Kantha stitch from west Bengal will have stalls in the Mahotsav.

Those interested to attend the Taj Mahotsav will have to purchase the entry tickets. The details as follows: Adult : Rs. 50/- (per Person). (Up to 5 years ) – Free. (5 years to 10 years) - Rs. 10/- (per Person) Entry fee for Foreign Tourist are free, It is an initiative that landmarks Indian Tourism thanks to Increadible India. For the group of 100 School children in school uniform, ticket is Rs.500/- is charged in which two teachers have free entry. However, there are no separate ticket for entry to cultural programs. Tickets can be purchased from the Ticket windows available on all the Entry Gates

- https://www.nyoooz.com/news/agra/757284/cherish-the-nostalgia-at-taj-mahotsav-mesmerising-agra-calling, March 17, 2017

Haunted by myths and overshadowed by the famed Bhimbetka rock art site, known all over the world for its Paleolithic paintings, a few “prehistoric” cave drawings found in the Bhopal division have been suffering in obscurity. Four rock art sites, found in the Bhopal division of the Vindhyachal region, inspire awe among archaeologists and historians. The paintings, believed to be from the prehistoric period, vividly depict the social life of cavemen. Locals, majority of whom are tribals, believe that the sites are haunted by vampires, who leave blood marks on the stones by sinking their teeth on the rocks. The rock-shelters are known in the region as “Chudail ki Dant” or vampires’ teeth. The sites found in the villages of Jhiri, Jaora, Daulatpur and Khatoria, located within a distance of around 40 km from Bhimbetka in Bhopal division, are rich in rock art heritage illustrating continuous cultural sequence from prehistoric period to 15th century. These sites, however, reel in anonymity and are crying for attention from government preservation agencies such as the Archaeological Survey of India.

The rock art sites, spread over a 40-km-stretch, were discovered by the late eminent archaeologist Prof. Shankar Tiwari. “The oldest painting in the rock-shelters is at least 10,000 years old,” retired superintendent of ASI, Bhopal, Dr Narayan Vyas, told this newspaper here on Tuesday. “The art, found both in still and in motion, are a symphony on stones created by the cavemen,” he added. A team of archaeologists from Spain, led by Pere Ferrar, president of the museum of Constanta, visited the rock-shelters a couple of few weeks ago to document the cave art. Dr Vyas accompanied the team. Kathotia, considered the richest among the four rock art sites, is home to around 65 rock-shelters from the Mesolithic or middle stone age (9,000 BCE — 5,500 BCE). The “prehistoric” paintings found in the rock-shelters include animal and human figurines, haunting scenes and group dances.

Similarly, late period drawings seen in these caves include war scenes, archery and so on. Floral designs and various worship symbols, such as the Sun, and circles found in them are believed to belong to the 14th or 15th century. The subjects of the paintings spotted in the rock-shelters are common, but the styles are different, which meant that they were drawn in different periods, he added. “Red and green coloured drawings are of the prehistoric era. Cavemen of the period used hematite and weathered stones to paint in red and green colours respectively. Comparative analysis of materials used in these rock arts shows they are 10,000 years old,” he added. The cave paintings have thrown light on the social lives of local inhabitants in continuous cultural sequence since the Mesolithic age (9,000 BCE). Some animal species, particularly two-horned rhinos, shown in the rock paintings indicate that the region was once home to these animals, which have since disappeared from the area. Besides, the rock arts have thrown light on environmental and demographic situations of the contemporary periods in the stretch. “A scientific exploration and excavation will unfold the history buried in these caves,” Dr Vyas said. “The four rock-shelters should be declared an extension of Bhimbetka world heritage site to ensure their protection, preservation and scientific documentation,” ASI Bhopal superintendent Zulfiqar Ali told this newspaper.

- http://www.asianage.com/india/all-india/180317/scary-myth-inspiring-cave-arts-offer-peek-into-prehistoric-life.html, March 17, 2017

Do archaeologists study dinosaurs? Is studying the past important in the contemporary context? If these are questions you have, this course is for you. The course is an introduction to theories and methods in archaeology. It will give you an overview of the why, when and how of archaeology: Why do archaeologists do what they do? What are the questions they hope to answer? Increasingly, debates on heritage related issues have also grown important and archaeology is one of the disciplines concerned with these issues. The course will engage with some of these questions in order to introduce the discipline of archaeology. Some of the topics covered include: Methods, Processual and Post-processual theories, how societies are organised, formation processes, trade and exchange, heritage and experimental archaeology.

Course eligibility:Anyone above 19 years, with an interest in history and archaeology. The course lead is Smriti Haricharan, Assistant Professor, National Institute of Advanced Studies. She has an M.A. in Archaeology, a second M.A. in Experimental Archaeology and a Ph.D. in Archaeology. Her research interests deal with the relationship between Iron Age-Early Historic burials and metallurgy sites in south India and extend into aspects of heritage perceptions. The course is scheduled to begin on April 1. Classes will be held for 12 Saturdays, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and will be held alternately in NIAS and in the city centre. There will also be two day-long field trips. Course fee: Rs. 6000. For details write [email protected]

- http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-propertyplus/learning-archaeology/article17525666.ece, March 17, 2017

When was the last time you heard a sparrow chirping? These little brown-grey birds, once found in plenty, are hardly ever sighted in big cities today. Being social birds, their primary living accommodation is among humans. But, humans have not been able to maintain the trust these little birds placed on them. And thanks to that, sparrows are now a rarity. Dwindling numbers This is why we need to celebrate World Sparrow Day. The Nature Forever Society, started by Mohammed Dilawar, an Indian conservationist started his work helping the house sparrow in Nashik. The idea of marking a World Sparrow Day came up during an informal discussion at the Nature Forever Society’s office. The idea was to earmark a day for the house sparrow to spread the message of conservation and mark a day to appreciate the beauty of common biodiversity which is taken for granted. The first World Sparrow Day was celebrated in 2010. The house sparrow was once found in huge numbers across the world.

They could be found just about anywhere — bus stands, railway stations, gardens, schools, parks... They are known to live in colonies and survive on food grains and tiny worms. Here are some reasons for the near disappearance of the sparrow. Trees have been felled indiscriminately, causing the sparrow to lose its home. But, a sparrow nests in homes too. And, here’s where the story takes a dire turn. Homes are now high rise buildings with no cosy alcoves or ledges, nooks or crannies. A sparrow needs cavities to build its home. Most gardens, these days, are given over to exotic species that do not belong there. Native plants have been uprooted and thrown out. Sparrows feed on insects and aphids that are found in plenty on native plants. Sparrows love to bathe — in water and dust. But, water is a scarce resource in most cities and concrete has replaced dust. Earlier, gunny bags filled with rice and lentils were stored outside grocery stores and when the rice or lentils were measured out for you, a few of it fell to the ground. Sparrows waiting nearby for just such an incident would swoop down happily and make a meal of it.

But, with grocery shops giving way to super markets, even this has become an impossibility. You would think the sparrow would be happy out in the field. Sadly, no. The excessive use of chemical fertilizer has ruined it for them here too. Adding to their woes is the fairly recent phenomenon of cell phone radiation. Mobile towers create electromagnetic fields and radiation that is harmful to sparrows. And, if it is harmful for sparrows, it is the same for humans. The effects range from damage to the immune and nervous system of sparrows to interference with their navigating sensors.

Sparrow file Males and female house sparrows can be easily distinguished by the feather coloration: males have reddish backs and a black bib, while females have brown backs with stripes. Sparrows primarily eat moths and other small insects, but they can also eat seed, berries and fruit. Sparrows usually fly at the speed of 24 miles per hour. When needed (in the case of danger), they can accelerate to the speed of 31 miles per hour. Although sparrows do not belong to the group of water birds, they can swim very fast to escape from the predators. Sparrows can survive between four and fve years in the wild. Sparrows are social birds and they live in colonies called flocks. House sparrows are non-migratory, but urban flocks traditionally moved to the countryside in the late summer to feed on the ripening grain fields.

Be a part! Take a walk: Go on a Sparrow Walk and capture these small wonders on your camera. Once you have done that, mail your picture with the location to [email protected] with your Name, class, school and City. Time to monitor: Everyday, make it a point to spend 15 minutes spotting sparrows. Log on to www.cbmi.in and send in your observations. Befriend them: Keep a bowl of water and and some grains for sparrows to feed on. Plant trees in and around your homes to create shelters for them. Or, keep bird feeders outside your house. A big no: Do not use chemical insecticides and pesticides in your garden as it is harmful.

- http://www.thehindu.com/children/save-the-sparrow/article17515259.ece, March 17, 2017

From harvesting rainwater and solar energy, to providing shade to passers-by – Ulta Chaata is one device that does it all. “Rainwater is the purest form of water. It’s just that once it hits the ground, it does not remain pure anymore and requires high levels of filtration. We thought of collecting the water in its pure form and filtering it for drinking purposes,” says Samit Choksi, the co-founder of ThinkPhi, a green technology startup focused on developing products for a more sustainable tomorrow. One unit of Ulta Chaata can collect 8-10 lakh quintal of water annually and capture energy with maximum peak power of 1.5 Kw.

It is currently being used at over 50 locations across the country. Ulta Chaata, Hindi for inverted umbrella, is a device that looks exactly like it is named. During monsoons, Ulta Chaata’s concave canopy captures rain water, which then trickles down to reach a filter. The water is filtered using active carbon filtration – a method that uses a bed of activated carbon to remove impurities. The filter reduces the turbidity of water flowing through it, thereby making it potable. “According to WHO, water below 5 Nephelometric Turbidity Unit (NTU) is potable water,” says Samit. A cluster of 15 Chaatas are connected to a Phi box with another fine filtration layer to remove bacteria, after which the water becomes usable. During dry months, solar panels fixed on the canopy harness clean energy that is stored in a battery within every Chaata.

This further powers the Chaata and also supplies energy for the lighting system installed in the Chaata. The energy stored can be used to provide power backup for internal lighting on the premises where it is installed too. Some of Ulta Chaata team members were recently invited by the Indian Railways to speak about how the product could benefit them. “What we realized is that while Ulta Chaata can provide clean water and energy it can also provide environmentally friendly shading at a lower cost in comparison to the archaic railway platform roofs, which are costly to install and maintain,” says Samit. “For people to believe in such a system we didn’t want to come up with another purification device that sits in your backyard and no one sees it. We wanted to make it look good to instil a sense of curiosity among people. That’s why aesthetics was an important part for us and Ulta Chaata looks like a well-designed piece,” says Samit, emphasizing that one of ThinkPhi’s major aims is to change behaviours and encourage people to use sustainable products. The Phi box has sensors for the Chaata clusters to interact with the company and the users. The first one is to detect whenever the filter is about to clog due to dust and dirt and needs cleaning. It sends a message to ThinkPhi informing which device needs servicing. The second sensor is meant to calculate the amount of energy and water collected. This further helps bring about behavioural change among people by showing them inspiring numbers. The other sensors measure water purity and also inform the company in case the lights on any of the Chaatas are out. Additionally, users can interact with ThinkPhi about using an app on their phones to register complaints, ask questions in case of any problems, etc. Ulta Chaata is being used on campuses of large organizations in Bombay and Pune. The company is gearing up to set up devices in Gujarat and Bangalore too. Priya had finished her masters in sustainable design and graduation in architecture, while Samit has spent most of his time working on software in the development industry.

The couple returned to India after working and studying in places like Singapore, London, Atlanta, and San Francisco. “After moving back here, we saw that the pollution and the increasing climate change are major reasons of concern in India. The one thing that struck us was that we get heavy rains here and yet all this water is getting wasted,” says Samit. Nature lovers since forever, the couple decided to do their bit for the environment by starting ThinkPhi. Today, their organization has grown to a team of 12 people. “If you do not believe climate change is a problem caused by humanity’s desire to over consume then you would be guilty of living in denial…The world has always gone through periods of global warming and cooling which is an effect of natural causes. However, in this century we have gone through the biggest shift in the last 400,000 years and this time it is driven solely by man-made causes, us,” concludes Priya, talking about the current environmental condition.

- http://www.thebetterindia.com/91624/thinkphi-ulta-chaata-rainwater-solar-energy/, March 17, 2017

As Captain Amarinder Singh wrests power in Punjab, the focus turns towards reviving his home town’s old glory. Captain’s brother Malvinder Singh inspected the ongoing renovation at Qila Mubarak, the foundation of which was laid by family’s founding ancestor Baba Ala Singh in 1763 and then completed by his successor Maharaja Amar Singh. A central grant of Rs 20 crore is already being spent for the renovation of both Qila Mubarak and another ancestral building Sheesh Mahal and likely to be opened for public in near future. The facelift of the fort’s main façade, main gate, and other importance buildings is part of the ongoing renovation.

The overall focus of the renovation is on preserving its old architecture that reflects a blend of Rajasthani, Pahari and Mughal cultures. Malvinder, who is also associated with The Indian National Trust for Arts and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) said that given the enormity of the renovation work, the existing construction work is not sufficient for overhauling the old monuments of the city. He said that, he along with experts in archaeology, will soon prepare detailed documents on overall revival and try to push for funds from the Centre through the state government so that the city could be promoted from the tourism point of view. “The old buildings here are already been nominated as national heritage monuments and it is, therefore, important to preserve them, he said. He added that his focus will be definitely on developing city as major tourist destination, for which not enough was being done by the previous governments and that can really boast local economy and employment.

“After Amritsar, Patiala has a lot of potential to attract a lot of domestic and foreign tourists because of its architectural value and blend of other cultural properties,” he said. Amarinder’s family has long been the critic of the previous Akali government for ignoring Patiala due to political tussle. In the last 10 years of the previous rule, the tourism department made its bid to promote city but not enough funds were pumped to bring the kind of facilities required for promotion of tourism. Experts want a separate tourism corridor for the city coupled with better traffic management and civic facilities to ensure value addition for tourists. Local residents also want that the heritage festival that was started by Amarinder during his previous stint as CM both in Patiala and Kapurthala should be started again.

- http://www.hindustantimes.com/punjab/with-captain-amarinder-singh-s-return-focus-turns-towards-reviving-his-home-town-s-old-glory/story-atlat9BP6D3oROv4wjQcmN.html, March 18, 2017

On the 2nd day of the ongoing International Buddhist Conference today, a new history was made when His Holiness The Dalai Lama visited the Nava Nalanda Mahavihara near Rajgir in Nalanda district of Bihar after a gap of 60 years and planted the sapling of the Bodhi Tree and inaugurated Nagajurna Faculty Building as well as Santarakshita Hostel. The Vice-Chancellor, Nava Nalanda Mahavihara, Shri M.L. Srivastava offered His Holiness a plaque of Nava Nalanda bearing its seal, originally found in the Ancient Nalanda Mahavihara. Registrar Dr. S.P. Sinha was among the dignitaries present on the occasion.

His Holiness remembering His past visit to Nava Nalanda Mahavihara said that sixty years ago, it was the Chinese Prime Minister who was supposed to come. But for some unavailable reason, he sent His Holiness The Dalai Lama on his behalf to offer the body Relics of Master XuanZang to the then Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. The Dalai Lama thanked India for being a wonderful host which has offered him guest status for such a long time. Mentioning the tradition of Nalanda He said that Dignaga and Dharmakriti’s contribution is unforgettable for the world. He also mentioned about the contribution of Chandrakirti, Nagarjunand Buddhapalit. He said that Buddhism is science and it has compatibility with quantum physics.

The Dalai Lama praised the rich spiritual tradition of India. He said Nava Nalanda Mahavihara should design its curriculum based on Nalanda tradition and focus on Ancient India. He praised India’s rich tradition of inner wisdom and secular tradition. The Dalai Lama said He Himself respects all the religious of the world, for all of them preach truth. On the occasion The Dalai Lama offered the Vice-Chancellor Shri M.L. Srivastava Thangka Painting with His message and a Buddha statue. During the day, various sessions and deliberations were held on the theme of “Buddhism for Twenty First Century- Perspectives and Responses to Global Issues” with the following themes:

1. Conflict Avoidance and Peace Building: The Buddhist Response
2. Environment & Nature Conservation: Buddhist Perspective & Response(Sub Theme/Groups: Environment Consciousness, Response to Climate Change, Wildlife Trade & Conservation, Water)
3. Buddhism & Sciences: Expanding Newer Grounds with Ancient Wisdom (Sub Theme/ Groups Mindfulness, Quantum Science, Neuroscience and Psychology, Astro Science)
4. Women in Buddhism: Contemplation on Past, Present and Future
5. Preservation of Nalanda Tradition
6. Ethics & Values: Universal Responsibility (Sub Theme/ Groups: Governance, Education, Business and Economy, Society and Social Responsibility, Media)
7. Secular Ethics & Interfaith Understanding
8. Buddhism & Global Engagement (Sub Theme/ Groups: Engaged Buddhism - Compassion in Action, Sustainable Economy, Buddhism in Multi-Cultural World)
9. Preservation & Development of Buddhist Holy Sites & Heritage (Sub Theme/ Groups: Holy Sites, Tangible and Intangible Heritage, Conservation of Buddhist Heritage sites) 10. Divergence in Buddhism- Developing a Collective Wisdom
The conference's key objective is to deliberate on Buddhist perspective towards addressing or approaching issues such as ecological sustainability, social and economic justice, ethics and values, a holistic approach to education, inter-religious harmony and cooperation, gender equality etc. Discussions about fundamental human values and modes of disseminating and internalizing these ideals in contemporary settings are being organised. Reflecting on these questions in light of the teachings of the Buddha and of the great Buddhist masters, the Conference will recommend ways of addressing our most pressing problems and provide us with solutions to the challenges faced by humanity. Renowned Kathak dancer Manisha Guliyani and sarod players brother duo Amaan Ali Bangash and Ayaan Ali Bangash gave performances today. The International Conference is graced by more than 600 delegates from 32 countries. The President Shri Pranab Mukherjee will grace the valedictory function of the Conference tomorrow as the Chief Guest. Governor of Bihar, Shri Ram Nath Kovind and Chief Minister Shri Nitish Kumar will also attend the function tomorrow.

- http://www.business-standard.com/article/government-press-release/his-holiness-the-dalai-lama-inaugurates-nagajurna-faculty-building-at-nav-117031800691_1.html, March 18, 2017

An interactive workshop aimed at showcasing new and innovative techniques for conserving historical buildings has taken place at the City Palace Museum in Udaipur, Rajasthan. The Heritage Conservation and Structural Stabilisation event saw numerous industry experts gather in the city to learn about best practice when dealing with heritage structures. Participants also got to see live demonstrations of new repair products being used in India for the very first time. Mumbai-based repair and restoration specialist Appex Innovation led the workshop, in association with Gurgaon-based development and research organisation Dronah, and the Maharana of Mewar Charitable Foundation (MMCF), which manages the City Palace Museum. Set next to Lake Pichola, the 200,000 sq ft museum is one of the world’s most significant heritage sites, home to a vast range of exhibits including paintings, photography, silver, armoury, textiles, crystal and vintage cars. Artefacts with strong British connections can be found throughout, from the British-manufactured World War I field gun that stands in one of the palace’s courtyards, to the Victorian tiles used to decorate a number of religious sites.

A horse carriage built in Birmingham during the 1930s has pride of place within the museum’s silver collection, while the palace itself took centre stage during the filming of the 1983 James Bond film Octopussy. Representatives from a wide range of organisations took part in the event, including the CBRI, CPWD, DMRC, Udaipur Municipal Corporation and the Mehrangarh Trust. Professionals including ‘smart city’ project engineers, conservation architects, materials conservators and practicing architects, also came to learn and share their expertise. Dr Shikha Jain and Mr S Girikumar provided an overview of conservation work already carried out by MMCF within the City Palace Museum, before highlighting planned future projects. The focus then shifted towards new innovations and solutions being used to stabilise heritage structures without compromising their aesthetics. Workshops took place across a number of locations within the City Palace Museum and attendees had the chance to see live demonstrations covering crack stitches, masonry repairs, and reinforced brick beam lintel repairs. The overall emphasis was on innovative structure repair solutions that require minimum intervention.

Also on site were representatives from Jahn Mortar, a company that manufactures lime-based products for heritage finishes. The firm demonstrated an end-to-end solution for structural problems, using a combination of helical bars and mineral-based, user-friendly materials. MMCF is a pioneer in heritage conservation, preservation and promotion of living heritage. The organisation was keen to use this month’s workshop to highlight new conservation materials and techniques being used in India for the first time. A spokesperson for MMCF said: “MMCF’s goal is to showcase international benchmark techniques for conservation, and for the City Palace Museum to serve as an educational resource for the conservation community of India and abroad. “The Foundation aims to establish its own benchmarks for this goal. MMCF is keen to share its best practices and conservation experience for knowledge exchange, in addition to its implementable conservation programme.”

- http://indiagbnews.com/culture-sport/udaipurs-city-palace-museum-takes-lead-heritage-restoration-live-workshop/, March 18, 2017

On the eve of World Story Telling Day, a group of Vizagites undertook a heritage walk in the Old Town to explore 'The Untold Story' of Vizagpatnam. Interestingly, for some Vizagites, this was their first tour amidst all the colonial structures. Undertaken by heritage enthusiast and Intach member Jayshree Hatangadi, a group of 35 people from various walks of life participated on Sunday morning for the three-hour Heritage Walk and visited all 10 points of interest. There were students, photographers, government officials from the tourism department, lawyers and businessmen. "It's surprising to note that around 80% of today's participants have never set foot in all the points though there were born and brought up in Vizag. Advocate DV Somayajulu came with his three friends. He grew up in the area but even he didn't know the detailed history and story behind the buildings and was thrilled to see all the points. Unfolding the untold story of Vizag prior to World Story Telling Day was indeed an enjoyable experience," said Jayshree Hatangadi, who organised the walk and explained the history behind every heritage structure to the viewers. It was an "eye opening" experience for Manisha Bhattacharya, whose family had settled in Vizag way back in 1943. "I never realised there's so much history and story around me though I grew up in this city. I have travelled around the country and the world but seeing so much history unfolding before the eyes was really a wonderful experience." For businessman and skater Rana Uppalapati, it was the first time that he viewed all the 10 heritage spots at one go. "Despite living in Vizag for so many years, we never bothered to revisit this part, which is old and not well-maintained. It was from Old Town that the city started growing. But with the well-organised tour and professional manner in which the history of each spot was narrated to us, it was worth revisiting. There's also scope for photography and need for maintenance of the dilapidated buildings steeped in history," he averred. District tourism officer (DTO) G Veni Kuncha and regional director Sreeramulu Naidu also came for the heritage walk. "The stones of every building, lanes of One Town, the inscribed tombstone, prayer site at the Dargah, the blue ocean facing the town - everything seems to want to tell their side of the story. The tourism department wishes to develop the Town Hall and European cemetery shortly," said the DTO. The 10 points visited during Heritage Walk includes Town Hall, Town Hall lane, Kurupam Market, European Cemetery, Queen Victoria's Pavilion, St John's Church and School, Queen Mary's School, Ishaq Madina Dargah, St Aloysius School and Light House.

- http://indiagbnews.com/culture-sport/udaipurs-city-palace-museum-takes-lead-heritage-restoration-live-workshop/, March 20, 2017

Three unique megalithic era caves in Chicalim have been awaiting inclusion in the state heritage list for seven years, but a recent site visit of officials may trigger more interest in digging deeper into its geo-archaeological history. Labourers cutting a hill slope for laterite bricks at Naquelim accidentally found the unique underground cells in 1970s. The finding generated much interest and German indologist and art historian Gritli Mitterwalner on a visit to Goa inspected the site with officials of department of archives and archaeology (DAA) and two more rock cut caves and pot shards were discovered in these caves. A study of the pot sheds indicated that the pottery belonged to the megalithic period, sources said. A few days back, officials from DAA, Goa state biodiversity board (GSBB) and others visited the site after heritage lovers' complaints of neglect of the site. GSBB officials found deposits of shells, including window pane oysters prominently featuring in several outcrops of the area.

"Whether these were deposits or discarded by men living in the area during those times is not known," an official said. The shells can also be seen in ongoing road cutting sites as well as the cave area. "It would be interesting to ascertain the geological and archaeological history of this area and further understand if it has connections with eco-socio-cultural aspects of those times in the context of biodiversity and the local traditions," Pradip Sarmokadam, member secretary, GSBB said. DAA had agreed in principle to declare the three caves as a protected monument after persistent lobbying by heritage lovers, but is yet to complete the process. "DAA had assured us in 2009 to notify the site as a protected monument," Prajal Sakhardande, president, Goa heritage action group (GHAG) said. The department is now examining the neglected site facing threats of spreading construction activity in the context of the new findings. "We will consider taking experts to study the geo-archaeological aspect," a DAA official said.

The pottery found at the site has been showcased at the state museum at Patto. The caves have been cut into the ground unlike other caves and may have been used as burial chambers, archaeologists say. The deposits of shells might have something to do with the Chicalim bay, a rich breeding ground for shellfish. "The window pane oyster popularly known as 'mendios' and granted schedule IV status are found in the river," Rui Araujo, a biodiversity management committee (BMC) member said. Chicalim residents have been lobbying with the government to declare their village as a heritage village. "The caves, window pane oysters, the village church and other natural and architectural heritage makes it a suitable site," says Cyril Fernandes, a social activist.

-http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/goa/caves-of-megalithic-era-remain-vulnerable/articleshow/57722843.cms, March 20, 2017

The Buddhist Heritage sites at Salihundam (Srikakulam district) and Sankaram near Anakapalle in Visakhapatnam district, in addition to Lepakshi (Anantapur district) and the Nagarjunakonda International Museum (Guntur district) are likely to find a place in the list of Unesco World Heritage Sites. The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), New Delhi, sought a proposal from its Hyderabad unit on March 17, for sending it to the Unesco World Heritage Centre for tentative listing. On March 3, national secretary of All India Panchayat Parishad, New Delhi, and chairman of Amaravathi Development Authority, Andhra Pradesh, J. Veeranjaneyulu, wrote to the Prime Minister seeking inclusion of these sites in the world list. Interesting feature Sankaram, also known as Bojjannakonda, was excavated under the aegis of Alexander Rim in 1906. A gold coin belonging to the Samudragupta period, copper coins of the Chalukya king, Kubja Vishnu Vardhan, coins of Andhra Satavahanas and pottery were discovered at the site. An interesting aspect of the Bojjannakonda finds is that they feature all the three phases of Buddhism: Hinayana, Mahayana and Vajrayana. A stairway leads to a large double-storeyed cave on a hill. The rectangular cave has a doorway and is flanked by ‘dwarapalakas' on either side. There is a rock-cut stupa, standing on a square platform, at the centre of the cave.

A series of rock-cut caves and monolithic structures standing on rock platforms are seen on the northern side of the hill. The upper cave has a rectangular doorway, flanked by figures of the Buddha on either side. The imposing figures of the Buddha in a seated meditative posture and the stupa are the main attractions for tourists at Bojjannakonda. To the west of Bojjannakonda is another hillock, Lingalakonda or Lingalametta, where a number of monolithic and structural stupas can be seen. “A Dwarapalaka with a ‘kapala mala’ around his neck and a tummy (‘bojja’ in Telugu) like Lord Ganesha, was wrongly identified as Ganesha, and hence the site acquired the name ‘Bojjannakonda’. Dwarapalas like this can be seen at Buddhist sites in Indonesia,” says Assistant Director of Archaeology and Museums K. Chitti Babu. “The caves at Bojjannakonda and those in Takshasila are similar.

The word ‘Sangrama’ was in use at Takshasila but was never used in Andhra Pradesh. These two features suggest that Bojjannakonda was influenced by Buddhist practices in northern India,” he says. “These sites deserve to be included in the World Heritage List and it would be matter of pride for A.P. and India. But, the Unesco norms are very stringent and I hope that they fulfil the same,” says a member of the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage, Edward Paul.

- http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-andhrapradesh/move-to-get-world-heritage-status-for-buddhist-sites/article17533703.ece, March 20, 2017

By unravelling the science behind Assam’s ancient herbal ink ‘mahi’, researchers are planning to recreate the lost techniques of manuscript writing. They say their efforts could boost heritage tourism. The technique involves extracting ‘mahi’ using cow urine from a cocktail of fruit pulp and tree bark such as haritaki, amla, bibhitakhi or bhomora, mango and jamun — often infused with the blood of eels or catfish. Rust from iron tools or nails was added for an intense black hue. ‘Mahi’ was used in early and medieval Assam for writing on ‘sancipat’ (folios made of the bark of the sanci tree) manuscripts. Some folios were gifted by Kumar Bhaskar Barman, the then King of Pragjyotishpura (ancient Assam) to Harshavardhana, an emperor who ruled north India from 606 to 647 C.E., a testimony to the period of use. The endurance of the ink is proven by the stability of sancipat manuscripts. The key factor for this long-lasting marriage between ‘mahi’ and ‘sancipat’ is the herbal concoction’s resistance to aerial oxidation and fungal attacks. “One of the reasons for the manuscripts’ stability is the anti-fungal activity of the ink. This is due to its raw materials, including astringent fruits and cow urine, which seems to have a protective effect on cellulosic sancipat against fungal attack in the hot and humid climate of Assam,” said Robin Kumar Dutta, Professor, Department of Chemical Sciences, Tezpur University. No loss of text. In contrast, some formulations of acidic iron gall ink — which was in use at the same time in Europe — can render documents illegible by causing loss of text, bleeding and fading due to ink corrosion.

Professor Dutta believes the study of ancient ink and paint may help retrieve useful information regarding traditional practices. “Efforts are on to recreate these heritage tokens (sancipat and mahi) in lab conditions and upscale them. They can be used as tourism marketing tools. For tourists who visit Egypt or Europe, papyrus scrolls are popular. Similarly, we are working towards the idea that mahi and sancipat can become popular tokens. In addition, for locals, there is an emotional attachment to a piece of heritage,” Professor Dutta explained.

Professor Dutta and his colleagues Barsha R. Goswami, Monoj K. Das, Pranjal P. Das, Tapas Medhi, Anand Ramteke and Simanta Hazarika (Gauhati University) published a report on scientific assays of ‘mahi’ in Current Science last month. The major phytochemical constituents in ‘mahi’ have been identified as phenolic acids, flavonoids and tannins and their complexes with iron. Though there are several recorded recipes for ‘mahi’ formulation, one commonality exists for all: the season during which it is concocted. “

It is only prepared (in natural settings) in the winter season. The low temperature and dry conditions in winter ensure minimum exposure of the mixture to microbes and heat, which may decompose the dyes during the long time needed for extraction,” Professor Dutta noted. “In mahi, no external stabiliser is used whereas gum Arabic is used for the purpose in iron gall ink. Another interesting feature is that the pH of mahi remains neutral because of cow urine and the absence of acidic ingredients like vinegar. Iron gall ink has an acidic character that leads to destruction of the manuscripts,” he said. The study was carried out using a sample of ‘mahi’ obtained from M.M. Bora of Dhing in Assam. Mr. Bora is a practitioner of the manuscript-writing tradition on sancipat and fresh samples of mahi were prepared under his supervision.

- http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-andhrapradesh/move-to-get-world-heritage-status-for-buddhist-sites/article17533703.ece, March 20, 2017

Telugu janapada sahityamu is rich and diverse, and interspersed with folk tales, legends, songs and stories the oral tradition of Telangana is even richer. It is a storehouse of wisdom accumulated over hundreds and thousands of years. "There are more than 160 folk art forms in Telugu land. Telangana has larger number of art forms performed by traditional artist communities. Most of them have "Tyaagam" tradition, that is a right to get cash and kind from respective communities," says NB Reddy, the director of Institute for Indian Folklore of Folklore Society of South Indian Languages. "Until the encroachment of electronic media these narratives and arts were the only source of recreation and education for the village folks. Each community had its own sub-community to narrate the stories or genealogies of the dominant community or caste. The sub-caste storytellers visit villages and narrate their stories. These stories tellers were dependent on the dominant communities for survival," he adds. Some of the important narrative communities are Addamsingvallu, Chinduvallu, Budige Jangaalu, Veedhi Bhagavatulu, Ganjikootivallu, Gondaleelu, Dasarivallu, Gollasuddulavallu, Ogguvallu, Mandechulu, Pichukakuntlu, Maladasarulu, Pondavulavallu, Sharadagallu and Matlevallu. These storytellers are spread across the Telangana mostly in Nizamabad, Medak, Karimnagar, Warangal, Khammam Nalgonda and Mahabubnagar districts.

Oral traditions: A cultural trove The study of the oral tradition is essential to be au fait with the life and philosophy of the rural masses. Dr Vislavath Rajunayak, an assistant professor and a visiting scholar of University of California Berkeley, USA, who recently completed an ICSSR-sponsored major research project on Lambada Bhat oral narratives observes, "In order to fully understand the community and its history, a detailed study of the songs or stories of that community is important. These oral narratives, of both individuals and community, are considered as genealogy. They are important resources to re-write history. The oral stories open up new possibilities of understanding the life and world of marginal communities, mostly neglected by the mainstream humanities and social sciences. They can't technically be called history, they are basically imaginative negotiations with their past relevant to their contemporary lives and identities. Nevertheless, there is some truth in them. Even today these oral stories of these marginal communities remind them of their past, though they have no concept of history per se. Due to this ambiguous relationship with their past, we can say that these storytellers are genealogists, rather than simply storytellers; and that their preoccupation is with collective memory, rather than formal history."

A uniting factor of Telangna Movement These oral traditions are not just mere narratives. They served a greater purpose of uniting people for the cause of Telangana during the peasant movement of 1948 and the Telangana movement. "The oral tradition of Telangana helped in shaping up of the ideas influencing the ideologies of the people. During the first of its kind peasant movement in 1948 where the peasants rebelled against the Nizam, numerous folk songs inspired from the oral tradition were composed. After that in 1969, these songs were the uniting factor during the first phase of Telangana movement. By 2000 these songs became an essence of the movement. The oral tradition transformed from time to time as per the requirements and needs of the hour. They woke the Telangana people from slumber and made them aware of their rights. And now these folk songs have become an integral part of the state," says Harikrishna Mamidi, director of Department of Language and Culture.

On its last legs or reviving? "A quick examination of this oral literature gives an immense pride to the patrons and to the storytellers. But in the modern era, it has been seen as 'primitive' traditions. However, these stories emerge as a new area of knowledge in the twentieth century as embodying the entire panorama of traditional cultures, often carried through oral transmission, through performance and through material artifacts by the so-called 'primitive people.' But given the situation, due modernisation and globalisation oral literature and oral stories of these communities are disappearing. The oral stories are not alive because the listeners are dead. These storytellers are hardly seen in this modern era," says Dr Vislavath Rajunayak. However, Harikrishna Mamidi has a different story to tell. "These oral traditions were neglected, side-lined and oppressed for the last six decades till 2000 because the rulers could not identify themselves with these rural art forms and appreciate the culture and sensibility of Telanganites. But during the Telangana movement and after emergence of the state, the greatest revival of these art forms have taken place. There was and is a cultural renaissance. Perini, Oggu Katha, Chindi Yakshagaanam, Hari Katha, Burra Katha, Sharda Kathalu have gained prominence again," he says.

Preserving the rich oral traditions Endangered or not, these oral traditions are in dire need to be compiled, recorded and archived in the wake of being lost forever. Researchers and scholars are doing their best to revive its former glory. "Telugu University, Warangal and few other universities in Telangana made an attempt to video record and tried to digitise some of the stories from these storytelling communities. Still, there is much more need to be done to compile these stories. State, researchers, and universities should also encourage storytellers to safeguard the richness of the oral traditions. The state must use the information technology to record in audio and video forms to preserve the dying down oral traditions to make it available to one's dying day," says Dr Vislavath Rajunayak. The government is doing its bit too, as Harikrishna Mamidi informs, "After the formation of Telangana state, the department of Language and Culture took the initiative to preserve, protect, promote and popularise these traditions. We have four 'R' strategies - Redefinition of the art forms, Restructuring of the system, Re-exploration and Rejuvenation. Endangered art forms are being revived. Documentaries are being made. We are organising training camps for Oggu Katha, Chindi Yakshagaanam, Jangaalu and other rural art forms to draw the attention of younger generation."

A treasure trove of Legends, folktales and myths Patam katha Patam means paintings. Patam katha are scroll narratives narrating stories of the Ramayana, the Mahabharata and the Puranas. Sometimes contemporary issues are also incorporated with mythological stories. There are around 12 forms of Patam katha.

Hari katha Literally meaning the stories of Lord Vishnu, the art form composed of storytelling and poetry narrates the stories of Narayana and Puranic stories. Oggu Katha With its roots set way back in history, it is generally performed by the Kuruma and the Yadava communities of Telangana who moved from place to place, narrating the stories of their caste gods. They tell the stories of Renuka Yellamma, Beerappa, Mallana and other rural deities. The tradition is also supported with certain dance moves, patnam (floor paintings) and is culminated with certain fetes or vinyasams.

Burra katha Unlike Harikatha that is a tradition of the elite and educated, Buraktha is common people's art form. It is known by different name in different regions; in Telangana, it is known as tamboorakatha, tandana katha and saradakatha. Most of the stories are kind of tributary to the freedom fighters. Bura is a musical instrument, a primitive form of mrudangam. The narratives, mostly derived from Ramayan and Mahabharat are told using the instrument. Gurram Vallu. Attached to the Malas and the narratives recite the gotras and genealogy of the Malas. Chiruthala Ramayanam They recite episodes of the Ramayana while playing Chirutha. Gaurajetty puranam. It is a community related oral tradition related to Gaura community

- http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/a-glimpse-into-the-oral-traditions-of-telangana/articleshow/57718159.cms, March 20, 2017

For a state with rich heritage as Rajasthan, preservation, in view of rapid urbanization and consequent destruction of its historical monuments, has become paramount. Moving a step beyond physical preservation, the government has started digital preservation of its heritage in a one-of-its-kind project in the country. The project, which began in the last quarter of 2016, has already digitally scanned seven historical monuments, inch by inch on a 1:1 scale, to be preserved for posterity. "Preservation involves a unique set of challenges as one of the most crucial facets of the process is to keep the cultural heritage intact. Several projects have been undertaken across the globe to preserve culture and heritage.

Taking the lead in India, Rajasthan, which is home to ancient forts and architectural marvels, is preserving them to attract more tourists with the help of architectural model and 3D walk-through videos. These are interactive and have informative games weaved around them. These will help students and history lovers know more about the culture and heritage of Rajasthan in a fun way," said Akhil Arora, commissioner & principal secretary, Department of Information Technology & Communication (DoIT&C).

Technically supported by DoIT&C and Autodesk Inc, this is a novel initiative to recreate heritage structures through the LiDAR scanning technology using 3D with special cameras fixed on drones. According to the department, it is more a digital preservation on a large scale where building information modeling (BIM) will provide accurate measurement of structures. "The project could dovetail the project for creating a 3D city. Backed by chief minister Vasundhara Raje's initiative, Rajasthan State GIS Application 'Rajdhaara', it aims to establish an effective and integrated GIS infrastructure of the state to enable good governance.

In the context of 'Smart City', the 3D city along with the National Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana (HRIDAY) scheme can work towards the holistic development of heritage cities," said Arora. So far Autodesk has completed as-built 3D models of Albert Hall Museum, Jantar Mantar, Hawa Mahal, Udaipur City Palace, Jaipur City Palace and the seven gates of the Walled City in Jaipur. And while that of Amber Fort is nearing completion, the Kumbhalgarh Fort is next in the pipeline. "Nearly 25 historical monuments will be covered under the project. Over a hundred other places of importance will also be digitized with the town planning and disaster management perspective," said Tatjana Dzambazova, senior product manager, Emerging Technologies, Autodesk.

While the 3D walk-through videos will help tourists experience the old world with just a click, the digitization will go a long way in preserving history and safe guarding monuments against damage. In case of natural calamity, this information will come in handy to restore damaged monuments to its true state. "Besides, new buildings, structures coming up around heritage monuments too can be modelled on them so as to be in sync. The project will also help architecture students and add yet another aspect to tourism in the state," Arora said.

- http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/jaipur/seven-raj-monuments-get-digital-protection/articleshow/57741808.cms, March 21, 2017

World donors pledged more than USD 75 million today to an historic UNESCO-backed alliance to protect cultural heritage sites threatened by war and the wave of ideological-driven destruction carried out by Islamic State group militants. French President Francois Hollande, speaking at a donors’ conference in Paris’ Louvre Museum, passionately called on more countries to contribute to the newly-created heritage alliance and help push it past its “ambitious” USD 100 million goal. IS militants have stolen or destroyed a host of cultural artifacts, including the ancient Syrian town of Palmyra, the Mosul museum in Iraq and the 13th century BC Assyrian capital of Nimrud, which is also in Iraq.

“At Bamiyan, Mosul, Palmyra, Timbuktu and elsewhere, fanatics have engaged in trafficking, looting and the destruction of cultural heritage, adding to the persecution of populations,” Hollande said. In coordination with UNESCO, the International Alliance for the Protection of Heritage in Conflict Areas (ALIPH) aims to prevent heritage site destruction, fight trafficking of stolen artifacts and pay for restoration. But it also seeks to create a global network of sites in which artifacts endangered by fighting or terrorism could be temporarily stored for safekeeping. “The first emergency is Iraq. We will need to carry out a precise inventory of the damages to monuments, museums and libraries. But there are other critical situations. Mali, Afghanistan, Yemen and Syria,” he added.

Hollande suggested today that a Group of Seven culture ministers meeting in Florence next week could be used to get further donations. Seven countries and one philanthropist pledged a total of USD 75.5 million at the conference, which was held in an ancient Middle Eastern sculpture-clad wing of the Louvre. France pledged the most at USD 30 million, with support forthcoming from Arab countries including Saudi Arabia (USD 20 million), the United Arab Emirates (USD 15 million), Kuwait (USD 5 million) and Morocco (USD 1.5 million.) Luxembourg pledged USD 3 million, and private donor Thomas Kaplan promised USD 1 million. Switzerland pledged a further USD 8 million in operational and administrative costs to help set up the fund’s first headquarters in Geneva. Italy, meanwhile, said it would provide an ALIPH task force that includes military personnel and conservation experts.

Germany, China and Mexico said they would help by storing the heritage objects threatened by war in national museums, and lobby countries to do the same. The first concrete steps to creating ALIPH came about in a meeting between Hollande and Abu Dhabi’s powerful crown prince, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, in the Emirati capital in December. “This achievement is truly historic,” said Mohamed Al Mubarak, the crown prince’s special representative. (AFP) AJR

- http://www.india.com/news/agencies/75-million-pledged-to-protect-heritage-sites-in-war-zones-1945223/, March 21, 2017

Today, March 21, is the International Day of Forests. Bangladesh is rich with 6,500 plant species out of which 650 have medicinal values. More than 500 pharmaceutical companies are producing herbal medicines from 300 plants of which 25 have high values. In addition, there are over 8,000 registered and unregistered traditional herbal practitioners (Kabiraj) who use various formulations of medicinal plants in their preparations. About 20,000 tons of medicinal plants, valued at Tk 10-12 billion, are annually used in the country. But there is little supply of medicinal plants from the country's natural forest sources. These are mostly imported from India, Nepal and Pakistan. The knowledge about the use of medicinal plants has historically originated from and remained restricted among forest-dependent communities in Bangladesh. The traditional knowledge of these communities has made an outstanding contribution to the origin and evolution of many effective herbal treatments.

CHUNATI WILDLIFE SANCTUARY: An ethnomedicinal study has been conducted in Chunati Wildlife Sanctuary (CWS) - the first and largest wildlife sanctuary in Bangladesh. With an area of 7,764 ha, the sanctuary is located in Chittagong and Cox's Bazar Districts. According to Arannayk Foundation, the sanctuary is the home of 691 floral and 482 faunal species. CWS is a degraded forest due to illicit felling, encroached by agriculture, betel leaf cultivation, illegal brickfields, 100 human settlements and infrastructural development activities. Only scattered patches of natural forest still remain. In response, the Forest Department (FD) has taken up several forest landscape restoration and conservation programmes with the financial and technical support from USAID and Germany's Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit ( GIZ). These programmes have targeted to restore 5,000 ha of forestland with plantations by native, medicinal and exotic fast growing tree species as well as natural regeneration management.

Social forestry plantations have also been undertaken in the buffer zone surrounding the sanctuary in collaboration with beneficiaries. Those beneficiaries tend the plots and share in the harvest according to Social Forestry Rules. Under these programmes, some community-based conservation committees were formed and the responsibilities to protecting the reforested areas were handed over to them. The ethnomedicinal study has identified 134 plant species which possess therapeutic values. Among them, 56 species are trees, 22 shrubs, 36 herbs, 16 climbers, two kinds of grass, one bamboo and one cactus. These plants allow local communities to collect a wide range of plants and plant-parts for their informal, everyday healthcare.

Most of the species were collected from inside the forest followed by homestead gardens, fallow lands, roadsides, around watershed areas and from local markets. Both the aerial and below-ground plant parts are used in healthcare treatments. Leaves are most widely used parts of the medicinal plants; fruits, barks, roots, stems, flowers, latex, seeds, twigs and whole plants are also used. In most cases, the juice from leaves, roots, rhizome and bark are used as medicine, while fruits are eaten raw. Most plant parts are consumed orally after processing such as macerating, pounding, squeezing, blending, soaking or boiling in water, rubbing, or burning.

Some are taken raw, some after cooking as vegetables and some are applied externally to different body parts for cuts and wounds, scabies, pain or skin diseases. In general, the fresh plant parts are used for the preparation of medicine; parts are also used when fresh parts are not available. Medicinal plants are generally used to treat fever, cold and cough, cuts and wounds, diarrhoea and dysentery, vomiting, constipation, tooth ache, hair treatment, skin diseases, snake bite, weakness, sexual problems, eye infections, cattle diseases, rheumatoid arthritis, heart diseases and urinary tract infections. The highest numbers of medicinal plants are used to treat dysentery (31 species), cut and wounds (29 species), fever (22 species), stomach problem (21 species), jaundice (20 species), skin diseases (14 species), cough and gastric (13 species each), cold (12 species), and diarrhoea (12 species). The dosage patterns vary with the drug preparation, the age of the patients, the severity of the diseases, and personal judgment of the practitioners.

At the family level, elder family members, who have good knowledge on the medicinal value of specific plants, generally prepare the medicine. People also share medicinal plants with each other, so that the demands of neighbours and people living further away can easily be met. In the CWS, there is a scarcity of planting materials of medicinal plants. The FD has established no nurseries, but the dependence on forest plants for healthcare practices is increasing rapidly. The most common problems for the conservation of medicinal plants in CWS are the extensive plantation with exotic tree species, conflict over land distribution and use among the different ethnic and cultural groups, over-harvesting of important medicinal plants, massive encroachment of forest areas, lack or no awareness-raising programme, no recorded documentation of medicinal plants, no medicinal plants-based income-generating activity, and no organized marketing channel for selling the medicine products prepared by Kabirajs. The use pattern of medicinal plants documented in ethnomedicinal study at Chunati Wildlife Sanctuary may be helpful for other people to use such plants in their traditional healthcare practices. Considering the rapid environmental, social and forest land use changes, the community-based conservation initiative is appropriate for the conservation and management of medicinal plants in CWS. Communities should be involved in the formulation of effective management guidelines for community-based conservation of medicinal plants including monitoring, sustainable harvesting and marketing.

The youth should be encouraged to learn such traditional knowledge to preserve it from being lost with the older generation. The government has declared medicinal plant-based drugs as one of the top five priority export sectors.

Many top pharmaceutical companies of the country like Square and Incepta have also set up separate units for herbal medicine. The Forest Department and NGOs should take initiatives to develop community-based medicinal plant enterprises as at Chunati Wildlife Sanctuary. These should be on the basis of public-private partnership between government, community, NGOs, academic and research institutions, and pharmaceutical companies. The writer is a Research Fellow at Bangladesh Institute of Social Research (BISR) Trust. He was awarded the 'GIZ Young Researcher Award 2012' by the GIZ on International Day of Forests 2013. [email protected]

- http://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/2017/03/20/64860/Preserving-forests,-promoting-medicinal-plants/, March 21, 2017

Author and historian Swapna Liddle walks through the lanes of Chandni Chowk in Old Delhi, telling stories of war, murder, aspiration and devotion. It can be difficult tracking down the palace of an orphaned 18th century Kashmiri nautch girl who fought many battles, revived a city ravaged by war, and saved a Mughal emperor from defeat and death. But the McDonald’s close to Begum Samru’s palace, off Chandni Chowk road, is an effective landmark. Historian Swapna Liddle sees the unfortunate humour in it, as she begins her Old Delhi walk for a group of us. It could be worse, perhaps. “Years ago, I visited Ironbridge, a historic midlands town in England where the Industrial Revolution began. The group I was with said that you know you’re in the middle of town when there’s a McDonald’s there,” says Liddle. We cross the smiling Ronald McDonald’s on the right on the Chandni Chowk main road, and follow Liddle, who negotiates the alleyways with deft familiarity.

The “palace”, also known as Bhagirath Palace, is a pale shadow of its former self. One can see the detailed pillars and columns, now dirtied by time and man, and the façade, which is a tale of faded majesty, with a clutch of electronic goods shops that have taken over the main floor, facing the street. “Begum Samru was a dancing girl during the time of Shah Alam II. She married an European mercenary soldier called Walter Reinhardt Sombre. After his death, not only did she inherit his money, but also his troupe of soldiers.

She eventually headed this group of mercenary soldiers and also protected the Mughal emperor of the time when he was under threat from forces such as those of Ghulam Qadir. It’s sad how it’s maintained these days,” says Liddle, “There is some effort on part of organisations like Yes Institute, which try to create some cultural awareness through various initiatives, but much more is needed.” Liddle’s opinions come from a space of deep insight and experience. Her PhD thesis was on the city’s cultural and intellectual life in the 19th century, and, she works with Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH), raising awareness on history through various initiatives, including walks around the city.

Liddle’s last book Delhi: 14 Historic Walks, is still a popular draw. The Red Fort is nearly 200 metres from where we are. Liddle explains the precise planning of the stretch from the fort’s Lahori gate to Chandni Chowk. “The first stretch of the street outside the fort was the original Urdu Bazaar, which ended at Kotwali Chowk. This chowk ended in a large octagonal square, which was Chandni Chowk.” Chandni Chowk had a large pool at the centre, which reflected moonlight, and hence the name. However, Kotwali Chowk has a bit more of history than the romance of a moonlit Chandni Chowk. It’s at Kotwali, which had the police outposts, that Guru Tegh Bahadur was executed. “Later, in the 18th century, the Sikhs were given the space to build a memorial, and that’s the landmark Gurudwara Sis Ganj Sahib,” says Liddle. As we walk across this chowk, Liddle points to the adjacent masjid.

“It’s the Sunehri masjid, built sometime in the 1720s. This is the spot where Nadir Shah sat and supervised the massacre of the citizens of Delhi.” Liddle’s recently launched book, Chandni Chowk: The Mughal City of Old Delhi, talks about the events that preceded the murder of Delhi’s citizenry (there’s some amount of bhaang involved in the plot). As we traverse Chandni Chowk, in the distance, there’s the Digambar Jain Lal Mandir, and, as we navigate the neighbourhood, more Jain temples crop up with increasing frequency. There’s a fair share of Hindu temples too, says Liddle, but the Dariba neighbourhood mostly had Jain merchants — and places of worship grew from patronage. In fact, Shah Jahan had invited Dipchand Sah, an Aggarwal Jain merchant of Hisar, to set up business here and on the land allotted to him, Sah built havelis for his 16 sons. Subsequently, the major temple that was also built came to be known as the Digambar Jain Lal Mandir. As we dive into another street, called Galli Khazanchi, we find ourselves at a doorway that opens into a spacious courtyard. It’s a small proto-haveli almost, and there are still enough hints inside of better times the property has seen. Three floors surround the open courtyard which also has a small marble pool. “This is Khazanchi (treasurer) Haveli.

This must have belonged to one of the several Jain bankers who lived here.” Liddle talks about the structural similarities between the palaces and the homes of the emperor’s subjects. “These havelis mimicked the Mughal court. You have the Diwan-i-Khaas-o-Aam in the Red Fort and here you can see raised platforms within the courtyard where the owner would have his own little durbars,” says Liddle, “To me, this is Shahjahanabad. In just one building you can see what Shahjahanabad was and what it’s become now.”

- http://indianexpress.com/article/lifestyle/books/all-the-kings-men-swapna-liddle-history-of-delhis-architecture-delhi-14-historic-walks-chandni-chowk-the-mughal-city-of-old-delhi-4579586/, March 22, 2017

When his three-year-old daughter wanted to visit a museum in 2014, Vaibhav Chauhan quickly agreed. Formally trained in heritage conservation, he knew how important it is to be aware of history and culture from a young age. Unfortunately for him, information about most of the museums was not easily available, even in a city like Delhi. “We keep talking about how India is one of the oldest and biggest civilizations. We have been fed stories about how our culture is great. But what use is it if we are not using our culture for development, nor marketing it correctly,” he asks. Chauhan is one of the founder-members and secretary at Sahapedia, an open online resource on the art, culture and heritage of India, and looks after resource development and operations. An alumnus of the Delhi Institute of Heritage Research and Management with a master’s degree in heritage management and conservation (2004), an executive MBA from the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (2013) and a degree on corporate social responsibility from Harvard Business School (2015), Chauhan decided to use the available information and curate it for museums in the city. “I realized people were not even aware of so many wonderful artefacts which are housed in our museums and manuscripts in the libraries. But we have technology now to bring the information closer to them,” he says. For this project, Chauhan worked in an individual capacity and put in Rs2 lakh of his own money to get the app off the ground. The core team of Sahapedia, including executive director Sudha Gopalakrishnan and former Tata Consultancy Services Ltd chairman and Sahapedia mentor S. Ramadorai, has always encouraged in-house entrepreneurial ideas and efforts.

Sahapedia gave operational support for this app and will collaborate with Chauhan for the next version. Sahapedia’s Museums in Delhi app was a finalist in the culture and tourism category at the mBillionth Award South Asia 2016, organized by the Digital Empowerment Foundation. Chauhan started collecting information about museums in April 2014. In three months, he launched the Museums in Delhi app with the intention of giving people information about any of the museums they wanted to visit, including ticket prices, opening hours, parking locations, amenities, disability friendliness, etc. The museums are further categorized into archaeology, arts and crafts, children’s, history, personalia, science, specialized and transport. In the first phase, he listed 44 museums in the app, with the help of friends who gave him information about each of the museums. Chauhan also reached out to art historians and museologists to know about the history of star attractions in each museum. For example, the dagger of the Shah of Iran, who gave refuge to Humayun, and Bahadur Shah’s letter to Queen Victoria are housed in the Mumtaz Mahal Museum in Red Fort, while paintings by Satish Gujral and M.F. Husain find pride of place in the Ghalib Academy in Nizamuddin.

Museums in Delhi is a simple app, created with the help of Chauhan’s relative, Vaibhav Singh Tomar, who was then studying coding. They designed the app as a static one, with very basic images and information. It is GPS-enabled, making it easier for people to find direction to a particular museum or to check which museums are nearby. Chauhan’s intention was also to popularize smaller museums with the help of bigger and popular ones. “When people go to a popular museum like National Gallery of Modern Art, they can check the app and see that the Archaeological Museum, National Science Centre, and National Archives Museum are all close by.

The popular museums also have a responsibility towards the smaller ones, especially because smaller museums do not usually have anyone maintaining outreach or social media for them,” says Chauhan. But museum officials haven’t always been very helpful. He says that heads of several museums neither supplied information nor agreed to let their visitors know about the app. “A simple step like letting them know about the app when they are buying the ticket, can actually help other museums,” points out Chauhan. He now hopes to use a digital campaign called #ILoveMuseumsBecause to start a conversation about museums among the younger crowd. This is required because there has been no publicity for the app, and with very limited support from museums, the app has seen only about 1,000 downloads on the Google Play store in two years—that too mostly from Indians, though it would be a good resource for travellers to India as well. The reason, according to Chauhan, might be that tourists, especially from the US and Europe use iPhones, while the app is compatible with only Android phones currently. “I think our entry was quite smooth from a technology point of view. However, we were a bit too early. I noticed that during the International Museum Day (18 May) last year, there was a lot of interest around our museums. There were a lot of social media conversations as well. Had we launched it in the same time, we could have used the opportunity to make people aware of our app more,” he adds. Chauhan plans to expand the app to five-six more cities within a year and include art galleries, cultural centres, and information on cultural events and tour guides.

“In the future, it will also allow individuals to post photographs and geotag museums they visit. I am hoping to get financial support from corporates under their corporate social responsibility programme because it is a qualified activity under schedule VII of Companies Act 2013,” says Chauhan. Mint has a strategic partnership with Digital Empowerment Foundation, which hosts the Manthan and mBillionth awards.

- http://www.livemint.com/Consumer/Sfqdll9wRkAlhw9TUXGWPO/A-culture-finder-on-your-phone.html/, March 22, 2017

On the eve of world water day, sand artist Manas Sahoo has created a sand sculpture on puri sea beach, Odisha, depicting the importance of water in our life. This sand sculpture compares each drop of fresh water with the holy water treated with respect in religious places. It suggests that the life giving property of water is essential for the very survival of flora and fauna. “Thousands have lived without love, not one without water. ”This sculpture is five feet high and 15 feet long and is built with 20 tons of sand. Sahoo is the finalist of the popular reality show 'India's got talent khoj II'. Also, he has participated in near about 12 International sand sculpture championships and festivals around the world and has won many prizes for India.

-http://www.orissadiary.com/CurrentNews.asp?id=72851, March 22, 2017

On the eve of world water day, sand artist Manas Sahoo has created a sand sculpture on puri sea beach, Odisha, depicting the importance of water in our life. This sand sculpture compares each drop of fresh water with the holy water treated with respect in religious places. It suggests that the life giving property of water is essential for the very survival of flora and fauna. “Thousands have lived without love, not one without water. ”This sculpture is five feet high and 15 feet long and is built with 20 tons of sand. Sahoo is the finalist of the popular reality show 'India's got talent khoj II'. Also, he has participated in near about 12 International sand sculpture championships and festivals around the world and has won many prizes for India.

-http://www.orissadiary.com/CurrentNews.asp?id=72851, March 22, 2017

The U.N. General Assembly in 1993 designated March 22 as World Water Day and over the years as water resources are increasingly critically threatened and as access to safe drinking water to greater numbers of people becomes a growing reality, this day has become a very important day and so too the themes chosen to motivate particularly policy makers and administrators dealing with critical resources such as water. On a very recent visit to Madras, talking with a environmentally sensitive architect friend who is also a conscientious citizen and civic activist, our conversation turned to summer and impending water shortages and I enquired about the ground water level in her house. As summer approaches, concerns over water scarcity rise to the surface and enquiries are not about the health and happiness of the person but about water supply and those with independent borewells, the condition of their borewells. As a socially conscious person, ofcourse she recharges her borewell and ground water through rain water harvesting. She has fought many civic and public battles for water but yet she was very sceptical of any solutions for our looming resource crises, both in the immediate and about the very future of humankind.

She thought at best humanity may have another two or three hundred years to survive as a species and did not seem to think any of this ‘green’ and ‘sustainable’ work will save us since the main machine of ‘development’ is wrongly designed and worse intrinsically designed for disaster. She perhaps without realising was echoing Vaclav Havel reflections on Climate Change in the New York Times (‘Our Moral Footprint’, NYTimes Sept, 2007) just about a decade ago. Havel wrote, “The end of the world has been anticipated many times and has never come, of course. And it won’t come this time either. We need not fear for our planet. It was here before us and most likely will be here after us. But that doesn’t mean that the human race is not at serious risk.

As a result of our endeavors and our irresponsibility our climate might leave no place for us. If we drag our feet, the scope for decision-making — and hence for our individual freedom — could be considerably reduced”. Havel in his talks and writings on “Climate Change’ indirectly questioned whether this generation, our generation, in deciding to commit collective suicide through the current models of economic development, was it also not deciding the fate of future generations and that of the human species itself. Obviously we do not have that right to do so but we still exercise that right even if unconsciously through the ‘modern’ life we are all trapped in. According to Havel, it boils down to a moral question, and which is why he titled his article, ‘Our Moral Footprint’. This was Havel’s response to the oft asked question, in response to Climate Change by not just Climate Change skeptics, but others as well, ‘Why Bother’!. Wendell Berry the Kentucky farmer, answering this question of “Why Bother” and writing in the face of the ‘environmental crisis’ of the 1970s, and that too in an era innocent of climate change, concluded that it boiled down basically to a moral imperative. His response was, “Once our personal connection to what is wrong becomes clear, then we have to choose: we can go on as before, recognizing our dishonesty and living with it the best we can, or we can begin the effort to change the way we think and live.” This is as much a choice that the individual has to make everyday, as those in public policy decision making, be it an engineer, an administrator or poltician.

These are the choices that public administrators have faced in the past (fortunately we have a good record of such administrators) and face in the present also in relation to our natural resources in general and especially in relation to critical resources such as water. It is in trying to “change the way we think” that international public goods institutions such as the agencies of the U.N. have days dedicated to protect different normative causes and for public advocacy with regard to natural resources be it wetlands, forests or critically threatened resources such as water.

‘Waste Water’ The U.N. General Assembly in 1993 designated March 22 as World Water Day and over the years as water resources are increasingly critically threatened and as acess to safe drinking water to greater numbers of people becomes a growing reality, this day has become a very important day and so too the themes chosen to motivate particularly policy makers and administrators dealing with critical resources such as water. UN Water created in 2003 after the World Summit on Sustainable Development 2002, is an UN Inter Agency organization composed of member representatives of 26 United Nations organizations that work on water issues and 17 other, non-UN organizations who are partners of UN-Water and dedicated to work on all water related issues globally and also responsible for producing the thematic report on the theme chosen for World Water Day every year.

This year’s thematic report published by UN Water is on ‘Waste Water’ a focus long overdue especially in the Asia Pacific region where more than 80% of waste water is not utilised and can go above 90% in countries like India. Dealing with Waste Water, what I would like to call “reclaiming water”, is specially relevant to our cities in the Asia Pacific Region. Singapore meets 30% of its needs using recycled waste water which it calls “NEWater’. 16 of the current global 28 mega cities are located in Asia and the Pacific region, which is home to 53 per cent of the global urban population. Fast-growing cities contribute to each country’s economic growth and accommodate a major portion of the national population but also demand water for their survival and susstainabilty.

However, with inadequate and unsustainable water infrastructure, 277 million people are still suffering from the lack of stable access to clean and safe water, thus making cities very vulnerable; while also increasingly exposed to impacts of climate change. One constant feature of cities in the Asia Pacific of late is frequent natural disasters. Interesting to note that 90% of these disasters are water related and ironically creating situations of either of too much water (floods) or too little water (drought). A situation that cities like Chennai are all too familiar with. Water quality is another critical issue and water pollution is not only from industrial sources but mainly due to the contamination caused by sewage (black) and grey water mixing with drinking water sources and contamination of supply lines given that water pipes given intermittent supply are at a lower pressure than sanitation lines. If the latter are the problems of cities and urban areas, rural areas especially in the arid and semi-arid areas and dependent on largely ground water face another kind of challenge, the rapid drop in water tables especially given the failure of rains for the past four years or so.

Living on an horticultural farm in a semi-arid region, we live this latter challenge of rapidly dropping ground water tables. The drought and the water situation in Karnataka is about the worst we have witnessed in our two decades of life on the farm. This is the first time in 42 years that the Mysuru region has received scanty rains, forcing farmers to abandon agriculture activities and we as horticulturalists have been also very much on the receiving end. We have already lost 30 full grown, yielding coconut trees. Once their crown dries the rest of the tree faces a quick death. We have been very judicious and careful with water all through our life on the farm. Our entire 7 acre farm is run through drip irrigation, we recycle all our grey water. We do rain water harvesting on our land (we have over 600 pits) plus all the roof water is harvested. Water harvested from the clean roofs goes through filters to a 10,000 litre sump and which is the water we have been using for several years for our drinking and cooking purposes. The water from other roofs goes to recharge the bore well directly and inspite of the dry spell in early December, on our one bore (which is 300 ft deep and we pump from 250 ft and that serves our entire 7 acre farm) the water level was at 90 feet depth from the ground level.

Though I have not checked what the water level is now. Inspite of being extraordinarily careful and prudent in utilising water from that bore, we have been very worried, a kind of daily existential threat looms on our lives, not only because of no rains to recharge the bore but around us an average 5-10 bore wells were being dug every night from December onwards. That numbers have come down though as I write I can hear the sound of another rig in operation very nearby. The worst story of the drought in Karnatka is that even parts of the Western Ghats, such as Kodagu have failed to record normal rainfall, drying up dams in the Cauvery basin. Farmers in Mandya district, part of the Krishnaraja Sagar dam ayacut area, have failed to harvest even a single paddy crop this year. The last rains we saw in our parts was in August last year though we got some spill over from cyclone Vardah in Chennai and which was for us scanty. As per estimates and surveys carried out by agriculture and revenue departments of the Karnataka government, 136 of the 175 taluks in the state are drought-hit and experiencing severe drinking water crisis. This is the third consecutive year of drought in the state and bore wells are drying up fast. Finally we also decided to dig a new borewell. To locate a spot, in November last, with my own water divining skills and the help of a professional geologist friend we marked a spot as the ideal one to for the new borewell. Given however, that November and December landed up being one of the worst months in terms of the new uncertainties thrust on us by those in governance, we finally managed in February to get a rig to drill at the spot identified.

But by February the ground water levels had drawn down even further. The rig came at 10pm (each rig does minimum of about 20 bores wells everyday nowadays and average depth is 600 feet but often 800 feet plus and come when they are free) started around 10.30pm and around 1.30am they had gone 340 feet and there was no water. By our calculation we should have struck water at 280 feet but within the last two months ground water levels have been going down further given also that KRS dam and its back waters are also dry and so even though we live close to the backwaters, there is no benefit from that proximity for now. We stop the drilling at 350 feet but the next day my geologist assures me that he and me have chosen a good spot and we will definitely get water if we go deeper, another 150 feet at least he says. With great difficulty (the bore well riggers are a mafia) we get another rig to come and deepen beyond 350ft. We strike water at 480 feet not much but sufficient and drill till 565 ft for storage. I don’t want to drill upto or beyond 600 ft in order not to disturb the quality of water. Intuition (possibly fear also borne out of uncertainty) perhaps pays off.

When I get the water from this new bore well tested, I find it has no iron (Fe) content and its softness is below 200 ppm which is great news for us, since the rainwater storage sump with no rains will be exhausted soon. But still not knowing when the rains will come, pumping of the water is done with great restraint each day. After completing the work on our new bore well, and with some sense of security, I decided to leave the farm and visit Madras, and talking to friends and relatives during my visit the recurring theme is water scarcity. I advice a close relative living in Santhome and all of whose borewells in the apartment complex have gone dry, to leave the city till the rain comes. In the 1990s when I lived in the city, the city’s water shortage was met by water tankers supplying water from the rural hinterland and which is now a feature of all major cities. My students then who did studies on water, especially ground water discovered that the water merchants of then Madras had made enough money to migrate abroad!. Today’s Mysore, unlike Bangalore and Chennai, has not yet fully achieved that status of drawing on rural borewells to manage the city’s water shortage. Though, in normal times also, rural areas being the source of vegetables and fruits for cities also regularly transfer ‘virtual water’ through these farm products to the cities.

This is not to paint a one sided picture of cities parasiting the rural areas. More so, when the greatest user of water is by agriculture and the highest wastage and lowest water efficiency is also in water use in agriculture. Environment, ecology and natural resources are not just about sinners and saints, everyone is culpable; it is not only the degree of culpability but what each one does with scarcity and how communities be they in the city or in the rural area use their intelligence to be prudent, live with restraint devise ‘mental and moral foot prints’ to reduce their ‘ecological foot print’ be it on water or any other natural resource.

But above all to use their intelligence to do whatever they can, through judicious use and re-use, to enhance the supply of a resource like water and for which we are completely dependent on the natural water cycle. If our future is not that of environmental sinners and saints, then as Wendell Berry says even if, “we are by no means divided, or readily divisible, into environmental saints and sinners”. “But there are legitimate distinctions that need to be made. These are distinctions of degree and of consciousness.

Some people are less destructive than others, and some are more conscious of their destructiveness than others. For some, their involvement in pollution, soil depletion, strip-mining, deforestation, industrial and commercial waste is simply a "practical" compromise, a necessary "reality," the price of modern comfort and convenience. For others, this list of involvements is an agenda for thought and work that will produce remedies”. That is what this year’s World Water Day theme does, to make you also think not only about the water you use but also about the water you let go as ‘waste water’ and make you think how to ‘reclaim it as a resource’. Our lives are not built on the resources we are endowed with or what comes to us by heredity but by what we “reclaim” and add as a resource.

-http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/world-water-day-reflections/article17562382.ece, March 22, 2017

A heritage walk to the Goripalayam Dargah, organised by INTACH Madurai, lent participants a journey through the lesser known history of the Madurai Sultanate. A popular Saivate Pilgrim town, Madurai has a lesser-known Islam episode to its rich history. For a brief period in the 13th Century, the Pandya country was ruled by two brothers – Hazrat Khwaja Syed Sultan Alauddin and Hazrat Khwaja Syed Sultan Shamsuddin – who have been sanctified in the Goripalayam Dargah, one of the landmarks of the city. Along with these great Sultans of Madurai, the history of their journey to the town, their friendship with Medieval Pandya King Koonpandiyan, their services to the people and their story of becoming the rulers was revisited during a heritage walk to the Dargah organised by INTACH. Crowned with a colossal dome painted in bright white and tall minarets embellished with colourful niches, the Goripalayam Dargah stands out amidst the hotchpotch of shaky old buildings in the neighbourhood.

A flight of steps leads to the impressive façade behind which tin-roof tenements with cement flooring provide shelter to people who stay at the dargah for days and months, seeking divine intervention to their problems, mostly ill-health. Bearded babas clad in green roam around with incense and peacock feathers, blessing people, sacred black threads and tabiz are tied around pillars, flocks of pigeons flutter across the minarets and perch on ornate arches, few devotees roll beaded malas between fingers, their lips moving in a murmur of a silent prayer while the louder Qazis call out sacred verses in Arabic from time to time. A courtyard in the centre with ornamental stone pillars and wooden windows leads into the heart of the dargah where the two Sultans lie in two separate graves next to each other. “The dargah is a fine confluence of Dravidian and Islamic architecture.

The multifoil arches are typical of the Islamic buildings while the pillars may resemble the ones in the Pandya period temples,” points out N Sulaiman, Retd, Regional Assistant Director, Department of Art and Culture. A stunted pillar bearing inscriptions elucidates the treaty signed between King Koonpandiyan and the holy brothers. “It is said that Koonpandiyan suffered from an illness which the sultans cured him of. Out of gratitude, the King sold them the place to build a mosque and six villages on the northern bank of the Vaigai in exchange for 14,000 gold coins.” Later, during the 16th Century Nayak rule when a dispute rose between the villagers and the holy brothers, King Veerappa Nayaka is said to have intervened and recorded the sale deed in the form of an inscription, thus ordering for the treaty to continue, says Sulaiman.

“In due course, the brothers with the help of the Delhi Sultanate capture the city of Madurai and become independent Sultans. Acclaimed traveller Ibn Battuta is also said to have visited the court of the Madurai Sultans.” “The Goripalayam Dargah is a pride of the Temple City. The monument is a symbol of interreligious harmony and reflects the secular nature of Madurai,” says Karthik Manimozhiyan, Co-Conevener, INTACH Madurai.

- http://www.thehindu.com/society/history-and-culture/a-heritage-walk-to-the-goripalayam-dargah-organised-by-intach-madurai-lent-participants-a-journey-through-the-lesser-known-history-of-the-madurai-sultanate/article17577976.ece, March 21, 2017

We do not need the Uttarakhand High Court to inform us that our two premier rivers Ganges and Yamuna are 'living entities'. We have known about that from our childhood. This fact was further reinforced when Prime Minister Narendra Modi, standing for elections from Varanasi three years ago, declared he was the son of Mother Ganges and swore to restore the river to its pristine glory. To move away from these platitudes, it must be emphasised that Indians have been trying to clean up the Ganges for the last thirty years. Thousands of crores of rupees have been spent to no avail and the Modi government has also allocated another $3 billion over five years to clean this sacred river. The reality is that more than one billion gallons of raw sewage and industrial effluents enter the Ganges every day and it is now ranked one of the ten most polluted rivers in the world. Varanasi with its population of five million has 33 nallahs which are dumping their untreated sewage and muck into the Ganges. Rather than make a grandiose intervention, the head of the Natural Division of Intach, decided a small but meaningful cleaning up operation could make a substantive difference in cleaning up the river.

"We had cut our teeth in cleaning up the Palam nallah in Dwarka in 2012. Prior to that, we had cleaned up the Kushak nallah in Chankyapuri in 2010 and the east Taj drain which crosses the eastern entrance of the Taj Mahal. This was such a foul smelling drain that tourists would cover their nose to enter from this side. This clean up was undertaken last year," said the be-spectacled, grey-haired Bhatnagar sitting in his cabin tucked away in once corner of the Intach office in New Delhi. The nallahs are storm-water drains but because there are no proper sewer treatment plants (STP) in place in our cities including Delhi, Agra and Varanasi, these are serving as large sewers which are responsible for our rivers becoming highly polluted. At the suggestion of Intach chairman Major General LK Gupta (retd), it was decided to clean up the Assi river which flows into the Ganges at the Assi Ghat in Varanasi. Assi river appears to be little more than a slushy, dirty drain choked with plastic and muck and it seems difficult to believe the poet and saint Tulsidas wrote his epic poem Ramcharitmanas on the banks of what has become a foul smelling river.

The strategy adopted by the three-member Intach team of scientists led by Ritu Singh who has specialised in forest ecology and environment was to place a large 100 litres of friendly bacteria concentrates along the Assi river. These help degrade organic waste, enhance dissolved oxygen levels and help remove the odour. The Assi river meanders through very densely populated areas of the city and is discharging some 70 million litres of water into the Ganges which was found to have a biochemical oxygen demand value of 130 mg/l.

"Cone log filters placed in the water help provide surfaces to which the bacteria will cling. This bacteria is used in sewage treatments plants but this is the first time it has been applied to clean up a moving stream," said Bhatnagar. "We build four weirs using coir log filters at 20 locations to help reduce the velocity of water and for filtration purposes of the suspended solids. Once the velocity of the flow becomes reduced, tubular rafts carrying aquatic plants suck up the pollutants from their roots," he said hastening to add that bacteria concentrates cannot be used to treat industrial effluents. "We use plastic media which provides a surface to the bacteria to attach themselves. Most of the water going into the river is domestic waste and we have found this method of bioremediation very effective," he said. This pilot project was conducted between the months of January and February this year. The results have been extremely promising and the result has been a 60-70 percent reduction in the pollution as well as a sharp reduction in the smell as has been confirmed by the state Pollution Control Board in Varanasi and by independent labs.

An extremely inexpensive method of treating domestic waste, Bhatnagar said, "While the cost of installing STPs in Varanasi will run into over Rs 75 crore and these will become functional after land acquisition and after all the houses have been connected to sewage pipes, the cost of bioremediation for all 33 nallahs in Varanasi works out to Rs 3 crore per annum. This will begin showing results within two months of being installed." Of course, there are hiccups. The Assi river is heavily encroached and building the weirs resulted in some amount of water logging. Said Singh, "The people living on the banks wanted to remove the logs and actually cut the ropes that kept them in place. We had to handle the situation tactfully. Now that the foul smell has gone, they are extremely appreciative of what we have done." Bathers at Assi Ghat expressed their pleasure at the cleaning up of the water. Bhatnagar said that theirs is a one-time intervention. "Intach has the expertise to demonstrate this project over a period of one year but after that, the state authorities will have to take over. It has been the same with the Palam, Kushak and East Taj drains.

We showed the DDA and the Agra state pollution board how to undertake this cleanup and they have to take it forward from there," he said. And herein lies the biggest shortcoming of this proposal. In most cases, the state government is not willing to put in the necessary expertise and care to over see these projects on a long time basis. The example of the Hauz Kaus lake is a prime example of this. This historic water body which is 15 acres wide and located in the heart of south Delhi was revived by Intach and DDA using a slew of techniques including using aquatic plants to absorb the organic waste. Once Intach withdrew from the project, the bureaucrats in the DDA have not shown the kind of commitment needed to keep the water clean. The pilot project on the Assi river is being presented to Minister of Water Resources and Ganga Rejuvenation Uma Bharti. Emphasis will be made on the need to start the municipal solid waste collection to be removed by municipal bodies.

There is also a need to grow aquatic plants along the banks of our rivers. When contacted, officials in the Ministry of Water Resources believe the Intach idea is a good one though they caution that a long-term solution to the problem is the setting up of STPs. Intach agrees insisting that the scheme can be proved effective till such time as STPs do not become functional. It is clear that Modi, always agreeable to new ideas, would be keen to implement every novel idea to ensure the Ganga becomes pure again.

- -http://www.firstpost.com/india/world-water-day-ganga-river-gets-an-intach-hope-to-free-itself-from-being-awash-in-trash-3347552.html, March 23, 2017

The 125-year-old Khuda Bakhsh Oriental Public Library is planning to preserve and conserve the old manuscripts and books from termites and bugs through anoxicator, which is a low-oxygen eco-safe pest treatment system. The library has about 21,000 oriental manuscripts and 2.5 lakh printed books. Sources in the library said an expert team from Odisha Art Conservation Centre of the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) briefed about the technique and use of the machine during a workshop organized at the library premises on Monday to preserve the old manuscripts and books. Director of Odisha chapter of INTACH, Mallika Mitra, said with moderate infestations, the use of low toxic formulations that have been developed to kill pests on contact and also leave residual protection will save the valuable documents for generations to come.

"Treatment of the immediate environment within and outside the structure may also be needed in certain cases. Anoxicator machine is designed specifically to treat valuable materials such as artefacts, manuscripts and books in museums and libraries. It creates a low-oxygen environment, killing the insect pests at all stages of their development," she said. "There are thousands of important manuscripts and books and they need to be preserved and conserved using scientific techniques," said Mitra. According to her, the entire process can be broadly classified into two parts: preservation and conservation.

"It is eco-friendly for sensitive materials such as textiles, paper, paintings, ivory and wooden artefacts. It ensures a complete protection from topical airborne microbes," she said. The cost of an anoxicator machine is around Rs20-22 lakh. Library official Irfan Safdari said the authorities would take the decision of purchasing the machine after a meeting. "The machine is costly but effective and easy to handle. It is one-time expenditure to preserve and conserve the old manuscripts and books," he added.

- -http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/patna/plans-afoot-to-preserve-khuda-bakhsh-library-manuscripts-books/articleshow/57779809.cms, March 23, 2017

In an effort to add some colour to the Metro experience, Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) has adapted features of heritage buildings for some of its stations. CMRL has pasted terracotta cladding tiles in buildings that are part of the Pachaiyappa’s College station that is on the stretch between Thirumangalam and Nehru Park that will be opened to the public in a month. The tiles have been placed on structures next to St. George’s Anglo Indian Higher Secondary School, a heritage structure. “We want to execute this plan in Madras High Court and Chennai Central stations too,” a CMRL official said.

Sujatha Shankar, architect and INTACH Chennai Convenor, said St. George’s Anglo Indian Higher Secondary School is a colonial heritage structure with a distinctive arcade in brick. “I don’t know how the Metro station looks, but across the world, the [such] attempts can prove to be successful or terrible. It depends on the sensitivity with which the design and construction materials are chosen,” she said. S. Santhanam, former member, chief urban planner, CMDA, said that if executed well, the station would stand out.

- http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/chennai/metro-station-gets-a-heritage-makeover/article17600482.ece, March 23, 2017

One of the rewarding careers for students may be studying a subject to know more about human being and its past. Well, in this regard the subject that comes to our mind is Anthropology. The term Anthropology has been derived from two Greek terms namely 'anthropos' which means human and 'logos' means study. Thus Anthropology is the study of human beings in its absoluteness. Anthropology is the study of various aspects of humans within past and present societies. Social anthropology and cultural anthropology study the norms and values of societies. Linguistic anthropology studies how language affects social life. Biological or physical anthropology studies the biological development of humans.

Archaeology, which studies past human cultures through investigation of physical evidence, is thought of as a branch of anthropology in the United States, while in Europe, it is viewed as a discipline in its own right, or grouped under other related disciplines such as history. It is a global discipline involving humanities, social sciences and natural sciences. It builds upon knowledge from natural sciences, including the discoveries about the origin and evolution of Homo sapiens, human physical traits, human behavior, the variations among different groups of humans, how the evolutionary past of Homo sapiens has influenced its social organization and culture, and from social sciences, including the organization of human social and cultural relations, institutions, social conflicts, etc. Early anthropology originated in Classical Greece and Persia and studied and tried to understand observable cultural diversity.

As such, anthropology has been central in the development of several new (late 20th century) interdisciplinary fields such as cognitive science, global studies, and various ethnic studies. It is science which deals with human civilizations, traditions, cultures, etc. In simple we can say it deals with study through which we could find changes that happened in the past and how people have progressed since early ages. Anthropology is about people, their relationships, and how they live together as members of society. It contributes to the understanding and explanation of socio-cultural behaviour.

Anthropologists as social scientists study the language, traditions, beliefs, possessions, and values of people in various parts of the world and formulate hypotheses to explain their research and findings. Anthropologists take a broad approach to understanding the many different aspects of the human experience.. They consider the past, through archaeology, to see how human groups lived hundreds or thousands of years ago and what was important to them. They consider what makes up our biological bodies and genetics, as well as our bones, diet, and health. Anthropologists also compare humans with other animals (most often, other primates like monkeys and chimpanzees) to see what we have in common with them and what makes us unique.

There are several branches of anthropology that deals with various aspects of human development i.e. Physical or Biological Anthropology, Socio-cultural Anthropology, Prehistoric Anthropology, Applied Anthropology, Linguistic Anthropology, etc. Students after passing senior secondary may opt for courses in Anthropology. To be a professional Anthropologist one has to qualify B.Sc in Anthropology. The minimum qualification for B.Sc in Anthropology is 10+2 pass with science subjects.

Some universities/colleges also offer B.A and M.A courses in Anthropology. Anthropological Survey of India: It is a premier national institution of repute and is the only one of its kind anywhere in the world to pursue Anthropological research in a Governmental setup. The Anthropological Survey of India's genesis was from the Zoological and Anthropological section of the Indian Museum, which became the Zoological Survey of India in 1916. In 1945, Anthropology section of the Zoological Survey was carved out to become the Anthropological Survey of India.

Updates: USIEF Fellowships: The United States-India Educational Foundation (USIEF) promotes mutual understanding between the people of the United States and India through academic and cultural exchange. Since 1950, the Fulbright Program has sponsored Indians from all walks of life to gain a greater understanding of U.S. society, culture, and values, and to foster a deeper appreciation of India amongst their American colleagues. USIEF has announced Fulbright-Nehru Fellowships and other opportunities for the academic year 2018-2019.

- http://e-pao.net/epSubPageExtractor.asp?src=education.Jobs_Career.Career_penchant_in_Anthropology_By_Ranjan_Baruah, March 23, 2017

The largest capstone ever found in the country over a pre-historic Menhir Megalith burial site, has been excavated by archaeologists in Neremetta village in Naganur mandal of Siddipet district. The capstone weighs 40 tons, is 6.70 metres in length, four metres wide and 65 cm thick. Excavations were carried out in Neremetta village following the discovery of Megalith burials in Pullur Banda village near Siddipet. There are 50 odd Megalith burial sites in the area, which are classified into three types- Menhir, Cairns and Dolmens. Capstones were placed over graves to protect the body from predators, since it was believed that the soul lives on after death. Telangana has several menhirs, stone circles, dolmens and dolmonoid cists. Arm bones, three red ware pots, two mixed black and red ware broken pots, and an iron tool were found below a smaller menhir.

These Megalith burial sites date back to between 1000 BC and 200 AD. Excavation began a fortnight ago under the supervision of N R Visalatch, director of the Telangana Archaeology and Museums Department. “We can safely say that this is the largest capstone found in South India and one of the largest in the country. We can’t say it’s the world’s largest as there could be much larger ones, we don’t know,” D Ramulu Naik, assistant director of the Department told Deccan Chronicle. According to P Nagaraju, assistant director, it took four hours for a huge crane summoned from Hyderabad to lift the massive 40 ton capstone. Asked how pre-historic people could have placed such a massive capstone on the grave, Mr Naik explained, “First they might have dug the grave near a huge capstone, filled it up with gravel and moved the capstone either by rolling it over round stones or logs of wood.

Or they could have dug up below a huge capstone and buried the dead and covered it.” Mr Nagaraju said a piece of an arm bone, two centimetres in length and three other bones were also unearthed in a nearby menhir. The bones and other findings will be sent for DNA testing to CCMB and to the Deccan College of Post Graduate Research in Pune and deeper study.

- http://www.deccanchronicle.com/nation/in-other-news/230317/largest-capstone-unearthed-in-south-india.html, March 23, 2017

Thomas Fuller's words "We never know the worth of water till the well is dry" ring true, when reports coming in from across the world paint a picture of despair regarding depleting water resources. 22 March has been observed as World Water Day since it was first proposed in Agenda 21 of the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro. The UN had designated the day as International World Water Day in 1992 at the same conference. United Nations selects a theme every year and this year it is 'Why waste water', meaning it will focus on the treatment and economical reuse of waste water. Some of the issues that have been discussed on this occasion over the years include water pollution, and scarcity and lack of sanitation in rural areas. The UN coordinates programmes for the day in consultation with member organisations in tune with the particular year's theme. On Wednesday, the UN released a report saying recycling the world's waste water, almost all of which goes untreated, would ease global water shortages while protecting the environment.

"Neglecting the opportunities arising from improved wastewater management is nothing less than unthinkable," said Irina Bokova, director-general of Unesco, one of several UN bodies behind the issued report. It said that for decades, people have been using fresh water faster than nature can replace it, contributing in some regions to hunger, disease, conflict and migration. Two-thirds of humanity currently lives in zones that experience water scarcity at least one month a year. Half of those people are in China and India. According to a report in Hindustan Times, India has around 63.4 million people living in rural areas without access to clean water, more than any other country. The figures are part of 'Wild Water, State of the World’s Water 2017', a report by WaterAid, a global advocacy group on water and sanitation. The figure is greater than the combined population of Haryana, Punjab and Uttarakhand.

In the global scenario, it would make up the entire population of Sweden, Australia, Sri Lanka and Bulgaria. VK Madhavan, chief executive of Water Aid India, said 27 out of 35 states and union territories in India are disaster-prone, meaning the poorest people will bear the brunt of extreme weather conditions and climate change and will find it the hardest to adapt. The Indian Express reported over 50 percent Indians were concerned that the waste water is impacting clean water supply in the country, according to a new study conducted by Ipsos on the occasion of World Water Day. Also, 59 percent Indians expressed concern that residential and industrial growth in next 5 to 10 years may impact the supply of clean water too. India was the third country to be most concerned about clean water supply after Serbia, Mexico and Columbia. The study was conducted globally and a similar trend was observed as only 34 percent people around the world said they were confident about waste water not impacting clean water supply.

A report by The Guardian discussed the UN's warning that one in four of the world’s children will be living in areas with extremely limited water resources by 2040 as a result of climate change. Within two decades, 600 million children will be in regions enduring extreme water stress, with a great deal of competition for the available supply. The poorest and most disadvantaged will suffer most, according to a research published by the Unicef children’s agency on the occasion. The report 'Thirsting for a Future: Water and Children in a Changing Climate' looked at the threats to children’s lives and well-being caused by depleted sources of safe water and the ways in which climate change will intensify these risks. On current trends, the UN Environment Programme forecasts that water demand — for industry, energy and an extra billion people — will increase 50 percent by 2030.

Global warming has already deepened droughts in many areas, and the planet will continue to heat up over the course of the century, even under optimistic scenarios. "There is an absolute necessity to increase water security in order to overcome the challenges brought on by climate change and human influence," said Benedito Braga, head of the World Water Council, an umbrella grouping of governments, associations and research bodies. Waste water — runoff from agriculture, industry and expanding cities, especially in developing nations — is a major part of the problemme. That is especially true in poor countries where very little, if any, wastewater is treated or recycled. High-income nations treat about 70 percent of the wastewater they generate, a figure that drops to 38 percent for upper middle-income countries. In low-income nations, only eight percent of industrial and municipal wastewater undergoes treatment of any kind. More than 800,000 people die every year because of contaminated drinking water, and not being able to properly wash their hands. Water-related diseases claim nearly 3.5 million lives annually in Africa, Asia and Latin America — more than the global death toll from AIDS and car crashes combined.

Chemicals and nutrients from factories and farms create dead zones in rivers, lakes and coastal waters, and seep into aquifers. The 200-page World Water Development Report details a four-pronged strategy for transforming waste water from a problem to a solution, said lead author Richard Connor of UNESCO's World Water Assessment Programme.

-http://www.firstpost.com/india/world-water-day-learn-to-preserve-every-drop-as-two-thirds-of-humanity-are-haunted-by-its-scarcity-3346900.html, March 23, 2017

In keeping with the theme of this year's World Water Day, which is "Waste water", Union Environment Secretary Ajay Narayan Jha on Wednesday inaugurated an exhibition to create awareness on conservation of water. Titled "Jal Hai To Kal Hai", the exhibition was organised jointly by the National Museum of Natural History (NMNH), a subordinate office of the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change; Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB); Central Ground Water Board (CGWB); and Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation. On this occasion, a group of school children used Performing Art to deliver the message. Every year, World Water Day highlights a specific aspect of freshwater.

This year, it is "Waste water", an official communique on Wednesday said. World Water Day is held annually on 22 March, as a means to focus attention on the importance of freshwater and advocating for the sustainable management of freshwater resources. An international day to celebrate freshwater was recommended at the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED). The United Nations General Assembly responded by designating 22 March 1993, as the first World Water Day.

With rising pollution in water, today 1.8 billion people use a source of drinking water contaminated with faeces, putting them at risk of contracting cholera, dysentery, typhoid and polio, according to the communique.

-http://www.thestatesman.com/india/waste-water-central-theme-of-world-water-day-2017-1490190454.html, March 23, 2017

Earth Hour 2017, the global ‘blackout’ movement to save the planet earth is here. Earth Hour takes place between 8.30pm and 9.30pm on Saturday, 25th of March in 2017. The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) initiative is all set to mark the tenth year of Earth Hour this weekend after it started as a lights-off blackout event in Sydney, Australia, in 2007 to spread the message of energy conservation. Earth Hour is seen as the symbol of our dedication towards the planet with Earth’s inhabitants encouraged to turn out the lights for one hour. For the world’s biggest environmental event, famous landmarks including Eiffel Tower will be turning off their lights for Earth Hour 2017 this Saturday.

What is Earth Hour? Earth Hour is an annual campaign that draws the attention of people towards the climate change effects. Considered to be the most significant environmental, Earth Hour started in 2007 when first Earth Hour was held on March 31 in Sydney, Australia at 7:30 pm, local time. The inaugural event saw 2.2 million homes, businesses and individuals opt for ‘blackout’ (turn their lights off for one hour) to address the issue of climate change adversities globally. Earth Hour, the annual international event organised by the World Wide Fund for Nature is done by generating awareness about the climate change adversities and asking people to switch off lights at homes and businesses for an hour at 8.30pm (20:30), local time. This worldwide phenomenon usually takes place on the last Saturday of March.

When is Earth Hour 2017 – Date and Time? The 11th edition of the event, Earth Hour 2017 will be at 8:30 PM – 9:30 PM on Saturday, 25 March. The tenth anniversary of the annual, worldwide celebration by World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF) will see individuals and organisations switch off their lights for one hour worldwide to show their solidarity for action on climate change. Across the globe, billion people in over 7,000 cities from more than 170 countries will be participating in the Earth Hour 2017 to stand in the union for pollution free, a greener planet and address the effects of climate change. The global climate change initiative witness iconic landmarks such as the Eiffel Tower in Paris, Sydney Harbour Bridge, the CN Tower in Toronto, the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, and Rome’s Colosseum, all-embracing darkness for an hour and joining the determined individuals in the fight against climate change. How is India observing Earth Hour 2017?

India has been one of the leading nations in showing their complete support and dedication towards Earth Hour initiative for the betterment of the planet. Apart from taking routine initiatives like switching off the landmark buildings, India has also planned events to make the Earth Hour 2017 more cherishing event. National capital city, Delhi will join a billion people across the globe to observe Earth Hour on March 25. WWF has partnered with Discom BSES that has urged Delhiites to be part of the Earth Hour 2017 initiative by switching off electrical appliances between 8.30p.m. and 9.30p.m. on Saturday. Delhi had saved 229MW of power during Earth Hour previous year and 200MW of power in 2015. World Wide Fund for Nature is holding two important events for Earth Hour 2017—‘Pedal for the Planet’, a cyclothon that has been organised every year since 2009 and ‘One Planet Cities Pedalathon’ will be held in Chamundeshwari Stadium, Bengaluru to promote sustainable mobility. In Mumbai, Renaissance Mumbai Convention Centre Hotel will be organizing a special candle light dinners to celebrate the annual ‘Earth Hour Day’.

They are encouraging people to switch off unnecessary lights for an hour and taking part in candle light dinners. Among the other commonly observed in outdoor activities seen on Earth Hour are night walks, night treks! Among the landmark buildings which will turn off the lights for an hour on Earth Hour 2017 are – Rashtrapati Bhawan, India Gate, Akshardham Temple in Delhi, Charminar, Golconda Fort in Hyderabad, Guwahati High Court and the Secretariat in Assam, Indian Museum in Kolkata, Agra Fort in Uttar Pradesh, Christ Church in Shimla among many others. Are we all set to make our necessary contribution towards Planet Earth this Earth Hour 2017?

-http://www.india.com/buzz/when-is-earth-hour-2017-what-is-turn-out-the-lights-movement-by-wwf-date-and-time-of-earth-hour-in-india-1954603/, March 24, 2017

Some communities have been forced to adopt new languages; some have been unable to hand down their mother tongues to the next generation. India's changing socio-economic landscape is blurring its diversity, and has forced the Centre to embark on a massive project of preserving 192 languages it has listed as endangered. The Central Institute of Indian Languages (CIIL), Mysuru, has been entrusted with the mammoth task, under the Scheme for Protection and Preservation of Endangered Languages (SPPEL). In the first phase, researchers are documenting cultural and ethno-linguistic aspects of 117 mother tongues. Work on 68 languages is nearing completion, with more than 40 researchers — 16 from CIIL and 25 from other collaborating universities — at it. "Indigenous knowledge systems are being videographed. Creating digital maps with pronunciation of words, dictionaries, pictorial glossaries and a grammar sketch is part of the scheme," said Sujoy Sarkar, coordinator, SPPEL. That more than 96% of India speaks only the 22 scheduled languages has created a challenge of locating the remaining 3.4% of the population — most being tribals — which speaks such a large number of languages. The Bharwad community in Gujarat, for example, is a scattered lot. Just 1,619 people speak the Bharwad language. "Lack of grazing land has forced them to split and travel in different directions.

It is sad that a state that prides itself on its milk cooperative movement has left this traditional community in the lurch," said renowned linguistics expert GN Devy. The Hakki-Pikki community in Karnataka, experts say, is stigmatized after its denotification for being a 'criminal tribe', forcing many of its members to shed their identities. More than 8,000 people speak the Hakki-Pikki language. Khash is spoken by the minority (numerically) Hindu population in the Sarsi-Daryan area of Jammu and Kashmir; their number is only 500. Kashmiri, the local tongue, has reduced its importance.

Chinali, a language spoken on the banks of the Chenab river in Himachal Pradesh, faces a different problem. Most of its speakers are highly educated and several of them are in top government positions. Having joined the mainstream, they are forgetting their language. 'Documenting not enough' All 192 languages — each spoken by less than 10,000 people — on the endangered list have different stories, and experts say the government has woken up a little too late.

-http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bengaluru/centre-reviving-192-dying-tongues-mysuru-institute-on-the-job/articleshow/57799521.cms, March 24, 2017

To improve the bleak art education scene that usually is restricted to one-hour 'art and craft' period a week in schools, the Biennale introduced 'Art by Children' in its third edition. It saw the participation of hundreds of schools from across the state. Select artworks by students of 100 schools across Kerala's 14 districts were displayed in India's first biennial exhibition dedicated to artistic production from children. 'Art by Children' (ABC), a unique creative learning initiative designed by the Kochi Biennale Foundation (KBF) as part of its art education and community engagement portfolio, will be completing its pilot run alongside KMB 2016 having reached out to more than 5,000 students and teachers. "Unlike older days, the importance for arts in academics is dangerously dropping and such initiatives will help in exposing kids to opportunities to explore their artistic inclinations," said Sasi K Varrier, an art teacher with the Indian School of Arts. Manu Jose who heads ABC, a veteran of several award-winning children's shows and winner of the 2014 Kerala Sangeeta Nataka Akademi's Kalasree award for outstanding contributions in the field of drama said that such an initiative which was not tested in our state before have got an astoundingly positive response. "The schools where the programme was introduced was carefully selected that included 70-80% government schools. Even the students who appeared to be disinterested in arts and crafts gradually got engrossed in the activities. We had made it a point to include visual, audio and physical involvement by the kids so that every child has something or the other that rouses their interest," Jose said.

-http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kochi/exploring-and-developing-artistic-potential-of-kids/articleshow/57805096.cms, March 24, 2017

In a bid to restore Rashtrapati Bhawan and send a strong message about the importance of preserving and protecting the country’s glorious heritage, an ambitious conservation plan is in the offing. The Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee, has conducted a 3D laser scan for conservation of this 88-year-old building and is expected to submit it to the Rashtrapati Bhawan secretariat by April 30. Based on the 3D laser scan survey report, the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) will prepare a Detailed Project Report (DPR) for its restoration. A team of over 40 experts in the field of conservation, urban design, landscape, disaster management, infrastructure, and services sectors, among others has been engaged for preparing the report.

Top sources told The Pioneer that the DPR on the conservation plan will strictly follow architect Edwin Lutyens’ original plan. “The DPR will highlight damages and cracks in Rashtrapati Bhawan in the past 88 years. It will also explain the cost of conservation. It will further stress the importance and need for continuous maintenance to conserve the heritage characteristics of Rashtrapati Bhawan precincts,” said officials. For the uninitiated, 3D laser scanning is a way to capture a physical object’s exact size and shape into a computer as a digital 3-dimensional representation. 3D laser scanners measure fine details and capture free-form shapes to quickly generate highly accurate point clouds. A point cloud is a set of data points in a three-dimensional coordinate system. These points are usually defined by X, Y, and Z coordinates, and often are intended to represent the external surface of an object. Sources said that the Central Public Works Department (CPWD) would execute the plan under supervision of INTACH. The CPWD looks after the Rashtrapati Bhawan development projects. However, the function and other programmes hosted by Rashtrapati Bhawan would not be affected during conservation.

The Comprehensive Master Plan for Conservation of Rashtrapati Bhawan was finalised in 2014. It is divided in two parts. The first part will focus on the President’s Estate and Phase II will address the issues related to the main Rashtrapati Bhawan building. Officials of INTACH said on the condition of anonymity, “The red and ochre sandstone, and the spacious rooms and halls of Rashtrapati Bhawan on Raisina Hill have withstood the vagaries of time for the past 88 years, but not without a fair bit of wear and tear. To help the palace retain its glory in years to come, it needs a proper conservation plan.” The status of Rashtrapati Bhawan as a Grade 1 heritage building defines the limits of intervention to conserve the building and the site.

It also accommodates the highest office of the Government, including the residence of the President. This makes it a ‘living heritage’ building which creates genuine needs to cater to its efficient functioning. Built in 1929, the four-storey Rashtrapati Bhawan has 340 rooms spread over a floor area of 2,00,000 square feet or 350 acres of land and the building itself covers an area of five acres. Hardly any steel has gone into its construction, while 700 million bricks and three million cubic feet of stone were used.

It took eight years, from 1921 to 1929, to build the 340 room red sandstone palace. The Chief Engineer, Hugh Keeling and many Indian contractors were also part of its design and construction. The total cost of building this marvelous piece of architecture was of 877,136 Pounds (Rs. 14 million). The facade of Rashtrapati Bhawan with a massive colonnade at the top of a flight of long and broad alabaster stairs, overlooking the forecourt, where parades are drawn up on important occasions, makes an impressive sight. The building contains 11/2 miles of corridors, 340 rooms of which 63 are living rooms, 227 columns, 35 loggias and 37 fountains including the roof fountains.

- http://www.dailypioneer.com/todays-newspaper/hi-tech-bid-to-restore-rashtrapati-bhawans-pristine-glory.html.cms, March 27, 2017

The Museum will have samples of old artifacts, craft works, utensils etc, along with archival images, heritage databases, and film clips The redevelopment of the Municipal Corporation Delhi Haveli into a museum, which was proposed in 2008, will now see the day of light as the civic department has finally got funds for the project. "We had been trying to get funds for the restoration of the museum and have now got sanctioned Rs 3.32 crore earlier this month," said PK Gupta, Commissioner, North Delhi Municipal Corporation. "Based on this, INTACH has shared a concept proposal and the work will begin in April, next month," he said.

The city of Shahjahanabad has seen many empires come and go, it has mulch-faceted layers in terms of cultural and architectural heritage; there are stories in every wall, gate or haveli. Stories from Mughal era to Colonial era, and there is a dire need to bring these stories out to the visitors of the area. "The Shahjahanabad Museum seeks to bring to life for the visitor, the story of the city in all these varied aspects," says Ajay Kumar, Director of Projects, INTACH.

"It will simultaneously serve to showcase stories from the past, as well as to serve as an interpretation center for the city as it exists today," he adds further. As per the officials, the new Shahjahanabad Museum will help visitors understand the history and development of this bustling city. The museum will act as an interpretation center for the living heritage spaces like Gali, Kuncha, and Katra. Both the museum and the interpretation center will introduce visitors to local craft traditions and connect them to living practitioners, thus acting as a catalyst for the revival and promotion of these traditions. Surrounded with Khari Baoli, the spice market, on the right; Sadar Bazaar, the wholesale market, to its left and the Old Delhi railway station straight ahead, the MCD Haveli was constructed in 1929 and has a distinctive facade with a verandah and chhatris.

- https://www.nyoooz.com/news/delhi/765403/civic-body-sets-april-date-to-turn-mcd-haveli-into-museum, March 27, 2017

One reads in the newspapers that the Archaeological Survey of India plans to include Bojjannakonda Buddhist complex in the list seeking World Heritage status. There cannot be better news for the heritage lovers of the city. Such a move is long overdue for a state which has been actively promoting tourism. The cliche that comes to mind is, better late than never. However it is not enough to have grandiose plans, intentions of the government must be matched by its actions. It takes years of effort, preparation and sincerity of purpose to get on to UNESCO's tentative list of world heritage sites. Protection, management and authenticity of the site are major criteria for qualifying for the world heritage tag. On those conditions alone Bojjannakonda will fail to make it to the list, unless the state addresses them immediately. Bojjannakonda site faces many man-made dangers. One very major threat is the relentless blasting that goes on in the nearby hills.

Many letters and remonstrations later, the state government finally woke up to the irreparable damage caused to the ancient site and instituted enquiry. Experts from Andhra University gave a report that only detonators of a certain intensity should be allowed in the immediate neighborhood of the site. An insider informs me confidentially that the recommendations of the report are routinely defied and high intensity blasting goes on unchecked. The result is that the fragile carvings both on Bojjannakonda and Lingala mettta have developed cracks and are fast deteriorating. As if such serious damage is not bad enough, the jatara that is held at the site year after year on Kanuma day has become another serious threat. The Jatara of Bojjannakonda presents a strange contrast of interests. It is intriguing to note that a thousand years after Buddhism disappeared from the Indian soil, the ancient tradition of the laity visiting the monastery after the harvest festival persists. It is a historical fact that the predominant religion all over coastal Andhra fifteen hundred years ago was Buddhism. In those days, the lay Buddhists were in the habit of carrying gifts of grain, oil, medicinal plants and robes to the monks, who lived in seminaries like those at Bojjannakonda or Thotlakonnda. In return they received spiritual succor and solace from the monks. In a strange paradox, even though Buddhism itself disappeared from India, and the monasteries have since been deserted, the tradition of the villagers visiting the hills where the monks once lived continues.

Be that as it may, what has also got to be recognised is that the heavy footfall at the fragile monuments on such days is extremely injurious to the site. In their mood of revelry, the villagers indiscriminately climb up the delicate monolithic stupas, clamber up the brick work and even desecrate the structures. There is a strange belief among them, attributable to a time when Buddhism was on the decline and Hinduism on ascendance, that a devil resides in the caves of the hills, where the Buddhist monks once meditated! So the villagers pry loose whatever brickbats that they can lay their hands on and throw them at the cave to drive the devil away! Recognising the damage being caused to the ancient Buddhist complex, we at INTACH sought the intervention of the district administration and the police department, year after year, to prevent the villagers from climbing the ancient structures. We enlisted the support of both the local people and the newspapers to bring in awareness regarding the heritage value of the ancient structures. We organised rangoli competitions for the women who visited Bojjannakonda, with the idea that while groups of men and women stood around to watch the competition, they would be exhorted to respect the structures.

Sri PV Prasad, the then co convenor, INTACH, camped at the site, giving up his festival to supervise the whole exercise, for years. All this, done quietly without any fanfare. Juxtaposed to the declaration by the ASI is the proposal of the state government to revive the Kakinada Visakhapatnam Petro Chemical Corridor (PCPIR). The moment I read the news my joy evaporated, for the two are mutually exclusive. If PCPIR does become a reality, it is going to adversely affect Bojjannakonda, as the ancient site lies within the buffer zone of PCPIR. It is needless to say that, in our country, or anywhere else in the world, ancillary industrial activity comes up at close proximity to the main industry. Such industrial activity at a short distance from a World Heritage site will go against the best interests of such a site. Even if precautions are assured, no guarantee is good enough to contain the resultant pollution, as in the case of Visakhapatnam Port. UNESCO, which follows stringent regulations for its notified sites will not stand for it.

There is the classic case of UNESCO threatening to withdraw the World Heritage recognition to Hampi Vijayanagar ruins, when Karnataka government proposed to construct a bridge and a highway through the heart of the historic city. There is another heritage facet to PCPIR conundrum. In the ancient times trade was the reason Buddhism spread to Southeast Asia. The triangular trade that linked Tramralipti at the mouth of the river Ganges to Sri Lanka and from Sri Lanka to Suvannabhumi, which comprised of southern Burma, Malaysia and Thailand, resulted in the many Buddhist sites that appeared along the coast of the southern peninsula. The 'pattanas' that dot the east coast of India are rich with ancient remains. Between Visakhaptnam and Kakinda there are at least half a dozen prominent sites which are identified and earmarked for excavation by the department of archaeology. The PCPIR is coming up exactly where the ancient sites stand. When letters under Right to Information Act were addressed to the PCPIR authority, they admitted that they were not aware of the existence of the earmarked ancient sites. The department of archaeology too admitted that they were not consulted by the PCPIR authority. This is a strange attitude of the state government, which wants world heritage status for its historic sites and is anxious to promote tourism but destroys those very sites that are the main attractions for such tourism. It is laughable that the ASI proposes to get World Heritage status to the country's heritage without getting the support of its state counterpart. It is even more upsetting that both the Centre and the state are bent upon diluting the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 2010, on one hand while seeking international recognition for the country's heritage sites on the other. It indicates that there is neither proper planning nor any thought given to the principles of either heritage conservation or tourism promotion. If anything the AMASAR Act should be made more stringent and, amended to incorporate a mandatory provision for "Archaeological Impact Assessment" as a precondition to projects like PCPIR, just as Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) process is mandated as a precondition to projects clearance under the Environment (Protection) Act, for developmental projects. Most developed countries in the world, with far less history and therefore far fewer archaeological remains than India have enacted laws to explore the land earmarked for 'development' for ancient remains. Today, most countries are required by their own laws to survey the land before development, under the concept of "Cultural Resource Management."

Countries which have enacted laws in this area are North and South America, United Kingdom, Eastern Europe, West Asia, Korea and Japan. All these countries take up survey work before heavy machinery moves in to clear the area. Private developers, municipalities and local self governments are employing professional archaeologists to survey the land before the developmental activity begins and, what is more, they are mandated to pay for the cost of such exploration. Will India, allegedly progressive and modern, ever take up such steps? Will our heritage ever get its due? Otherwise, the Bojjannakondas will fast vanish, never mind a world heritage status. (The writer is a heritage and environmental activist. She can be reached at [email protected])

- http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/visakhapatnam/is-it-enough-for-bojjannakonda-to-make-it-to-world-heritage-site-list/articleshow/57843765.cms, March 27, 2017

Following the major discovery of 4,000-year old civilisation in Chandaka sanctuary on outskirts of Odisha capital by Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), suggestions poured in from the experts for preservation of stone carvings and artworks of the Stone Age period. Earlier, the discoveries were made about the Copper Stone Age civilisations near Daya and Mahanadi rivers. The skeleton found near Jatani during excavation had indicated about the rich civilisation of Stone Age in Odisha. The recent discovery of stone carvings and artworks of Stone Age at Chandaka has taken the history of civilisations in Odisha to thousand years back. While the artworks discovered in the caves of hill in Chandaka are assumed to be of 4,000 years old, it has resemblance with the civilisations discovered in the recent past across India. Such civilisation is also found in Australia and South Africa, the researchers said.

Odisha is rich in stone art. Earlier, similar type of civilisation had been discovered in various places in Odisha. While the civilisation was discovered in Europe in 1960-70s, the artworks of Stone Age are found in various places in India, Australia and South Africa in the past 50 years. The recent discovery of Stone Age civilisation at Chandaka hints at new direction of Odisha’s civilisation. The difference between the stone art found from coastal Odisha and western Odisha needs to be examined, said Prof Kishore Chandra Basa, Department of Ancient Indian History, Culture and Archaeology, Utkal University. This not a civilisation, rather, an ancient culture just before the beginning of human civilisation. When humans were hunting for food and living in the caves, that was the culture found during that period. The discovered stone art gives a clear picture of ancient culture of Odisha.

Earlier, it was found in elephant cave in Udaygiri hill. The artworks are the extended part of the art found in the Udayagiri hill, said Utkal University retired Prof Sadhashiv Pradhan. The discovery of the culture in Chandaka wildlife reserve makes it more important. The stone carvings should be conserved, he said. Raising concern over the decay of stone in the hill, he said that effect is likely to be put on the stone art discovered at the site. Notably, the ancient civilisation was discovered by the ASI Bhubaneswar circle during three-month research at the Chandaka sanctuary. The team led by ASI Bhubaneswar circle deputy superintendent DB Garnaik revealed that there was human habitat in the hill caves located in the north-west of forest approximately 4,000 years ago. The primary statistics revealed that the artwork on reptiles, weapons and geometrical signs prove that people were living in Parthapur, Kusapangi, Gayalbank areas, around 20 km away from Cuttack and 40 km from Bhubaneswar, 3,500-4,000 years ago. The similar artworks have been discovered at Bhimbhetka in Madhya Pradesh.

- http://odishasuntimes.com/2017/03/27/experts-suggest-for-preservation-of-4000-yr-civilisation-on-odisha-capital-outskirts/, March 27, 2017

At 8.30 tonight lights will go off in over 7,000 cities across the globe for one hour. The skyline will turn dark as the world will observe the Earth Hour.Thousands of landmarks across the landmasses will plunge in darkness for one hour. The agenda of Earth Hour is to unite people to protect the planet by reducing pollution and adopting clean energy for future. Last year the Eiffel Tower, the Empire State Building, Tokyo Tower and even the international space station marked the Earth Hour by switching off lights. It is the 10th anniversary of the Earth Hour tonight. The Earth Hour travels this year from Samoa (independent country) to The Cook Islands (another independent country) across the international date line in the Pacific Ocean.

WHAT IS EARTH HOUR? The Earth Hour is a movement to protect and conserve our environment. Organised by World Wildlife Foundation, the Earth Hour has gained immense support since its inception in 2007 from Sydney in Australia. The Earth Hour has now reached to about 180 countries with millions of people switching of lights and shutting down electrical equipment to create awareness about environmental degradation and need to protect it. The penetration of Earth Hour has increased with rising awareness about global warming among the masses across the world. The earth's average temperature is rising at a faster rate than ever leading to extinction of species at an alarming rate. Scientists believe that one of six living species now faces the risk of extinction. The WWF's Earth Hour aims at reversing the cycle of extinction of species.

WHY DO WE NEED EARTH HOUR? Global warming and climate change have dominated the scientific discourse in the past more than one decade. With ever rising population of the world, the climate change has put the humankind at a great risk along with other species. Global warming, rising levels of pollution due to ever increasing industrialisation, declining forest cover and rising sea levels are some of the dangers that drastically affect the workings of life on the earth. Though the largest polluters are big industries, the WWF tries to make the masses more and more aware about the impending dangers of adverse climate so that they could put pressure on the respective governments to frame environment-friendly policies and laws. With Earth Hour, the WWF aims to engage people across the globe to adopt more sustainable lifestyle.

Turning off lights for an hour is just an annual reminder that if the world does not mend its ways, it will be heading to a dark age, literally. The WWF website says that the last year was the hottest year on record for the third year in a row signaling that the earth is constantly and consistently warming. It acknowledges the good works done by the world leaders in the form of the Paris Agreement - where India played a huge role. But, it is the time to deliver the action needed to protect the planet, it says.

- http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/earth-hour-world-wildlife-foundation/1/912718.html, March 27, 2017

The Calcutta Architectural Legacies (CAL) took its first significant stride on Monday by launching a website that will act as a meeting ground between buildings owners keen to sell and potential buyers interested to put them into re-use. CAL is an initiative mooted by writer Amit Chaudhuri and supported by activists who are architects, conservationists and prominent city residents to preserve aesthetic buildings that dot neighbourhoods, particularly in south Kolkata. Members hope the website, cal-legacies.com, will halt the rapid destruction of houses that defined Kolkata's paras as developers purchased the land and demolished the two-storied houses to build high-rises. "In May 2015, we had embarked on a journey to look beyond heritage and landmarks to Kolkata's architectural legacy and modernity.

Houses that had certain features in common — red cement floors, high ceilings, slatted windows, ornate wrought iron grills, semi-circular verandahs, square ventilators with floral cast iron meshes but were architecturally distinct from each other — were being demolished in localities like Hindustan Park, Lake Road, Purna Das Road, Fern Road, Jodhpur Park and New Alipore. These buildings had been home to upper middle-class and middle-class Bengalis, many of them professionals, and defined the essence of the neighbourhood. But the homes were being sold off for the price of the land. We never got to find out the value of the houses.

We hope this website will be a meeting ground for a community that loves Kolkata and wants its essence preserved," said Chaudhuri. Art historian and director of Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Tapati Guha Thakurta, rued the disappearance of paras from certain parts of the city while attempts were being made to create them anew at others. "The paras are architectural and cultural spaces defined by the homes. There is a particular form of Kolkata's paras. There is a need for historians to actively document these neighbourhoods that, and through them, tell the history of the city before the paras disappear altogether," she said. It was this sense of loss that had led to Chaudhuri writing an open letter addressed to the CM, mayor and other administration functionaries in 2015. The letter, signed by chief economist Kaushik Basu, MPs Sugata Bose and Jogen Chowdhury, architect Partha Ranjan Das, MIT professor Esther Duflo, Presidency University V-C Anuradha Lohia, G M Kapur of Intach and Bonani Kakkar of NGO Public, had raised concerns over the rampant destruction of buildings in Kolkata. "House owners need to be reminded not every city is fortunate to have an architectural inheritance worth fighting for. Those that do, and have succeeded in hanging on to it, have without exception benefited, not least because distinctive old houses in every major city in the world eventually end up being worth far more than the new flats. Such a market is poised to open up in Kolkata, and it's a terrible miscalculation to allow developers to decimate such districts," said Chaudhuri. There are, however, practical problems that need to be resolved, including banks' reluctance to extend loans for purchase of old houses and lack of KMC's flexibility to offer incentives to house owners. Goethe-Institut Kolkata director Friso Maecker, however, cautioned while heritage was important, not all buildings needed to be preserved. "We don't want the city to turn into a museum. Paris is a very charming city for tourists. But for those who live there, it is different experience. Kolkata must retain its character but continue to evolve as a city," he said.

- http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata/realty-check-to-preserve-traditional-neighbourhoods/articleshow/57863127.cms, March 28, 2017

Sunshine on their shoulders, 30 bright young minds, notwithstanding their hearing-impairment, ambled up to the late 18th-century St. John’s Church here on Monday, soaking in the history of the structure through sign-language in a unique heritage walk. Rukhsana and her schoolmates from the city-based Ideal School For the Deaf, looked up in awe at the artwork around the church as their teachers explained its 230-year-old history through sign-language as part of the heritage walk for the hearing-impaired.

Advertisement “The idea is to showcase the inclusivity of heritage structures. Heritage is meant for all and should be inclusive. Disabilities shouldn’t be a barrier to access and experience heritage,” Tathagata, archaeologist and co-founder of Heritage Walk Calcutta, told IANS about the initiative. The event was curated and executed by the company in collaboration with the school under the Go Unesco ‘Make Heritage Fun’ umbrella. Armed with special kits and visual aids (pictures of old Calcutta and the church, dates), the students from Classes 6 to 9, were taken around the church grounds, located smack in the middle of the city at Dalhousie. As Tathagata elaborated about the “Black Hole of Calcutta” and Job Charnock’s mausoleum, teacher Swati communicated the data through sign-language. Charnock, a British trader, was considered to be the founder of Kolkata but in 2003 the Calcutta High Court ruled against it, saying Kolkata’s existence is older than Charnock’s landing.

The young visitors were particularly drawn to the 10 ft x 12 ft painting “The Last Supper” by German neo-classical painter Johann Zoffany, housed inside the church. They eagerly fired a volley of questions for their teachers and responded with hand gestures as they registered the fresh information. “Our favourite thing about the church is the painting. We love the ambience. It is our first heritage walk and we want to do it again,” Rukhsana and her classmates told IANS through sign-language that was translated by Swati. To follow up on the walk, the students will be asked to interpret the church in their own way through paintings. “The challenge is to simplify things for them. We have to break down the history and filter it down to the essentials so it is easy for them to absorb. The heritage walk and the paintings that they will later draw will help them retain the memory and the information they processed,” added Swati.

- http://www.india.com/news/agencies/kolkata-church-hosts-heritage-walk-for-hearing-impaired-1966425/, March 28, 2017

WWF-India, in association with Canara HSBC Oriental Bank of Commerce Life Insurance hosted Pedal for the Planet 2017, a Cyclothon and Walkathon to celebrate the world's largest grassroots environmental campaign – Earth Hour 2017 on March 25. Earth Hour 2017 celebrates a decade of climate action with people from more than 7000 cities across the globe set to take a stand against climate change. In the last ten years, Earth Hour has gone from being a token switch-off event to becoming the largest voluntary movement ever witnessed in history. As the planet continues to witness climate records being broken and the need for greater ambition and commitment accelerates, Earth Hour is mobilising individuals, communities and organisations globally to do their part to help change climate change.

The Earth Hour India campaign focuses on the need to inspire individuals, corporates and other organisations, schools, colleges, RWAs and housing societies to become Earth Hour Superheroes, undertake five simple actions and lend their voice to the largest grassroots level environment campaign in the world. As every year, this year too Earth Hour noted unprecedented support from all quarters across the country through various innovative Earth Hour events and the switching-off of landmark monuments and buildings in India to mark the movement. The exhilarating 21 kilometer cyclothon, covered over two rounds and the 3.5km walkathon. The residents of Delhi NCR enthusiastically participated to promote the cause of Earth Hour and ask people to switch off their lights during the hour later that night. Pedal for the Planet is a WWF-India initiative that aims to raise awareness about Earth Hour and promote a healthier, greener and more sustainable lifestyle at an individual level. Every year, since 2009, hundreds of citizens of Delhi NCR have been gathering in an enormous show of support for Earth Hour at the Pedal for the Planet Cyclothon and Walkathon. In the past decade, as global efforts to control climate change gained momentum, Earth Hour has helped bridge the gap between the grassroots and the corridors of power, taking climate action from conference rooms to living rooms in over 172 countries. Anuj Mathur, Chief Executive Officer, Canara HSBC Oriental Bank of Commerce Life Insurance said, "We are pleased to partner for the 9th consecutive year with WWF-India for the Earth Hour 'Pedal for the Planet' initiative. We at Canara HSBC OBC Life Insurance have always encouraged our employees in initiatives which promote sustainable lifestyle and safeguards the planet. It is heartening to see the increasing awareness around the world on the need to preserve the environment and within our organisation we are taking all steps to contribute to this cause."

Speaking about the success of the campaign and the event, Ravi Singh, Secretary General and CEO, WWF-India said, "Earth Hour is our attempt to inspire and empower individuals and help them fight against the complex issue of climate change. The enormous enthusiasm and support that we've witnessed for Earth Hour at the Pedal for the Planet Cyclothon is very humbling, it is great to see people coming together and committing to fight for a common cause that threatens the world as we know it."

- http://www.millenniumpost.in/features/pedal-for-the-planet-222227, March 28, 2017

Union Minister Of State Human Resources Development Dr Mahendra Nath Pandey told Shimla Member Parliament Virender Kashyap that seven languages spoken in higher hills of Himachal Pradesh are on the verge of extinction. These languages are Baghati, Handuri, Kului,Kinnauri,Pangvalli, Sirmauri and Spiti spoken mainly in Sirmour, Solan, Chamba and Kullu districts and tribal higher hills and tribal snow bound areas of Pangi, Spiti and Kinnaur areas of Himachal Pradesh. Pandey further revealed that a total of 197 languages have been classified as critically endangered by the Centre. The Government of India has initiated a Scheme known as “Protection and Preservation of Endangered Languages of India” (SPPEL). Under this scheme, the Central Institute of Indian Languages (CIIL), Mysore works on protection, preservation and documentation of all the mother tongues/languages of India spoken by less than 10,000 people.

The government has also initiated a project known as “Bharatavani” implemented by the CIIL for all languages, especially the languages spoken by more than ten thousand persons, in the cyberspace. This project aims to build a searchable knowledge repository in and about all the languages in India in multimedia (text, audio, video, images) formats through an online portal. The University Grants Commission (UGC) has launched a scheme ‘Study and Research in Indigenous and Endangered language in India’ and approved grants to the nine Central Universities and six State Universities for Establishment of Centres for Endangered Language in these Universities during 12th Plan. (ANI)

- http://www.india.com/news/agencies/seven-himachali-languages-on-verge-of-extinction-1968486/, March 28, 2017

The tentative list of UNESCO World Heritage sites mentions places in five Indian cities of Ahmedabad (Gujarat), New Delhi (Delhi), Jaipur (Rajasthan), Bhubaneswar (Odisha) and Mumbai (Maharashtra). The 41st session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee will be held in Poland from July 2 to July 12. The fate of the enlisted five Indian cities will be decided during this session. Ruchira Kamboj, India’s ambassador to UNESCO, left subtle hints through her tweet. The information for inclusion was given in a written reply by Dr Mahesh Sharma, Minister of State for Culture and Tourism (Independent Charge) in a Rajya Sabha session. What does it imply for India?

While India is devising strategies to increase revenue from tourism, the decision will determine whether it will benefit immensely if these five sites are granted the status of World Heritage Sites. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) seeks to encourage the identification, protection and preservation of cultural and natural heritage around the world considered to be of outstanding value to humanity. This is embodied in an international treaty called the Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, adopted by UNESCO in 1972-states the official UNESCO website. In addition to being a source of pride for the nation, the World Heritage status attracts international attention to the sites, thereby ensuring a steady growth of tourism and travel related sectors. It also makes the sites eligible for being funded for maintenance and preservation and grants the host nation access to ‘global project management resources’.

The special sites are also protected from war inflicted damages or misuse in accordance to the Geneva Convention. In related news, the UN Security Council unanimously adopted resolution 2347 for the protection of heritage. UNESCO Director-General, Irina Bokova publicly announced, “Maintenance of international peace and security: destruction and trafficking of cultural heritage by terrorist groups and in situations of armed conflict.”

Looking Back In 2016, 3 Indian sites made it to UNESCO’s World Heritage List. Capitol Complex in Chandigarh, Khangchendzonga National Park in Sikkim and Bihar’s Nalanda Unniversity were granted the coveted status at the 40th session of The World Heritage Committee meeting in Istanbul. A tweet from UNESCO read: The UNESCO official website lists 35 World Heritage Sites in India that are recognised by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as of July 2016. These include 27 cultural, 7 natural and 1 mixed category enlisted sites. Incidentally, a petition was started by a Sikh student in Belgium to remove Harmandir Sahib (Golden Temple) in Amritsar from the tentative list in 2015 fearing ‘loss of control.’ The fear however is unsubstantiated as UNESCO does not claim ownership or right of administration over World Heritage Sites.

- http://mediaindia.eu/art-culture/five-indian-cities-tentatively-enlisted-in-world-heritage-list/, March 29, 2017

To give Elephanta Caves a major facelift, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis last week approved a Rs 344.37 crore development plan. While the plan does not include some of the ambitious proposals considered earlier, including accommodation for visitors to stay overnight, water sports and a helipad, the UNESCO world heritage site would see its aesthetic value restored. Nearly two years after a detailed project report was prepared by the Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC), state officials said a “watered down” plan was underway for heritage conservation, including a Rs 99.87 crore investment from MTDC and Rs 251.50 crore to be raised through PPP. Officials added the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model was agreed to fund a ropeway project for the public, which would be an alternative way to reach the Elephanta island besides taking a ferry. “Elephanta Caves see an annual footfall of nearly seven lakh visitors and are one of the must-visit places around Mumbai.

It will be soon of world-class standards. The facelift will include several amenities for the public and also use of many eco-friendly methods for toilets and dustbins,” said Valsa Nair Singh, Principal Secretary, Tourism & Culture, Maharashtra Government. Tourism officials added that a “craft bazaar” would also be set up for vendors. “There will be nature trails organised in the area. This should become an ideal day trip destination,” a senior government official said, adding the state government had set a target of six months to complete phase I of the facelift. Due to the Elephanta island’s proximity to the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, a highly-protected installation, the overnight stay concept was dismissed, officials said. The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) also shot down the proposal to create a helipad at the heritage site, thwarting any scope for heli-tourism in the area.

“Everything that was doable by the ASI standards has been cleared. The design, layout, elevation shall maintain the sanctity of heritage for existing monuments and the surrounding structures and there shall be no damage to the monument,” an official said. A new jetty would be constructed at the Gateway of India, tenders for which would be floated. “It will be easier to ferry a boat to the Elephanta Caves. The journey to the caves will be a better experience,” said a government official.

- http://indianexpress.com/article/india/elephanta-caves-to-get-a-facelift-state-approves-rs-344-crore-plan-4590073/, March 29, 2017

The city's oldest museum, Bhau Daji Lad museum in Byculla, will be taken over by BMC next year, civic commissioner Ajoy Mehta announced in the budget on Wednesday. The proposal comes against the background of allegations last year of 'administrative lapses' by the museum's management and that standard prescribed practices were not being followed. There were also allegations that the museum trust wanted to convert a playground adjoining the museum into a parking lot. The trust had denied the allegations. The museum is owned by BMC and in 2003, it entered into a tripartite agreement of of 15 years for its restoration with the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) and Jamanalal Bajaj Foundation. Under the agreement, a 19-member Dr Bhau Daji Lad museum trust was set up to manage its affairs.

The agreement expires in 2018. The municipal chief said the BMC proposes to revoke the agreement and take charge of the museum. Mehta also announced Rs 2.5 crore for the textile museum at Kalachowky. The museum is expected to be an interactive space that will give hands-on experience to students in sculpting, pottery and other art forms.

- http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/bmc-to-take-over-byculla-museum/articleshow/57902104.cms, March 30, 2017

Even old-time residents of Jodhpur said they had never before been to some parts of the city that were part of the 'heritage walk' on Sunday, in which over 100 women participated. Winding through the narrow lanes of the city, the women divided themselves into small groups, each of which was led by a trained city guide. "It's rare for us to take our own people around on such a tour. We usually deal with foreign visitors, you see. I speak English, Hindi and Spanish, and have been working as a guide in these parts for over 20 years," said Lalit Kumar Purohit. His wife Chandrakala is the first woman tourist guide in the city. The walkers went to different historic sites, spread over three km. The event was organized jointly by the Rajput Mothers Foundation and Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (Intach). Gayatridevi Kumariji Raje, the daughter-in-law of the erstwhile royal family, addressed the women at the beginning of the walk and promised she would join walkers the next time. The group's first halt was at Tunwar Ji Ka Jhalra stepwell, built by Maharaja Abhay Singh's consort in 1740.

An army officer had slipped and drowned here weeks ago. The stepwell had been reduced to a rubbish dump until it was recently restored. "There are verandahs where people could rest when it grew terribly hot. The water made this place remain cool all the time," said the guide. The walkers wound through the narrow lanes that do not allow modern cars to ply. Even two-wheelers would have to carefully negotiate the space if there were walkers about. Significantly, it was women folk who contributed towards the building of the temples and the stepwell that the group stopped to see. Among the many halts was a haveli that belonged to the diwan of the king, still occupied by his descendents. "Seema!" called some of the women on the walk, and out emerged the lady of the house, welcoming the large group. She invited walkers in, and it was quite a sight to see the sheer rock wall of the fort rising behind the haveli.

On the rock wall were little niches, specially carved in the rock to offer a home for pigeons. Chandrakala Purohit, the city's first woman tourist guide, opened her doors to welcome all the walkers in - a narrow and tall structure, one could get a view of the entire city from the terrace of the house. The rooms were arranged one on top of the other, giving residents a fair share of exercise each day as the stairs were steep and each step quite high. Walkers also stopped at a well that was believed to have water that aided in curing diseases. Mahendra Singh Tanwar, Jodhpur coordinator of Intach and librarian looking after the scrolls in Mehrangarh Fort Library, said that while Jodhpur was still a princely state, there was a system by which the water was rationed to those who sought it as a cure.

- http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/jaipur/over-100-join-jodhpurs-first-womens-heritage-walk/articleshow/57898246.cms, March 30, 2017

Architects play a key role in determining the sustainability of a project. They must, therefore, utilise technology to enhance their designs instead of letting technologies govern their designs. A right combination of passive and active design strategies will minimise resource use. The architecture of India has evolved through centuries. It is shaped by its rich heritage and influenced by cultures from across the world. The Indus valley civilisation and the Vedic period are the most remarkable examples of the ancient wisdom of building science in the country. The excavation of Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa sites of the Indus valley civilisation have revealed advanced town planning principles and engineering expertise which was much ahead of its time. Vastu Shastra, which translates the ‘science of architecture’ are ancient building guidelines in India, believed to have been developed between 6000 and 3000 BC, that describe principles for layout and spatial geometry for buildings and cities.

Presented in the form of a metaphysical plan called Vastu Purusha Mandala, the system emphasises that the built structure is a physical being which must be in harmony with nature. Building construction is not a modern concept but is as old as the construction of shelters by humans for comfort, safety and protection from extreme weather. This led to the evolution of regional styles of construction all over the world that are now governed by usage pattern, social behaviour and climate of a particular region. This type of indigenous construction was done predominantly using locally available materials and, hence, is inherently sustainable. Although architecture is an ancient profession, formal architectural education is a relatively recent phenomenon. The ever-increasing demand of infrastructure for the growing population also needs a large pool of trained professionals for shaping the built environment. Formal architectural training equips the students with necessary tools such as basic understanding of space in relation to its function, aesthetics of built environment, building materials, construction technologies and project management in order to design and execute projects.

Unlike ancient times, the modern-day student has access to the works of international architects and global best practices. Such a student aspires to design modern-looking buildings, in line with international trends. However, most of the modern buildings provide a much lower degree of thermal comfort and many of these are not usable without mechanical cooling and heating. This is in contrast with the traditional buildings that create comfortable living environment without any mechanical cooling or heating and have low environmental impact. Moreover, globalisation has given access to international technology and, in the present era of mass production, traditional building construction practices have slowly dwindled to give way to concrete, brick and glass construction. This adoption has not been without reasons. These modern materials offer ease of execution, faster construction times, high durability, low maintenance, in addition to thinner walls that help offset rising land costs. The way these modern materials are used often replicates foreign design vocabulary without any consideration to the climate and environment. Unfortunately, sustainability is seen as an add-on feature to these replicable designs.

Students have a ready list of design features that can be incorporated to make a building green. For example,jaali walls, courtyards, green roofs etc. In fact, in today’s context, green building and sustainable design is also often seen as a technology driven product. When a young architect is asked about the green features in the design, he/she will start talking about the state-of-the-art mechanical cooling system or the capacity of the renewable energy plant proposed in the building. This piecemeal approach does not lead to an efficient design. It is very important for the students of architecture to understand that a green building is conceptualised on the drawing board itself. Sensible decisions must be made at the designing stage to design in sync with nature. Climate and environment must be given due consideration while spatial planning, orientation and deciding the size and location of windows. For example, we all know that we can reduce electricity bill for lighting by installing the most efficient latest LED light. Now, consider the fact that most of the offices operate in a 10 am to six pm schedule, and if these office buildings are designed to maximise the utilisation of day-light, we could almost eliminate the need of artificial lighting. Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment conducts a design competition at the annual National Association for students of Architecture convention. In this competition, participating students are given the design brief for a real project and are required to submit architectural design solution that is most sustainable.

The entries are judged based on the architectural strategies instead of mere technological solutions. For example, this year, the students were asked to design an office building in Gurugram. The students came up with innovative designs that take into consideration the local climate, the sun path and wind direction. They attempted to predict the shadows from the surrounding existing buildings and how that may affect their design. One design had placed glass strategically, so that it does not cause any glare to the drivers on the highway adjacent to the site. All designs took into consideration the behavioural aspects and attempted to provide social spaces for encouraging interaction among colleagues. The designs also attempted to enhance the health and well-being by incorporating a variety of recreational spaces and it was pleasing to see that they were sensitive to the current challenge of poor air quality in the NCR and almost all the teams made an effort to provide a design solution such as natural plant based air-filters in the wall facing the prevailing wind direction.

The designs illustrated how a functioning green building can also be aesthetically pleasing. In the previous year, student teams had come up with solutions for re-thinking the housing designs that can significantly improve the quality of life by providing access to better daylight and ventilation. It has been realised and acknowledged that to make sustainable and high performance buildings, the right combination of passive and active design strategies must be used to minimise resource use. Passive design strategies try to maximise the use of freely available natural energy sources like sun and wind instead of electricity.

These strategies include incorporation of day-lighting and natural ventilation. Active design strategies use electrical energy to keep the building comfortable. These strategies include artificial lighting and heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems. Architects play a key role in determining the sustainability of a project and they must utilise technology to enhance their designs instead of letting technologies govern their designs.

- http://www.dailypioneer.com/columnists/oped/learning-the-art-of-architecture.html, March 30, 2017

A huge capstone with a length of 6.75 metres, four-metre wide and 65 cm thick in a humanoid shape was found during the ongoing excavation at Narmeta in Nanganoor mandal in Siddipet district. The excavation, that began on February 25 this year, was taken up after the area was identified as one of the prized archaeological sites back in 1985 itself. Two years ago, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) took up excavation at Pullur in Siddipet mandal which opened the doors for understanding the megalithic age in a better way. A study conducted by the officials of Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) said migrations from north-west of India dates back to 500 B.C. The experts at the CCMB arrived at this conclusion based on accelerator mass spectrometry/ carbon dating.

“This is the largest capstone found by the Archaeology Department. Another interesting fact is that the capstone is in humanoid shape with a different kind of stone kept on the top. We can clearly see the shoulder and leg indications in the capstone,” Erramaraju Bhanumurthy, a retired employee of the department who is part of the ongoing excavation, told The Hindu. Officials from the Archaeology Department are in awe of the huge capstone that was made to sit on top of the burial site. It is said that people in the medieval age used a kind of mixture to make sure that the stone stay attached to the lower part of the burial site. The officials are trying to identify the materials used in the mixture.

“The ongoing excavation will provide a permanent place for Narmeta village in the history of archaeology. There was a wrong notion among the locals that these burial sites have gold and other precious metals buried in them. We urge them not to dig any such sites that come to their notice,” said Pagadam Nagaraju, AD, Archaeology Department.

-http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Hyderabad/capstone-in-humanoid-shape-found-at-narmeta/article17740568.ece, March 30, 2017

Victoria Lautman was accustomed to looking up when admiring architecture. All that changed one day in Rajasthan. Bruce Wayne, the alter ego of Batman, made his way up the stone steps of the dark underground prison he was desperately trying to escape. When he eventually emerged from the prison’s deep depths in the film The Dark Knight Rises, he was standing in the middle of a desert. Behind him was a structure many Indian movie-goers instantly recognised – Rajasthan’s Mehrangarh Fort. Another location from Wayne’s escape sequence in the film was filmed at the Chand Baori stepwell in Abhaneri, Rajasthan. The Chand Baori is only one of thousands of magnificent stepwells surviving in India. “It is compelling because it is a layer-cake of history,” said Victoria Lautman, photographer and author of The Vanishing Stepwells of India. “It’s a rarity with its original Hindu construction, dating from around 800 AD, surmounted by a much later Islamic addition.” Stepwells are unique to India.

They served as water tanks, a space for social gatherings and, in some cases, temples of Hindu worship. The water collected in stepwells was used for everything – drinking, irrigating fields and religious ceremonies. There are also many stories, real and imagined, which make these structures endlessly interesting. Lautman’s book, recently released by London-based Merrell Publishers, explores the beauty, architecture and legends of these structures, which have married practicality with grandeur for centuries. A print and broadcast journalist, Lautman came across her first stepwell while travelling with a group of architects who were on a mission to see the modernist buildings of India designed by Louis Kahn, Le Corbusier, and BV Doshi. That was nearly 30 years ago. “It was like discovering a new species of mammal or a galaxy,” said Lautman.

“I was taken to what was basically an unremarkable patch of desert, where there was a low wall in the distance. I was wondering ‘What are we doing here, looking at a boring wall?’ But looking over this parapet, I confronted a deep, man-made chasm with a parade of carved columns and pavilions. It was completely unexpected, incredibly shocking, and subversive in that we’re conditioned to look up at architecture, not down into it. The experience of descending into this subterranean edifice, deep into the earth, was one of the most powerful experiences of moving through architecture that I’ve ever had. Still. Harsh sunlight became deep shadow, the heat in Gujarat was replaced by enveloping cool air, and the above-ground din disappeared into a pervasive hush.

It was magical.” The group’s travels took them to Ahmedabad, where Lautman encountered the Rudabai Vav in Gujarat, which would mark the beginning of her obsession with the water harvesting systems. Themes of romance, loss and sacrifice can be found in the legend associated with Rudabai Vav’s history. Lautman writes: “It’s patroness, Ruda, was a comely Hindu queen whose husband had already begun work on the elaborate stepwell when he was killed in battle by Sultan Begada. The sultan was subsequently smitten by Ruda’s beauty, and the widow promised to marry him on one condition: that she could complete the stepwell in honour of her fallen first husband. Begada agreed to the terms, but upon its completion, Ruda inaugurated the well by throwing herself in.”

Since then, the Chicago-based journalist has visited over 200 stepwells in Gujarat, Rajasthan, Haryana, Delhi and Madhya Pradesh, among others, many of which have not survived modernisation. Lautman describes The Vanishing Stepwells as a guide for those interested in visiting the sites mentioned in the book. Next to each of the 75 stepwells in the book, Lautman has helpfully included its GPS coordinates. In the book’s foreword, Divay Gupta, principal director of the architectural heritage division at Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage or INTACH, writes: “In India, water has always played an integral part in architecture and city planning. The subcontinent has a long tradition of buildings connected with water... The connection between architecture and water is generally regarded as a connection between the secular and the sacred, between earth and heaven... Baolis, vavs or bawadis, as they are called in various parts of the country, are a building typology unique to the Indian subcontinent. They are testimony to the traditional water-harvesting systems developed in ancient times, and to the engineering and construction skills and the craftsmanship of those who built them.” The skilful architecture of these stepwells is reflexive of the transitions in Indian history. Some are a combination of the Hindu aesthetic of ornamentation and the architectural innovations introduced by Muslim rule, like the Chand Baori itself, the original structure of which was built around 800 CE by Raja Chand and then later constructed upon to reflect the eighteenth century Mughal aesthetics.

“It is unusual to see these different styles of architecture in such close proximity, since the islamic faith forbade any figuration; but it is certainly fortunate that much of the ninth-century edifice was left in place close to the water’s edge,” writes Lautman. According to the writer, the biggest change occurred during Muslim rule, starting in 15th century in Gujarat, when architects shifted from post-and-beam construction to the new stylistic traits introduced by Muslim rulers, such as spiral staircases, octagons, and chhatris, besides the arches and domes that began to appear with a gradual disappearance of lavish figural ornamentation seen in Hindu wells. One such example is the Mukundpura Baoli in Haryana, which lacks any ornamentation but is characterised by four chhatris or domes, which give it a regal feel. The baolis became common spots for festivals and social meetings. To this day, specific stepwells are frequented during festivals, like the Lolark Kund in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, described by Lautman as “one of the most distinctive water structures… combining the classic deep-funnel kund form with wide flights of steep steps”. Located near the confluence of the Ganga and Asi rivers, the Lolark Kund is dedicated to Surya, the Hindu sun god. It is widely believed that a dip in the water contained within the Lolark Kund aids fertility in women and it is still common for women to travel to this stepwell in the hope of getting pregnant with a son. “Women struggle down the dizzying steps, trying to reach the sacred water,” she writes. “After bathing, they leave their wet clothing behind, along with a piece of fruit or a vegetable that they pledge never to eat again.” According to Lautman, several factors contributed to baolis becoming sites for social rituals.

“Mother goddesses are associated with water and fertility in so many cultures, so the development of stepwells as subterranean temples was (and still is) a natural evolution from the purely utilitarian... Women meeting in the wells for the daily gathering of water and performance of rituals would be a social experience too, and who wouldn’t want to take refuge from the hot summer sun? All of these ancillary functions of a stepwell had built-in social components.” Preservation efforts by the Archaelogical Survey of India have been made for some stepwells, like the Chand Baori or the Rani Ki Vav in Patan, Gujarat, which has been recognised as a world heritage site by The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. However, many, especially those in cities, have fallen into disrepair or become the local garbage dump for the houses and buildings which mushroom around the stepwell. Apart from obvious conservation efforts, Lautman said there is a need to popularise stepwells among tourists and locals alike as an incentive for bodies like ASI and INTACH to preserve these structures. Some luxury hotels, like the Raas Hotel in Jodhpur and the Rawla Narlai hotel between Udaipur and Jodhpur, have taken the initiative to clean stepwells adjoining their property. “There’s a gorgeous 18th-century stepwell adjoining the stylish Raas Hotel, but it was in terrible shape, filled with toxic water and floating debris,” said Lautman.

“The hotel recently drained and cleaned it, removing three centuries of really disgusting muck and revealing an extraordinary piece of architecture. Then there’s the town of Abhaneri between Jaipur and Agra, home to the incomparable Chand baori, where a festival inaugurated in 2014 draws lots of people to the ancient well. There are so many ways to integrate stepwells into tourist itineraries, and my hope is that, in villages and towns where stepwells are neglected, any presence of tourists will inspire more clean-up efforts and generate some revenue for surrounding communities.”

-https://scroll.in/magazine/832391/even-the-most-dilapidated-or-abandoned-stepwells-retain-the-essence-of-their-former-glory, March 30, 2017

The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has beefed up security at selected monuments in the country and action have been taken to counter illegal construction and encroachment in the vicinity of heritage sites, parliament was informed on Wednesday. “In addition to the regular watch and ward staff, private security personnel, State police guards and CISF have also been deployed for the safety and security of selected monuments,” Minister of State for Culture and Tourism Mahesh Sharma said in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha.

The minister, however, said that there is no proposal for using drones to check construction, building or industrial activity in the vicinity of heritage sites and forts. The encroachments in the protected monuments and protected areas are removed as per the provisions contained in the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958 and Rules, 1959 framed thereunder, the minister said. “As per the statutory provisions, the Archaeological Survey of India is bound to approach the District Magistrate/Collector for removal of encroachments from protected monuments/area and unauthorised constructions in the prohibited and regulated areas,” the minister added.

-http://www.india.com/news/agencies/asi-is-checking-illegal-encroachments-in-monuments-minister-1973105/, March 30, 2017

In a major boost to Buddhist corridor proposed by tourism and archaeology departments to protect ancient monuments, besides attracting tourists, the Central government reportedly will grant funds worth Rs 8 crore. While the tourism and archaeology officials are busy preparing a detailed project report (DPR), a consultancy team from Central government visited Buddhist spots at Nagaralapeta village near Kalingapatnam and Salihundam in Gara mandal, Danthavarapukota in Sarubujjili and Jagathimettu in Polaki mandals. The team also held meeting with additional joint collector P Rajani Kantha Rao. While Nagaralapeta and Shalihundam are under control of Central archaeology department, Danthavarapukota and Jagathimettu are under control of state archaeology department.

“In coordination with Central and state archaeology departments state tourism officials decided to develop these spots with Central government aid,” informed1 additional joint collector, P.Rajani Kantha Rao The Central team identified that an approach road and a garden are required at Nagaralapeta for which Rs 50 lakh is needed. For developmental works like parks, rest houses, rest benches and toilets at Danthavarapukota, Shalihundam Rs 4 crore are required. To develop Jagathimettu another Rs 2 crore funds are needed. For other development works another Rs 1.50 crore funds needed. “We visited four Buddhist spots along with consultancy team and identified required development works at all the locations to attract tourists,” said district tourism promotion officer (DTPO) Nadiminti Narayana Rao.

- http://www.thehansindia.com/posts/index/Andhra-Pradesh/2017-03-30/Centre-to-aid-Buddhist-corridor-in-Srikakulam-/289866, March 30, 2017

Carishma Mehta and Simrit Malhi may have had totally different childhoods, but these two women farmers have both left the city in search of something purer, something cleaner and something they can leave behind for future generations. Mehta was born in India but grew up in New York, and unlike tales of most new-age farmers plucking cherries whilst in their grandmother’s arms, she did not even think of food (especially not as a profession) till she got to college in Vermont. “Being a New Yorker, our idea of growing our own food is probably a herb garden on your fire escape!” It was in college when she saw how her friends really took what they were eating seriously and her dining hall had vegan options and CSA baskets available to students, that she began to explore the real omnivore’s dilemma. New York City then became a whole new playground for Mehta, with all the farmer’s markets and “people who just want to talk about and share what they do [in agriculture] and why they do it”. She started learning about produce and eating locally and seasonally from these people and basically learnt a new way to eat before she got her hands into the mud. Union Square Farmer’s Market was a fair distance from Malhi’s idyllic childhood at Rishi Valley School (300 acres for 300 students) in Madanapalle, Andhra Pradesh, birthplace of J Krishnamurthy.

She describes her education as open and fluid: “We had no entertainment so we would climb mountains and go swimming or lie in the football field to watch stars before going to sleep”. There was vedic chanting every morning and an astrophysicist principal who would wake them up in the middle of the night to watch meteorites. The winding path that eventually got her to Roundstone Farms, Kodaikanal, Tamil Nadu, went via her best friend’s father’s bio-dynamic farm in Kerala, doing a Bio Dynamic Course (Rudolf Steiner’s system of farming) in Mysore, working at an eco-resort and learning about natural building in Goa and writing about sustainable tourism for a Danish government-funded website called Travel To Care. “I was trying to create a career out of doing things that are sustainable and that didn’t require me to be in the city,” explains Malhi as she talks of her journey.

BACK TO THE ROOTS
Mehta came to Delhi in 2010 to get to know her grandmother, who had helped raise her, and started spending time at their family’s farm where her artist mother had her studio. “I started growing rocket and spinach and learning from the farmers, and they started learning from me in terms of taking time and going a little bit slower. We learnt composting together and how to make our own ‘potions’ of garlic and red chillies and neem.” The first chef Mehta started working with was Daniel Morgan, who was doing a stint at the experimental Grey Garden. “It became very much about this relationship between us and the chef. Although we were very small scale, when we didn’t have tomatoes, they didn’t have tomatoes,” explains Mehta about the synergy she started creating with various standalone restaurants all over Delhi. Nira Kehar from Chez Nini, Naina de Bois Juzan from Bistro Du Parc, Anuradha Madhusudanan from Tattva Fresh Organic Kitchen and then chef Sujan Sarkar at Olive, all became friends as well as clients. For Malhi, the move to her farm actually happened when she discovered she was pregnant with her daughter Aeko and decided it was the perfect time.

Malhi describes how they slowly developed the land, first leaving it fallow as the previous owner had been using pesticides; they just let it run wild and allowed the weeds to come out. Malhi and her partner are currently deep into their building their house using natural materials from their land such as stone and mud, with the help of a temple mason who combines lime with cactus, aloe vera, tamarind and nuts Malhi is also documenting this process for Intach, a heritage architectural society. Her first PDC (Permaculture Design Certificate) course is planned for November, 2017 at Roundstone Farm to coincide with the International Permaculture Convergence that happens every two years in different countries, and is taking place this year at Hyderabad.

CREATING AN AWARE GENERATION
When we asked Malhi if Aeko, her daughter, is living the life that she imagined, she is quite certain it was the right move, “Kids need space. She has an amazing life, living on the land. She knows more than I realise. Only the other day some volunteers were asking about a plant and three-year-old Aeko told them it was a guava tree.” As for Mehta, she is currently in a transition period moving her farm from Delhi to Dehradun and runs an edible schoolyard based on Alice Water’s principles, where her husband’s family runs a boarding school for girls. Her reason: “The air in Delhi this past November reached such a low that I couldn’t call this food organic anymore! It wasn’t happy food!” She loved the idea of having this school full of young girls, who she could teach all these basics of food that she didn’t have the chance the learn while growing up. Through her school, she wants to create a generation of women who are more aware of their environment, “We want the girls to be self-sufficient, to be able to grow their own food. As long as you have knowledge of something and you make a decision from that space of knowledge as opposed to not knowing any better, you are better equipped for the world.”

- http://www.vogue.in/content/these-indian-women-are-determined-to-make-the-future-greener-for-everyone/, March 31, 2017

The state government is gearing up to make the centenary of Mahatma Gandhi’s Champaran satyagrah, a non-violence resistance against the British rule in India, a success. State art, culture and youth affairs minister Shiv Chandra Ram said the department is preparing a list of programmes that would be organised from April. Some of the programmes like film festival and heritage walk (Virasat Yatra) have already been finalised. The department will also organise a workshop in which artists from across the country and abroad would be invited to prepare and showcase their work on father of the nation. “We will invite top 100 artists to take part in the workshop and work on visual arts, such as painting, sculpture, and photography to make the celebration a memorable event,” said Ram. The film festival, ‘Gandhi Panorma’, will be organised in Patna, Muzaffarpur, Vaishali and West Champaran. Films based on Bapu will be screened.

The minister said Virasat Yatra by Bihar Virasat Vikas Samiti will be organised in Patna, Muzaffarpur, Motihari and some villages of East and West Champaran districts. “People can register online or through telephone to participate in the event. If needed, buses will be provided to them,” he added. Ram said historians like Khuda Bakhsh Oriental Library’s former director Imtiaz Ahmad and history teacher Ashok Anshuman will participate in the heritage walk. Gandhian Razi Ahmad and Ramjee Singh have been requested to enlighten people with the philosophies and ideology of the Mahatma. “The heritage walk will focus on Bapu’s life, the importance of Champaran in the national movement and Bihar’s role in India’s independence,” the minister said, adding a quiz competition will also be held at the end of the walk and 10 winners will be awarded with khadi kurta. Chief minister Nitish Kumar and education minister Ashok Choudhary have been invited by the Gandhi Sangrahalya to release books by local writers on the life of Gandhi and the Chamaparan satyagrah. “We have planned this function on April 18.

Other than this, many cultural programmes will also be held,” the minister said. An album, ‘Çhamparan Satyagrah’, by playback singer Kalpana Patowary was released by minister Shiv Chandra Ram on Wednesday.

- http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/patna/film-festival-heritage-walk-to-mark-mahatmas-satyagrah/articleshow/57924729.cms, March 31, 2017

Students studying history and archaeology in two colleges have unearthed parts of a burial urn at Thillaiyadi in Nagapattinam district. Tarangambadi Tahsildar Elangovan said 20 students and six professors from TBML College, Porayar in Nagapattinam district and EVR Government Arts College, Tiruchirapalli, undertook a field study at Thillaiyadi and surrounding areas on Wednesday. “At Thillaiyadi, they found pieces of pottery at a depth of about 8-ft, probably that of an ancient burial urn and alerted the revenue department,” the Tahsildar said. Pieces of the urn have been collected from the site and are being examined by archaeological experts, he said and added that exact details about the urn and its antiquity would be known only after the analysis by experts.

The Cauvery Delta in Nagapattinam district, particularly Tarangambadi, Thillaiyadi, Poompuhar, Mayiladuthurai and nearby villages are believed to have served as great centres for human settlement even during the pre-historic periods. Pottery and urns belonging to pre-historic periods have been unearthed from many places in this area in the past.

- http://www.india.com/news/agencies/students-unearth-parts-of-burial-urn-in-nagai-dist-1977061/, March 31, 2017

Maharashtra tourism minister Jaykumar Rawal on Thursday said the state would conduct heritage walks along prime tourist spots in south Mumbai. The minister while responding to the demand raised by BJP’s Colaba MLA Raj Purohit in the Assembly, said that his department would identify popular tourist spots including the Gateway of India, Marine Drive to organise the heritage walks. He also said that the department has short-listed 20 forts across the state and that tourists and history lovers would be taken to the structures. He said that the government has made budgetary provision for infrastructural facilities at the foot of the forts. Rawal also said that the government has made sufficient budgetary allocation for beach safety.

Meanwhile, food and civil supplies minister Girish Bapat sai that the Aadhaar seeding of rationing cards has almost been completed and that it has helped the government in plugging the leakages in the system.

- http://www.hindustantimes.com/mumbai-news/soon-heritage-walks-around-south-mumbai/story-VaDfAwt3lRZRINcVxRJCbP.html, March 31, 2017