Heritage Education and Communication Service - 2013
A heritage walk was organized at Shimla with school childrens and it was followed by a talk by Mr. Raaja Bhasin an eminent writer and columnist on Sights and flora of Shimla town with the ARTRAC officials on 28th December 2013. This was largely attended by senior army officials. As per the requests from many schools in Shimla and St. Bedes College, the chapter will be doing similar heritage activities for them too in the coming months.
INTACH’s Heritage and Communication Service has started with their new all
India level essay and painting competition – My Living Icon. Students of classes
6 -9th are eligible for this competition. They have to write or paint on any one
individual from their city or state who excels in the field of art, culture and
heritage. It could be any personality who is an artist, painter, musician,
theatre person environmentalist or even a sportsperson. The competition ends on
the 31st of January, 2014 and the last date of receiving of entries is 15th
February, 2014. Around 70 chapters from all across the country are taking part
in this competition along with the heritage clubs in schools from all over the
country. The essay should be written on A4 size paper in approximately 750 words
and the painting should be made on A3 size paper.
Delhi - My Living Icon is a pan India competition was conducted
for school students at INTACH on 20th November 2013 for students of classes 6-9
from 31 schools including both public and government schools in Delhi. This
essay/painting competition was a part of the Heritage Week (14th – 21st November
2013) activities at INTACH. The chief guest for the occasion was eminent
Bharatnatyam danseuse Padmsri Ms. Geeta Chandran. She wished all the
participants the very best. Later the Guest of Honors Maj.Gen L.K.Gupta
encouraged the students to learn about Indian culture and participate in such
activities and Prof. AGK Menon spoke on Delhi’s rich sense of past and how it
still remains an essential part in contributing towards the city’s vibrant and
ever-changing culture. He too encouraged the students to utilize this
opportunity to identify themselves with the living icons of Delhi and be a part
of its rich heritage.
Kurnool - My Living Icon, the essay and painting competition was conducted by the Kurnool Chapter, on 23rd November, 2013. It was attended by 17 schools. The District Public Relations Officer was the chief guest for the occasion. There was sufficient media coverage for the event.
Patiala – My Living Icon, essay and painting competition was held on 16th, November, 2013. Entries were sent by 5 schools.
Mayurbhanj – INTACH Mayurbhanj chapter organized the My Living Icon competition on 24th November, 2013 at Sri Satya Sai Vidya Vihar, Baripada. 46 students from 4 schools participated for the event.
Srikakulam - 10 meritorious schools from Srikakulam participated for the My Living Icon competition organized by INTACH Srikakulam Chapter. It was conducted in local Govt. Boys School near DEOs office. Sri A.V.Reddysastry Retired Reader in English, the chief guest for the event gave an inspiring lecture on the icons of Srikakulam district.
Solapur - INTACH Solapur successfully conducted 'My Living Icon' contests on Sunday, 5th January at the Land Fort garden. The event elicited good response from the students. 172 entries for essay and drawing were received in total. It was a memorable event for all concerned. The members attended in good numbers and talked to accompanying teachers and parents about INTACH and heritage conservation.
Nagercoil - My Living Icon competition was conducted on Jan 7th, 2014 at Scott Christian Hr.Sec.School, Nagercoil by Intach Nagercoil Chapter. 55 students from 7 schools participated in the program. Brigadier (Rtd) G.Arumai Raj, from Indian Army was the chief guest. Dr.R.S.Lal Mohan, The Convenor, INTACH, Nagercoil Chapter introduced the subject. Mr.Daniel Brudin the Correspondent of the Scott Christian Hr.Sec.School was the guest of honour. Mr.Bright Selvakumar, the Headmaster of the Scott Christian Hr.Sec.School, Nagercoil, Mr.Chenthee Nadrajan, Chairman, Research Centre of Epigraphy, Nagercoil and Mr.T.S.Sundaram, Rtd Supt. Engineer, National Highways, Nagercoil felicitated. Dr.Sumithra Raghuvaran, Co-Convenor, INTACH, Nagercoil Chapter offered the vote of thanks.
East Godavri - On 15th December 2013, “My Living Icon” competition was organised at the Ashram Public School Auditorium. 125 students from 17 Schools participated along with 12 teachers from different schools. Shri KVS Anjaneya Murthy, a leading Income Tax Consultant in the City and Past Rotary District Governor was invited as the Chief Guest to inaugurate the event. He spoke at length on the Culture & Heritage of our great Nation and advised the students to protect and conserve our rich Heritage. He congratulated INTACH for selecting the novel theme whereby the students have to use their imaginative skills and gather the information before venturing into essay writing /painting competition, unlike other themes where the students can get data on the internet. Many of the Members also attended the programme.
Hazaribag – “My Living Icon” programme held at the Tourist Information Centre, Hazaribagh on 7th Dec.2013. Students from St.Xaviers School and DAV School Hazaribagh participated. About 30 students from DAV School and 15 students from St.Xaviers School participated in the essay and painting competition.
Yamunanagar – Intach Yamunanagar Chapter conducted My Living Icon on December 10th, 2013 at Mukund Lal Public School. 110 students from 12 schools participated. The event received sufficient media coverage and was reported in the local newspapers.
Bhadrak – 38 students from 11 schools from Bhadrak participated in the pan India essay and painting competition “My Living Icon” organised by Intach Bhadrak Chapter. Dr. Sanatan Mohanty was the Chief Guest for the occasion. He addressed the gathering about importance and necessity of preservation and protection of documenting the tangible and intangible heritage of Bhadrak. The event was covered by the media.
Sikkim – Intach Sikkim Chapter conducted “My Living Icon” competition on 4th December, 2013 at Deorali Senior Secondary High School, Gangtok. 35 students participated for the event. Te Rotary club of Gangtok South lended their support for the success of the competition. The event received local media coverage.
Jamshedpur – Intach Jamshed pur chapter organised the all India essay and painting competition “My Living Icon” on 16th and 17th December, 2013.
Darjeeling – The Darjeeling chapter of INTACH conducted “My Living Icon” competition on 15th December, 2013 at Saraswati Higher Secondary School, Mungpo, Darjeeling. 31 students participated for the event. The event was organised in collaboration with Mungpo Ekta Welfare Association, a local NGO. The students and teachers from the participating schools rallied to demonstrate the need to protect heritage sites, environment and bio-diversity in the region.
Heritage and Education Communication Service (HECS), INTACH Delhi in collaboration with the INTACH Mayurbhanj Chapter Convenor Mr. P.K. Mishra organized a two-day teacher training workshop from 27th-28th December 2013 at Baripada for 43 teachers from 13 schools at the Rotary Club Hall and Pensioners Hall, Baripada, Odisha. Mr. P.K. Mishra welcomed all and briefed everyone about the rich history of the Mayurbhanj District including the region of Baripada, Similipal and Kuliana. The chief guest for the day, Dr. A.K. Nayak, I.F.S., Regional Chief Conservator of Forest and Director, Similipal Tiger Project spoke on the rich natural history of Baripada. He added that Similipal is the fourth largest tiger reserve in the country. It is also a proposed National Park. He also informed that Odisha alone has three elephant reserves in Mayurbhanj, Sambalpur and Mahanadi. A presentation was given by Ms. Purnima Datt about what makes India unique and its rich heritage and another presentation on HECS, its objectives and Heritage Education programmes. The site visit was conducted at the museum in Baripada.The workshop concluded with felicitations and certificate distribution by Ms. Purnima Datt, Principal Director, HECS-INTACH, Mr. P.K. Mishra, Convenor, INTACH Mayurbhanj Chapter.
Heritage and Education Communication Service (HECS), INTACH Delhi in collaboration with the INTACH Shekhawati Chapter Convener Mr. Ramesh C. Jangid organized a two-day teacher training workshop from 16th-17th December 2013 at Jhunjhunu for 32 teachers from 15 schools at the Rani Sati Devi Temple, Jhunjhunu, Rajasthan. The Chief Guest Ms. Dharmender Kanwar, Convener Jaipur Chapter spoke on the rich history of Shekhawati region particularly Jhunjhunu. Also Mr. Jangid cautioned about the challenges faced by the authorities in restoring it and asked for the the teachers’ support to spread the awareness about one’s local heritage since Jhunjhunu is heavily dotted with its opulent havelis. Mr. Raghvendra Singhji of Dundlod Risala showed his disappointment on the dilapidating condition of Shekhawati’s rich heritage and its impact on the tourism in general. He requested the teachers that they need to involve in the activities pertaining to heritage so that the students could imbibe the sense of ownership towards their heritage. He also appreciated the fact that organic farming is being taken up in the area which also contributes towards the livelihood of the people. Mr Manish asked teachers to organize trips for students to the heritage buildings around their schools so that they get an exposure to these activities related to heritage and work towards its promotion.
A presentation was given by Ms. Purnima Datt about what makes India unique and its rich heritage on HECS, its objectives, resource material and Heritage Education programmes. Teachers presented their view points by understanding different aspects of Shekhawati’s heritage. The workshop concluded with felicitations and distribution of resource material and certificates by Ms. Purnima Datt, Principal Director, HECS-INTACH , Mr Manish and Mr Krishan Kumar Sahal,Co-Convenors Shekhawati Chapter.
The teacher training workshop at Varanasi was held on 5th December, 2013. It was attended by 31 teachers from 18 schools. The workshop commenced with Mr. Kalyan Krishna, Convenor, INTACH Varanasi chapter, giving an introduction of Varanasi. This was followed by a screening of the INTACH film. Ms. Purnima Datt, Prinicipal Director, Heritage Education and Communication Service, gave presentations on heritage education and INTACHS’s heritage awareness programmes.
During the second part of the workshop, Ms. Amita Baig, from World Monument Fund and Ms. Bindu Manchanda from the Architectural Division of INTACH gave an inspirational talk to the teachers present there on heritage and its preservation. Ms. Baig congratulated HECS for conducting such workshops. She urged the participants to take care of Varanasi as their own city.
After this, the teachers were divided into groups for a presentation on the four broad aspects of Heritage – natural, built, living and material.
The workshop ended at Balaji Ghat, where the teachers were awarded the certificates and resource material by Ms. Amita Baig, Ms.Purnima Datt, Ms Bindu Manchanda and Mr. Kalyan Krishna.
A two day teacher training workshop was conducted by Heritage Education and Communication Service, INTACH and INTACH J&K Chapter for 16 government schools on the 26th and 27th November, 2013. It started with an inaugural talk by Mr. Altaf Hussain, Co – Convenor, J&K chapter. He spoke about the heritage of Kashmir. This was followed by presentations by Ms. Purnima Datt on heritage education and INTACHS’s heritage awareness programmes. The post lunch lesson session involved an interesting game being played which was called ‘romantic pairs’ after which a few more presentations were showed by Ms. Datt. Before the end of the first day of the workshop, the teachers were given their topics on which they had to make a lesson plan for their students and present it on the second day.
The second day started with a discussion of the ‘Hands on Heritage’ book by Ms. Purnima Datt followed by a motivating talk by Mr. Sarmad Hafeez, Deputy Commissioner and District Development Commissioner, Ganderbal. He spoke about the immediate need for attention for heritage issues in the Kashmir valley. He asked the participants to obtain any help they required from him and the concerned authorities. This was followed by a heritage walk of Jharokha Bagh, Manasbal. After lunch, the ‘Adopt a Tree’ book was discussed in detail and the teachers gave their presentations. Before the workshop concluded, the teachers were asked to share their views about the workshop. The workshop ended with the distribution of certificates and resource material for the schools.
My Living Icon is a part of an all India level competition organized by INTACH’s Heritage Education and Communication Service division in collaboration with its chapter network to cover more than 80 towns and cities. This is also been conducted in its network of heritage club schools from all across the country
INTACH’s Heritage Education and Communication Service conducted the essay and painting competition among school students at INTACH on 20th November 2013 for school students of classes 6-9 from 31 schools including both public and government schools in Delhi. Delhi’s youth were invited to share their views on the living heritage of their city, especially people who have made a difference to its culture. The students wrote about or painted a person who is living and from the field of crafts, performing arts, literature, or a person who has contributed to the history of their city, its natural environment or monument preservation.
This essay and painting competition was a part of the Heritage Week (14th – 21st November 2013) activities at INTACH. The competition was inaugurated with lighting of the lamp and Saraswati Vandana sung beautifully by a student. The chief guest for the occasion was eminent Bharatnatyam danseuse Padmashri Ms. Geeta Chandran. She highlighted that in the wake of globalisation today we seem to be more isolated which is deterrent to identification with our sense of history and appreciating our heritage. And she pointed out that the role of youth is very important in raising awareness about their city’s rich history and the people who have contributed to it. She encouraged the students to have the conviction and the need to engage in the activities happening in their city so that the sense of awareness remains intact and Delhi gets her due to be a World Heritage City soon. She wished all the participants the very best and ended with a Sanskrit shloka recited once by legendary MS Subbalakshmi at the United Nations. Major General L.K. Gupta, Chairman, INTACH too encouraged the young students to participate in such activities related to heritage.Prof. AGK Menon spoke on Delhi’s rich sense of past and how it still remains an essential part in contributing towards the city’s vibrant and ever-changing culture. He too encouraged the students to utilize this opportunity to identify themselves with the living icons of Delhi and be a part of its rich heritage. Ms. Purnima Datt gave a general introduction about the competition wherein the students had to either write an essay or make a portrait of their favourite living icon. The person could be from the field of crafts, performing arts, literature, or a person who has contributed to the history of their city, its natural environment or monument preservation. Later Ms. Moby Sara Zachariah, Programme Coordinator, HECS explained the rules of the competition to the participating students for essay/painting. The competition ended with certificate distribution and refreshments to all the participating students and teachers.
Students chose from a wide range of people to write and paint on. Some of them were Chetan Bhagat, Romila Thapar, Shiela Dixit, Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, Pt. Birju Maharaj, Feisal Alkazi, Anjali Ela Menon, Khushwant Singh, Raghu Rai and many more other noteworthy persons.
On 21st November 2013, INTACH’s Heritage Education and Communication Service division in collaboration with India International Centre has organized a Music fest, Dilli ki Shaan at Gandhi Plaza, India International Centre. This is an inter school music competition on the self composed songs held to celebrate the diversities of Delhi’s rich heritage participated by 9 prominent schools. Ms. Purnima Datt, Principal Director, HECS INTACH in her interactive session spoke to the students about Heritage week and wildlife week. She asked the students about the natural heritage and lesser known monuments of Delhi. She asked the students to describe Delhi in one word; we got interesting answers such as Incredible Delhi, happening city, culturally rich, green city etc. Ms. Bashobi Banerjee, HECS INTACH, introduced the judges for the day. Ms. Usha Srivastava, a music educator, worked in the field of Children’s music, choir music and piano teaching. She is now associated with the French Embassy School where she directs the Young Children’s Chorale group and Kinder music program at the German Embassy School. Ms. Rekha Khosla also has a deep interest in music and plays the piano. Currently involved with the Delhi School of Music being on their Executive Committee and also is chairperson of the Programmes Committee and at present is Publications Consultant with the INTACH. Ms. Jasmita Barretto, personally trained by Ms. Situ Singh Buelher in western classical music as a soprano, participated in the operas organized in Delhi and from 7 years also has been part of Delhi’s well known choir “the Capital City Minstrels and had the honour to sing at the Rashtrapati Bhavan for two years and currently teaches at the Delhi School of Music. Ms Datt invited Ms. Kavita Sharma, Director IIC to say a few encouraging words. She said while writing poems and songs, one always look into oneself and comes up with music which they like. Some tunes go a long way and remembered by many people. She also stressed that education is holistic and both physical and aesthetic education is primary along with mental, value and spiritual education. Ms. Purnima welcomed Ms. Premola Ghosh, Chief Programme Division IIC to the programme who has been a continuous support. After nine spectacular singing performances, the judges were asked to give their opinions about the groups and to share their experience. Ms Srivastava commented that students should practice with microphone and should take note of instrumentation that it should be balanced. While singing they should move and use their hands, body and communicate with the audience. Ms. Barretto asked the students to check the range rhythm and focus on improvisation. She asked the students to focus on creativity and be more appealing. Ms. Khosla expressed her happiness to be a part of the programme and congratulated the groups for putting a lot of efforts. She appreciated the creativity and said they celebrated the heritage of Delhi in true sense. Dr. C.T Mishra, Member Secretary, INTACH encouraged and thanked the schools who participated in the programme during Heritage week. She strongly believes that water to life and is an essential part of our development. After their valuable opinions, results were announced in which VVDAV, Vikaspuri emerged as the winners, followed by Delhi Police Public School and Navyug School, Peshwa Road as second and third. Delhi Public School, Mathura Road and Nigam Prathiba Vidyalaya, Baprolla was given Special mention prize for their efforts. All the others participants were awarded with certificates in the felicitation ceremony attended by Dr. C.T Mishra, Maj. Gen. (Retd). L.K Gupta, Chairman INTACH. This surely was an appropriate ending to the World Heritage week and great way to celebrate Children’s day.
We celebrated Kids day in commemoration of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru's Birth Anniversary. Mr. Sridhar Balan, an eminent Educationist; Prof. G.S.N. Raju, Vice Chancellor, Andhra University; Mrs.Geeta Ramanujam, International Story teller, Kathalaya Trust, Bangalore and Mr.Ram Singh Chauhan, the proud owner of the World's longest moustache officially recorded in Guinness book of world records graced the occasion with their presence.
November 1st is celebrated every year as Salem Day as Salem Municipality was constituted on Nov1st of 1866.This year the Salem Day Celebration was a spectacular presentation by the students of INTACH Heritage Clubs of various schools. 10 Schools participated in the Photography and drawing competition on the Heritage of Salem. The Music was a group event and students out performed it. The ethnic dress parade was colour full and students made it with a concept. Trophy and certificate of Appreciation was given to the best performers. Participation Certificates were given to all participants. Vidya Peetam i School Bagged the Best Performer of the year Award 2013 for their outstanding performance. A Shield was given to them. INTACH Salem Chapter thanked the Management of Sri Vidya Mandir Eduation Society for providing the hall, arrangements etc for the function.
Jammu chapter of INTACH inaugurated the heritage club at Jodhamal Public School; Jammu participated by students, teachers and INTACH members. The programme saw many cultural performances by students including dances etc and also words of encouragements by the INTACH members.
Heritage and Education Communication Service (HECS), INTACH in collaboration with the INTACH Bijapur chapter and convenor Mr. Krishna Kolhar Kulkarni organized a two-day teacher training workshop from 28th-29th October 2013 at Bijapur for 55 teachers from 32 schools and colleges at the Dr. P.G. Halakatti College of Engineering & Technology, Bijapur. The Chief Guest Dr. B.G. Mulimani, Vice Chancellor, B.L.D.E University spoke on the rich history of Bijapur. He cautioned about the challenges faced by the authorities in restoring it and the Teachers’ responsibility to spread the awareness about one’s local heritage since Bijapur is heavily dotted with the Adilshahi architecture. A presentation was given by Ms. Purnima Datt about what makes India unique and its rich heritage and another presentation on HECS, its objectives and Heritage Education programmes. The workshop concluded with felicitations and certificate distribution by Ms. Purnima Datt, Principal Director, HECS-INTACH, Mr. Krishna Kolhar Kulkarni, Convener, INTACH Bijapur Chapter. The workshop was also attended by around 35 students who also benefitted from the workshop as they learnt about India’s as well as Bijapur’s unique architecture.
Day 1
A joint teacher training workshop was organized by Gunijankhana, Maharaja
Sawai Bhawani Singh Jaipur museum society and INTACH Jaipur chapter on
setting up of INTACH heritage clubs in schools held at The City Palace,
Jaipur on 18 & 19th October 2013 attended by 35 Teachers from 20 schools.
The welcome speech by Mr. Yunis Khimani, Director, MSMS 11 Museum, Jaipur
explained the history of city palace and idea of Gunijankhana, Maharaja
Sawai Bhawani Singh Jaipur museum society. Ms. Dharmendra Kanwar, Convener,
INTACH Jaipur chapter told the participants that she is happy to organize
the first workshop in Jaipur and would like to thank Princess Diya Kumari of
Jaipur, Gunijankhana and Ms. Anuradha Singh Bhasin, Coordinator ,City palace
Museum, Jaipur followed by the lighting of lamp.
Ms. C.T. Mishra, Member Secretary, INTACH, Delhi said that the workshop
aimed at taking up the broader concept of heritage and teachers can help in
assisting the heritage programme forward. Ms. Kavita Jain, Conservation
Architect explained the concept of heritage and said that it is important to
sensitize the students, the future generation. Mr. Harsh Wardhan, expert in
Natural heritage, cited few contributions by the rulers towards nature such
as Asoka, Prince Gautama, Jahangir etc, who were great naturalists and urged
the teachers to attend the bird watching fair in Lake Mansagar and showed
the booklet on birds of Mansagar and Jaipur.
Ms. Purnima Datt, Principal Director, HECS INTACH, Delhi said that the teachers
are helpful in sowing in the students the ‘grains of rice’ given to them and
needs to be sown in the minds of students. Mr. Neeraj Doshi and Mr. Aditya
water conservationists, working with water managements spaces help
sensitizing students about water conservation and urged to teachers to adopt
measures in their own schools.
Ms. Datt gave a presentation on India’s heritage titled ‘our heritage’
focusing on mountains, rivers, deserts, monuments, architecture of Ancient
and Medieval period, culture, people of India, material heritage including
phad paintings of Rajasthan, miniature paintings etc. She showed another
presentation on HECS, its objectives and Heritage Education process and
setting up of clubs, national programmes such as Tagore @ 150, My living
icon etc, teaching aids, publications, discussed Museums as learning
resource and its importance as they offer direct experiments with objects.
Ms. Anuradha Singh Bhasin spoke to the teachers about how they plan to make
city palace museum a children friendly museum and asked for how different
ideas to do so. Ms. Purnima showed a presentation on Heritage education
focusing on tips to make learning an interesting process and also discussed
teachers training kits.
The day ended on a good note- as the teachers were invited for the high tea
attended by Mr. Salauddin Ahmad, chairman, Rajasthan Heritage Development
and Management Authority and they also interacted with media people. They
were asked for to give their reviews and feedbacks about the workshop and
all agreed that its was an enriching and learning experience and are willing
to take forward the duty and set up heritage clubs in their schools.
Day 2
Second day of the workshop started with the Heritage walk conducted
by Mr. Pankaj Sharma, Head Curator, The City MSMS 11 Museum, Jaipur to the
five temples such as Temple Brinjindhiji, Temple Anand Krishna Bihariji,
Temple Shri Pratapeshwarji, Shri Kalki, Temple Shri Ramachandra built by
Maharaja Sawai Pratap Singh (1778-1803) in the vicinity of the City palace
and the walk ended at the city palace museum. He showed the floral
decorations adopted from Mughal architecture and art and architecture that
prevailed during the times of Maharaja Sawai Pratap Singh. Temple Shri
Pratapeshwarji dedicated to Shiva and his family, originally had paintings
had many wall paintings only few of them exist. Temple Shri Kalki dedicated
to the tenth reincarnation of Lord Vishnu and has a white marble horse
believed to be carved out of the one single marble rock, in the premises.
Mr. Sharma shared a popular belief that Lord Vishnu will come and ride the
white marble horse, after killing Kaliyug and will marry Kanyakumari. Temple
Shri Ramachandra, had two altars originally filled with ghee and other
offerings for the deity and the structure had beautiful marble carvings. Mr.
Sharma took the group to the city palace museum and antique pieces used by
the royalty. The first gallery, Sabha Niwas the Hall of Public Audience was
built during the reign of Maharaja Sawai Pratap Singh has exhibits such as
Pichwai paintings of Lord Krishna of Jaipur School of art, ceremonial chair,
and Diorama etc. The second gallery was of arms and armory with swords such
as sword with ten reincarnation of Lord Vishnu, swords of Jahangir and
Shahjahan, and hilts, pistols, shields, gunpowder flask, binoculars etc.
Ms. Purnima Datt discussed the resource materials- Hands on heritage and
Adopt of Monument and explained the contents of Hands on Heritage –guidebook
for teachers which had tips how to organize trips, celebrate festivals, how
to make natural dyes , natural pesticides, water conservation, caring of
books etc. Ms. Moby Sara Zachariah, Programme Coordinator, HECS INTACH,
Delhi showed a presentation on Young INTACH website to the teachers who can
utilize and avail the worksheets, quizzes, heritage alerts and other
educational tools.
The teachers made presentation on different aspect of built such as Amer
fort, natural such as Lake Mansagar, material and living heritage such as
Ganguar festival of Jaipur. Mr. Yunis Khimani in his vote of thanks thanked
the participants, the organizers and the resource persons. The teachers were
felicitated were certificates and resource materials for heritage clubs in
the felicitation ceremony presided by Colonel Jatrana, Administrator, City
palace and Ex- Principal secretary, Rajasthan.
A two-day workshop on the Heritage Volunteer Training commemorated on 3rd -4th October 2013 at Miranda House, Delhi University by Ms. Purnima Datt, Heritage Education and Communication Service (HECS), INTACH, New Delhi. Around 50 undergraduate history students accompanied by their college teachers participated. The workshop emphasized on volunteerism and role of a Heritage Volunteer; highlighted various aspects of heritage and its listings; the heritage of Delhi and its nomination as a World Heritage City; as well as creating a sense of appreciation for the heritage that surrounds us. During the workshop, the participants were exposed to the various components of heritage; training on ways to conduct heritage walks; an outline on the heritage of Delhi as well as the on-going Heritage City nomination initiative. The participants also got an overview about INTACH and the heritage conservation projects being undertaken by the various divisions with series of lectures by (HECS, Material, Intangible, and Delhi Chapter). The students were also taken to Chandni Chowk on a heritage walk by Dr. Swapna Liddle, Co-Convenor, Delhi Chapter. Post-walk the group headed back to Miranda house to attend the interactive session conducted by Dr. Narayani Gupta who spoke on the history and architecture of Delhi. The participants and teachers were felicitated with certificates which were handed over to them by Dr. Narayani Gupta. The workshop ended with the vote of thanks by the president of history society and teachers of the college.
The Intangible Heritage Committee of INTACH Gurgaon Chapter, under the Chairmanship of Ms Monica Kumar, has organised a two day INTACH Gurgaon Haat. The objective of the HAAT is to present hand crafted products by Indian Artisans. Items proposed to be displayed at the HAAT include – Hand Woven Shawls and Stoles, Hand made Woollens, Jootis, Home Furnishings, Gift Items, Home Made Spices and Papads and Jewellery. The HAAT will be organized at the DLF City Phase I Community Centre and will be open from 11 am to 7 pm on both days.
The entire DPS fraternity, staff and students organised and well conducted function held at DPS, jointly with INTACH, on the occasion of Hindi Diwas on 14th September 2013. According to Dr. Atul Dev, Convener INTACH Gurgaon Chapter School, have once again ‘raised the bar’ for organising such functions. He conveyed his deep appreciation to all those that were responsible for the conduct of the function.
On 30th August 2013 in collaboration with Indian International Centre (IIC), INTACH’s Heritage Education and Communication Services (HECS), New Delhi organized a technical workshop for FILMIT which is an exciting multi-cultural project which helps students to make short films on Delhi’s rich heritage followed by an exchange with partner schools in UK and is funded by the Helen Hamlyn TrustofUK. The workshop was a success as 22 prestigious schools of Delhi including Springdales (Pusa Road), St. Columba’s, Sanskriti School, Bluebells International, The Pinnacle School, St. Mary’s, Banyan Tree School, R.P.V.V. Vasant Kunj, Tagore International Vasant Vihar, V.V.D.A.V, Sardar Patel Vidyalaya, Mothers International, DPS Sector 45 among others participated in the event. We also welcomed new government schools like Little Ones Public School. The workshop was conducted by Mr. Wesley Jefferson (Technical Expert) from the Helen Hamlyn Trust along with Indian film makers Mr. Sushmit Ghosh and Ms. Rintu Thomas. They also screened few short films in order to make the students understand the different techniques of making movies and copyright issues while making documentaries. They also told the students to think creatively and enjoy the process of film making. Wesley also spoke to the students and teachers about the use of digital film-making software. The session also included some useful tips about using the camera, selecting the content of the films, and shooting the film. The session ended with some interaction with the students asking some technical questions and distribution of Filmit DVD (2012-13) which is a collection of all the best movies selected from all over the country to each school present there.
INTACH HECS in collaboration with the INTACH Bombay Chapter organized the Filmit India Technical Workshop at Bhau Daji Lal Museum, Byculla, Mumbai on 27th August 2013. Fifteen teachers and 47 students from eight renowned schools which have participated. The workshop was conducted by Mr. Wesley Jefferson (Technical Expert) from the Helen Hamlyn Trust. The session began with an introduction by Ms. Purnima Datt, Principal Director, Heritage Education and Communication Service, INTACH. She gave a brief account of what is FilmIt India all about and the spread of the project to cities across the country like Chandigarh, Delhi, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Chennai etc. INTACH movie was shown as a follow-up. Wesley spoke to the students about the rich heritage they are surrounded within their city and India. Students were asked about what comes to their mind when they think of heritage? Questions like which smell or sound do they relate to more? Many of the students shared their own unique observations ranging from aroma of a Prasad, flowers, smell of food in train journey; or sound of traffic, church bell, drums, school bell etc.
Later themes of this year were discussed like story on caring for animals in your city or school , your state bird, flower or tree; Story on a lesser known monument of your city and what can be done to care for it; Discovering the heritage of homes-heritage homes, heritage in our neighbourhood; Living icons of my city-may be lesser known persons too in the field of craft, performing arts, or any other field related to heritage; An interesting custom, tradition, festival etc. Wesley also discussed the story board method wherein planning, shooting and editing are its main crux. The session also included some useful tips about using the camera, selecting the content of the films, and shooting the film. Things to keep in mind while filming ranged from interviews, autobiography, and information from local communities in order to widen one’s horizon while making movies etc. Later on one group activity was given to each school asking them about the themes they would like to incorporate while making a movie. Many of them shared their topics ranging from worship of different gods, city of different faiths; ways of greeting in different languages; or a visit to Juhu beach; seasons of India and dances of India among others. The session ended with some interaction with the students asking some technical questions and distribution of Filmit DVD (2012-13) which is a collection of all the best movies selected from all over the country. The workshop concluded with a visit to Byculla Municipal Secondary School for an orientation with the students regarding the technological nuances of film making.
On 26th August 2013, Filmit content and technical workshop was organized at Sharada Mandir School, Goa attended by 150 students and 12 teachers from 8 eminent schools. The workshop started with the introduction by Ms. Fatima Gracias, Co-Convener Goa Chapter followed by the welcome address by Ms. Sharmila Astankar, Principal Sharada Mandir School. Ms. Purnima Datt, Principal Director HECS INTACH, discussed the themes of phase 4 year II of Filmit. She discussed in general about natural heritage, animals, pristine places such as Munnar, special trees and birds followed by the discussion of lesser known monuments, heritage homes including special mention of a 99 year old man of a village, Indo-Portuguese guitar, Shravan, a harvest festival and other festivals such as 15th August feast of Assumption, Poomderam a festival in the island of Divar etc, an unique quilt making method of Portuguese, a traditional well in a dining hall of a house etc. This interactive session was followed by the session on technical aspects of film making by Mr. Wes Jefferson, technical expert from UK. He discussed with the students and teachers the stages of film making, story board method of making films, 2 stars and one wish rating method, a method to critically study the films and lastly the zoom, pan, track and close up, the technical details of camera was discussed etc. Mr. Jefferson showed the participants a short 10 seconds film on Yorkshire. The workshop also saw performances by the participating students on what defines India.
INTACH Gulbarga chapter organized a heritage workshop on 14th August 2013 and a site visits on 10th to 12, 2013.
The FILMIT India programme is a multi-cultural programme in which young students from the middle school are encouraged to make films on the culture of their city. The Kolkata Filmit workshop was held on 7th August, 2013 at Lakshmipat Singhania Academy in Kolkata. It was attended by 9 schools. The new addition to the project is Sri Sri Academy. The workshop commenced with an inaugural speech by Mr. G.M. Kapur, Convenor, Kolkata and West Bengal State chapter. The Co- Convenor West Bengal State Chapter Ms. Nayantara Palchoudhuri and Ms. Kanchana Mukhopadhyay, Co – Convenor Kolkata Regional Chapter gave words of motivation. They congratulated the schools for putting in all the hard work.
A presentation was shown by Ms. Purnima Datt, Principal Director, HECS, INTACH on the themes e.g. caring for animals, state bird, flower or tree, a lesser known monument, story of heritage at homes, craft, performing arts, or an interesting tradition, festival etc. She suggested various ways to make interesting films on monuments, talking to the local people and guides and making a monument say its own story. Everyone actively participated and various interesting stories were shared. The student from Modern high school shared her experience of climbing different varieties of trees. One student shared his observation of a family of mice, clinging on to the tail of the leading mouse. Apeejay school, Park Street shared how they could shoot a film in a graveyard behind their school which contains the graves of British soldiers. The Convenor and Co-Convenor(s) also suggested that many films could be made on old villages of West Bengal. Mr. Kapur suggested the idea of making films on the various roads/streets in Kolkata named after important historical personalities. After the brainstorming session, Mr. Abhishek Das, Programme Coordinator, Heritage Education and Communication Service briefly discussed the pointers on using the video camera, Filmit website and the software used for making a film.
This was followed with a session by resource person Abhra Aich, well known documentary and film maker showed the students a few documentaries and gave them tips on how to make a short film. He showed ‘Matri Bhumi’, ‘Night and Fog’, ‘Bus’ and ‘Superman of Malegaon’ to the children. All the documentaries were of different genres and of different eras.
To mark the start of Filmit phase 4 year II the content workshop was held on 2nd August 2013 in collaboration with Indian International Centre (IIC), INTACH’s Heritage Education and Communication Services (HECS), New Delhi organized a filmit content workshop at IIC Annexe for 25 schools including the four new schools. A presentation was shown by Ms. Purnima Datt, Principal Director, HECS, INTACH on the themes e.g. caring for animals, state bird, flower or tree, a lesser known monument, story of heritage at homes, craft, performing arts, or an interesting tradition, festival etc. Dr. Kavita Sharma Director, IIC, the Guest of Honour, requested the teachers to take school curriculum outside the four walls of the schools and help students to develop a holistic approach towards education. She emphasized that isolation has never done any good to one’s appreciation towards culture and heritage. Feisal Alkazi, an eminent theatre personality and educationist conducted the content part of the workshop. He asked the students and teachers alike to be vigilant about their surroundings and observe our local history. He also told them how to approach film making with a sense of heart, a belonging and to be original in their story while filming.
Mr. Alkazi then discussed few current themes of film making and how to make interesting films and used examples of Purana Qila and Khooni Darwaza and their stories related to these buildings as examples. He suggested four ways to make interesting films on monuments is to recreate the history, Talk to the local people and guides and let monuments say their OWN stories He shared his experience while making his first INTACH film, ‘Discovering my city’ on monuments with school students in 1980’s. He discussed about the flowers and how to make wonderful films on medicinal flowers, poisonous and insectivorous flowers, shooting in a flower nursery etc were suggested. The third theme to be discussed was the heritage of your own house including the old cameras, photographs, trunk, old alarm clock of grandmother, old currencies, TV of grandparents, 65 year old choola or traditional stove, old recipes , jewellary etc Ms. Moby Sara Zachariah, programme coordinator HECS INTACH gave a vote of thanks. Mr Shaji Krishnan, Co convener of Trivandrum chapter, Kerala presented a token of appreciation to Mr. Feisal Alkazi and shared his experience after attending the workshop.
The Heritage School, Sector 62, Gurgaon, has planned to take their students of Grade 9 for a Heritage Walk during their Social Science Week .i.e. 12th August – 15 August 2013. The Walks would be conducted over two day’s .i.e. 13th & 14 August 2013 in Farrukhnagar. The Route would be – Delhi Gate – Sheesh Mahal – Sita Ram Mandir – Haveli – Ali Gosh Kahn Baoli/Jhajjar Gate – Chhatri. Dr, Atul Dev, Convener INTACH Gurgaon Chapter will be personally conducting these walks with the assistance of some of the Members. He also wrote to the schools could also plans such activities in the near future for your Heritage Club members.
Heritage and Education Communication Service (HECS), INTACH Delhi in collaboration with the INTACH Vizag chapter convenor Mr. P.V. Prasad organized a two-day teacher training workshop in Telugu from 19th-20th July 2013 at Visakhapatnam for 31 teachers from 18 schools at the Sri Prakash Vidyaniketan, Uplands, Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. The Chief Guest Dr. Colluru Suryanarayana, Prof. History, Andhra University inaugurated the event and spoke about the rich heritage of Vizag city along with the timeline of its history over the centuries. Mr. B.V. Ramana Rao, Volunteer with INTACH-Vizag spoke on what is heritage, the value of heritage and its various forms. Later an interaction with philatelist Mr. B. Venkateshwarlu and a display of heritage stamps was scheduled. The teachers were very appreciative of the bi-lingual, ‘What is Heritage Kit’ and the resource book, ‘Hands on Heritage’. They were also given a Telugu book on the local traditional ‘Festivals and Fairs’ celebrated in Andhra Pradesh. Their post work-shop feedback tells us that their learning’s, aids and support from INTACH Visakhapatnam, towards Understanding and Promoting Heritage more than they expected and hoped for. INTACH members too thanked them for their earnest attention and contribution towards the session and way forward.
The Chapter undertook study, research and collation of information pertaining to three main projects:
1. Asoka Edicts Park: - Planning, research & work on the project report of the Asoka Edicts Park at Topra Kalan in District Yamunanagar was taken up by the team comprising of our Chapter members, volunteer professionals & advisors. This project involved study of nearly 25 sites & structures which were erected by Emporer Asoka in 3rd cent BCE.
2. Birds Of Yamunanagar District:- This project involving photography & narrative & study of various Birds of Yamunanagar District is in progress & explained at later part of this report.
3. Buddhist Sites Circuit-Haryana: - This project on ancient sites in Haryana which evolved due to the influence of Buddhist culture in this area which was known as ‘Kuru Pradesh’ in the earlier times covering the period 400 BCE to 5th century CE, has also been undertaken with an aim to visualize a circuit connecting these sites along with those located in adjoining areas of Punjab & Himachal Pradesh. Director Nalanda University & Min of Culture in Delhi are associated with us in the project.
Different teams comprising of members from Yamunanagar Chapter along with professionals & experts are working on their respective projects under supervision & guidance by the Chapter Central Committee.
An Essay Competition for school children was conducted focusing on the Heritage of Bengal organized by the Victoria Memorial Hall. West Bengal Co-Convenor, Nayantara Palchoudhuri was one of the judges along with the Curator of the Hall, Dr Jayanta Sengupta and Ms Piyali Ray of the Calcutta International School. West Bengal State Convenor, Mr. G. M Kapur made a presentation on the Built Heritage of Bengal.
A meeting of the Cuttack Chapter was held on the 15th July 2013 at Akbari Hotel which was attended by almost all he members of the chapter. Mr. P.K. Mishra presented the annual report and the balance sheet of the previous year and informed about the progress of the projects taken up by the chapter. One of the members Sri Sandeep Rath, senior Advocate of the Orissa High Court suggested that INTACH should reach out to colleges and universities to attract young students and involve them in various projects and heritage awareness programs. Dr. Varada R. Hirenath, a renowned dentist of the state attended the meeting as a guest of honor. He enlightened the members about various heritage sites of the states and requested the chapter to indentify those sites and take up the matter with the INTACH head office and the state Govt. The meeting ended with a vote of thanks by Ms. Nivedita Mohanty.
Heritage and Education Communication Service (HECS), INTACH Delhi in collaboration with the INTACH Visakhapatnam chapter convenor Mr. P.V.Prasad organized a two-day teacher training workshop from 12th-13th July 2013 at Vizag for 40 teachers from 17 schools at the Sri Prakash Vidyaniketan, Uplands, Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. The Chief Guest Dr. Ayyagari Prasanna Kumar, Director, Centre for Policy Studies, Visakhapatnam inaugurated the event and spoke about the rich heritage of Visakhapatnam city and the challenges faced by the people in restoring it and the Teachers’ responsibility to spread the awareness about one’s local heritage. He said a secular approach is needed towards heritage. He looked despondent when he said India lacks a sense of history and are ignorant about it. How many of us know that there are 150 Buddhist sites in Andhra Pradesh alone. Heritage Walk was organized for the teachers to Bojjana Konda, a Buddhist site situated in a village called Sankaram located in the district of Visakhapatnam. Ms. Jayshree Hatangadi, Vizag Chapter stressed that the site was under continuous occupation for nearly a 1000 years, right up to the 700 AD. A presentation was given by Ms. Purnima Datt about what makes India unique and its rich heritage and another presentation on HECS, its objectives and Heritage Education programmes. Students of the Sri Prakash Vidyaniketan later performed a folk dance called Tappeta Gullu. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the beating of the drums and their acrobatics. The workshop concluded with felicitations and certificate distribution by Ms. Purnima Datt, Principal Director, HECS-INTACH, Mr. P.V.Prasad, Convener, INTACH Visakhapatnam Chapter along with Ms. Jayshree Hatangadi, Life Member, INTACH Visakhapatnam Chapter.
On 19th July 2013, a one day workshop was organized by INTACH’s Heritage Education and communication Service (HECS) for 48 schools from Delhi and Gurgaon at Sanskriti Kendra, Anandgram. Ms. Purnima Datt, Director HECS INTACH welcomed all the teachers and spoke about one of the trees, a 19 year old Banyan tree and its importance, grown in the complex. Teachers were taken for a museum walk at Sanskriti Kendra exploring the every day art, textiles and Museum of Indian Terracotta. Ms. Datt spoke about the rich heritage and various aspects of India’s heritage through an interactive presentation. She reminded the teachers their responsibility in carrying forward their duty and passing it on their students as to how to respect our heritage.She also discussed the heritage club planner and documentation cards on built and natural heritage. Dr. Shobita Punja, an INTACH member and CEO of National Cultural Fund in their interactive session focused on museum as a resource. She showed different museum artifacts showcased in the gallery and interpreted them through the use of enquiry skills. Ms. Swapna Liddle, Co- convener of Delhi Chapter INTACH speaking about the monuments of Delhi. She stressed that in order to protect one’s heritage, we should know about our heritage and can increase the awareness by adopting a monument, clean up in the monuments. Ms. Moby Sara Zachariah, Programme Coordinator, HECS INTACH in her presentation briefed the significances of Heritage walks and walks conducted by INTACH at different complexes. Ms. Shubra Tandon, Programme Officer, Sanskriti Pratishthan in her presentation enriched the participants about its various projects and initiatives to increase the sensitization among people. Mr. O. P. Jain, founder of Sanskriti Kendra and INTACH founder member encouraged the teachers and invited their students to Anandagram .He said it was important to appreciate our culture. The teachers were given certificates and resource books.
Ms. Anuradha Reddy, Convener, INTACH Hyderabad Chapter organized a talk to sensitize the students about their heritage as they are not heritage club members but they were encouraged to become one. Given below is the circular with details about the programme.
Delhi School of Excellence, Banjara Hills, Hyderabad, moved one step ahead after the formal inauguration of its Heritage Club. With the aim to familiarize and enlighten the students of our rich heritage, Ms. Anuradha Reddy, Convenor, INTACH, Hyderabad chapter, a person endowed with rich knowledge and expertise in the subject, was invited on 3 July 2013. The programme began by students of grade VI and VII taking the heritage pledge .The Prinicipal, Mrs.Suparna Mehrotra, elaborated the entire heritage programme taken up at different levels from PPI to Grade VIII. She also highlighted how the programme is being taken a step further in the form of Heritage Festival and Annual Day celebrations. The guest Ms. Anuradha Reddy made the atmosphere quite informal by sharing her experiences and knowledge with the children connecting the present to the past. She spoke of the British influence on Indian cuisine and it’s connection to a dish like Double ka Meetha. The importance of clock towers in every part of the city was highlighted.. She also applauded the commendable effort taken by the school at different levels and getting the entire school involved in Heritage education.
One- day teacher training workshop was organized for SDAV and SDAPS School, Gurgaon on 27th April 2013 at SDAV School, Sohna Road, Gurgaon by INTACH Gurgaon Chapter. During the introductory session, participants were welcomed and INTACH members were introduced. Principal of SDAV School, Sohna Road, Gurgaon welcomed the participants and resource people and gave a few words of encouragement at the start of the workshop. The session on India's heritage was addressed by Ms Anjali Rai, Member and school Coordinator INTACH Gurgaon Chapter. Film on INTACH was shown to the teachers to tell them about the various divisions of INTACH and roles and duties of the organization. Ms. Purnima Datt, Director HECS showed a presentation highlighting Heritage Education in school, what teachers can do at school level and make heritage education more interesting and meaningful to the students. A movie on INTACH’s various initiatives was shown, followed by the sharing of resource material. Ms Purnima Datt explained the teachers about the concept of heritage clubs and supportive supervision provided by INTACH. Mr. Atul Dev, Convener of INTACH’s Gurgaon Chapter urged the participants to take Pledge on saving and protecting our heritage. The workshop concluded with vote of thanks by Ms. Anjali Saran, an active INTACH member and school coordinator at Gurgaon Chapter.
HaritSankalp – Care for Nature aims at promoting an understanding of natural heritage and learning to care for it among school children. As a part of the Harit Sankalp initiative, an essay-writing competition on a natural heritage feature of the participant’s respective city was held during the heritage week in November 2012 until January 2013.
The award winning national level
entries:
The Marina Beach: A Toast for the Coast (Ananya S, Class VII, Chennai); Pariyon
Ka Talab: Aurangabad’s very own Fairyland (Rajlaxmi Adwant, Class VIII,
Aurangabad); (Not So) Mithi River (Oorva Raut, Class IX, Mumbai); Neelakurinjii
: A Twelfth Year Wonder (Devika S.R., Class VII, Thiruvananthapuram); The
Soon-To-Be Extinct Sparrow (Ipshita Panda, Class VIII, Vishakapatnam); The River
Hooghly (Shreya Saboo, Class VIII, Kolkatta); Owl Slaughter (Smiti Mittal, Class
VI, Delhi – Gurgaon); Tan Tlang (Althea Z.H. Kimi, Class IX, Aizawl); The
Gharana Wetlands Speaks (Kohsheen Pandita, Class IX, Jammu); Safaai Kaamgaar
‘Giddh’ (Nisha Subash Prajapati, Class IX, Chandrapur); Bargad (Bor) Ka Vichitra
Ped (Mansi, Class VI, Phagwara).
Around 6,000 students from classes 6 to 10 across 172 regional chapters of INTACH participated in the competition. About 99 regional winners and 11 national winners were shortlisted. The National winners visited Delhi on a three-day trip from Wednesday, 1 May to Friday, 3 May 2013.Here, they had an opportunity to visit the Lutyen’s Delhi, the Rashtrapati Bhawan, North and South Blocs, Parliament, the Rajpath, the Humayun’s Tomb, the National museum, the Anandgram (museum of everyday art, museum of Indian terracotta, and the Indian textiles), the resource-efficient TERI Retreat for Environmental Awareness and Training and the bio-diversity park, as well as interact with well known heritage and environmental experts. Including, Dr Swapna Liddle (Co-Convenor, Delhi Chapter, INTACH) who discussed about the architectural heritage of Delhi, while Dr Manu Bhatnagar (Principal Director, Natural Heritage Division, INTACH) highlighted the Natural Heritage Conservation efforts undertaken in Delhi. On the third and final day of the visit, the national winners were addressed by Dr R K Pachauri (Director General, TERI),Dr. C.T. Misra, (Member Secretary INTACH),Mr Maninder Singh (Joint Secretary, Ministry of Forest and Environment, Government of India), and Mr Rupin Dang (eminent Wild life filmmaker) at an award ceremony. They were congratulated for their award winning essays and appreciated for their commitment to protect and promote the precious natural heritage of their respective Cities.
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3 Visit to DPS Mathura Road and Award Ceremony
Dr. R.K. Pachauri was the Chief Guest at the Harit Sankalp: Care for Nature Award ceremony. He stressed on the fact that though we talk about economic growth, we do not consider the debt we owe to our mother nature. He said as young leaders we should all take appropriate steps to bring harmony to nature around us. He quoted Mahatma Gandhi who said that the speed is irrelevant if we go in wrong direction. So, we have to persevere for the right cause. He also argued that we all know about global change, yet we take it for granted. He later ended his speech by praising the efforts taken by INTACH to conserve and protect our nature and promised to be in full support of TERI in future collaborations.
Shri Maninder Singh, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Environment and Forests was the Guest of Honour at the award ceremony. He took special interest in the essays written by the 11 national winners and individually discussed few excerpts and appreciate what all we have in our surroundings, and so less we fail to acknowledge.
Rupin Dang, eminent Wild life filmmaker as Guest of Honour appreciated the efforts taken by the National Winners of Harit Sankalp. He particularly emphasized on the importance of communicating and spreading awareness about the protection of our natural heritage. He also shot a documentary wherein the students spoke for a minute about their favorite natural heritage feature and the steps they have taken in general to keep them clean. For the winners it was a wonderful opportunity to share their environmental concern with the global audience.
Day 3
On the occasion of World Heritage Day, INTACH New Delhi organized a workshop on Heritage Awareness on Thursday 18 April 2013, from 08:00 – 09:30 am at the Anglo Arabic Senior Secondary School, New Delhi.
The Anglo Arabic Secondary School established in the 1690s by Ghaziuddin Khan (the Deccan Commander and General of the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb), is among the oldest educational institutions in Delhi. It was established in the 1690s by Ghaziuddin Khan, the Deccan commander and general of Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb. It opened as a madrasa and took the name of its founder, was known as Madrasa Ghaziuddin Khan for a long time. After functioning as a boys' school for 350 years, it has decided to admit girls. The school was converted into Anglo Arabic College by the British in 1828. This was also one of the first institutions in India where English language and literature was introduced. Over the last three centuries it went by many other names – Anglo Arabic College, Delhi College, Zakir Hussain College. In the centre of this school stands the Masjid Nawab Ghaziuddin Khan Masjid.
Given the rich historic legacy of this site as well as its vibrant tradition of promoting educationthat is spread across decades, the Anglo Arabic Secondary School offers a perfect historic setting to host a workshop on Heritage Awareness. Around 500 from classes 6-12 participated in the talk conducted by Ms Purnima Datt (Director, Heritage Education, INTACH) and the HECS team who will discuss INTACH’s World Heritage City nomination campaign for Delhi. The importance of Shahjahanabad, was taken up by the noted historian Dr Swapna Liddle (Co-Convenor Delhi Chapter, INTACH) .She highlighted the various aspects of Shahjahanabad’s Heritage as well as the heritage of this unique school. The recently published book in Urdu as well as the poster on Saving the Monuments will also be released.
Volunteer Enewsletter Released on 18th April World Heritage Day
A 10 page enewsletter for college volunteers was released on world Heritage Day. This is a forum for colleges to share and learn about initiatives taken up by them to care for their city’s heritage. Education is at the very heart of INTACH’s endeavours to preserve national heritage and enlighten the public of its constitutional role as 'Trustees of Heritage'. INTACH’s Heritage Volunteer Training is a pioneering initiative that has been undertaken with the support and endorsement received from the Ministry of Culture, Government of India. It endeavours to sensitize the youth to protect their heritage and train them to lead a nation-wide movement for heritage conservation and preservation.
Films on Heritage to be Shown in Kolkata
Short films made under HECS’s Filmit programme were shown at the Victoria Memorial museum for students of Kolkata on World Heritage Day
FM Radio Rainbow programme at 7 am for World Heritage Day
Outreach across the country on World Heritage Day to bring out the role of heritage on this day.An interview was conducted with Ms Purnima Datt to bring out the importance of this day, Delhi’s heritage, world heritage sites as well the role of youth in protecting heritage.
On 11th April 2013, there was a heritage walk workshop organized for 13 students from Sardar Patel Vidyalaya at INTACH by HECS team. The workshop started with Ms. Purnima Datt, Director, HECS INTACH welcoming the students and the teacher. They were shown the film on INTACH to tell them about the various divisions and works undertaken by INTACH and its divisions. After the film, Ms. Purnima Datt showed them a presentation about the rich heritage of India and various categories of Heritage and what can we do to preserve them. This was followed by another presentation by Ms. Moby Sara Zachariah, Programme coordinator emphasizing on the importance of heritage walks, steps to conduct a proper walk and how to become a good walk leader. She stressed that a good walker require genuine passion and thorough research and preparation is important for conducting walks. After a short tea break, the group was taken to Lodi Garden for a heritage walk conducted by Ms. Moby Sara Zachariah. The walk started with the interesting history of the place and it also covered monuments such as tomb of Muhammad Shah, Bara Gumbad and the mosque, Sheesh Gumbad, Tomb of Sikander Lodi and concluded at Athpula. The walk aimed at showing them how to conduct a walk, they were asked to maintain the eye contact during the walks, lead the team from the front and keep the walk friendly and interesting. The team members, Mr. Abhishek Das, Programme coordinator and Ms. Bashobi Banerjee, Research and Programme coordinator provided tremendous support and helped to organize the workshop and distribute the resource material.
Topics- painting competition on our National monuments & declamation contest on Haryana Heritage
1. On the spot painting competition on our National monuments & declamation contest on Haryana Heritage took place at KL Mehta Dayanand College for Women, Faridabad on 4th April 2013 in which 60 girls took part . 4 girls each in both the category were given prizes.
2. Declamation contest on *Importance of Haryana Heritage & Monuments * took place at Aggarwal College for Women, Ballabgarh on 8th April 2013 in which 32 girls took part .Three main & two consolation prizes were given .
Both the colleges have dedicated a small portion of their Libraries to INTACH activities.
Heritage and Education Communication Service (HECS), INTACH Delhi in collaboration with the INTACH Kangra chapter convenor Mrs. Malvika Pathania organized a two-day teacher training workshop from 1st -2nd April 2013 at Kangra for 60 teachers from 12 schools at the G.A.V. Public School, Kangra, Himachal Pradesh. The Chief resource person Ravi Kaul, Conservation Assistant, Archaeological Survey of India spoke about the rich heritage of Kangra city and the challenges faced by the people in restoring it. A presentation was given by Ms. Purnima Datt, Director, HECS about what makes India unique and its rich heritage and another presentation on HECS, its objectives and Heritage Education programmes. The workshop concluded with felicitations by Dr. Kshama Metre, National Director, Chinmaya Organization for Rural Development (CORD) who gave away the prizes.
Intach Vishakhapatnam Chapter in association with Rotary Club celebrated World Storytelling Day on 20th March 2013 at the Palm Beach in Vishakhapatnam, an event actively participated by both young and old. Ms Deepa Kiran, a professional story teller has a unique way of telling the stories which can only be experienced. She narrated many stories including the story ‘Fate and fortune’ and ended the session with a very interesting story about how the sea becomes salty.
On the 79th All India Kannada Literary Conference held on 9th to 11th February 2013 after 90 years in the historical city of Bijapur. More than 5 lakhs people attended the conference. Being historical city world class monuments of Bijapur were attracted more than conference. INTACH Bijapur chapter in association with ASI Bijapur took interest in keeping all monuments clean and more attractive. However India’s 2nd biggest well [water body] Taj Bavdi was not in the list of protected monuments either by ASI or State. And it was worst to be seen in and around the well. Hence Bijapur chapter decided to clean it with the help of public and like minded people on 6th February 2013, three days before commencing conference. On 6th from morning 8 hrs to till 7 hrs of evening members of INTACH and Government officials along with public were participated in the cleaning programme. About 15 load garbage was lifted by municipal workers. Deputy Commissioner Bijapur appreciated the work done by INTACH Bijapur chapter. Print and electronic media widely published the news of the event along with photos.
Day 1- 23rd February 2013
INTACH Warangal Chapter in association with Kakatiya Heritage Trust and Kakatiya
University organized a two days workshop on “Heritage Education” on 23rd
February and 24th February 2013 at the Silver Jubilee Seminar Hall of University
Arts and Science College for the 140 college students and 13 teachers of local
colleges of Warangal District. After Prof. Deva Pratap, Co-convener, I NTACH
Warangal Chapter welcomed the guests, Sri Pradyumna, IAS, Joint Collector and
Additional District Magistrate, Warangal the chief guest informed the students
about the significance of conservation and preservation of our monuments and
heritage for future generations. Prof. Rajagopala Chary, Principal, University
Arts and Science College, Warangal, the guest of honor, advised the students to
take active part in spreading the message about the preservation of the
monuments of this region. Prof. M. Pandu Ranga Rao, Convener, INTACH Warangal
Chapter informed the activities of INTACH and advised students to take active
part in INTACH activities. Dr. Vidyanath, Member, INTACH, Warangal Chapter spoke
on preservation and restoration of monuments with special reference to Fort
Warangal and Thousand Pillar Temple. The students were taken to field trip to
Fort Warangal, Museum and Thousand Pillar Temple. Sri Mallesham of ASI explained
the restoration work progress and excavation works in Fort Warangal. Sri Ranga
Chary, Deputy Directior (retd.), AP State Archaeological Department, explained
about the arty facts and other activities in AP State Archaeological Museum. At
thousand pillar temple, Prof. M. Pandu Ranga Rao explained the rebuilding
activity of Kalyana Mandapam of Thousand Pillar Temple by ASI and about the
preservation and restoration of distressed monuments.
Day 2- 24th February 2013
Prof. B. Venkata Ratnam, Vice
Chancellor, Kakatiya University, advised the students to take active role in the
preservation of our heritage structures of their surroundings for future
generation and also the work done by the Kakatiya rulers for development of this
region. Sri Ranga Chary, Deputy Directior (retd.), AP State Archaeological
Department explained the restoration and listing activities in the Warangal
District with special focus on Ramappa Temple and Ghanpur group of Temples. The
students and the teachers were taken to the Pandavula Gutta and Ghanpur group of
temples to show them the excavation and restoration activity. Then the students
proceeded to Ramappa Temple. Prof. M. Pandu Ranga Rao explained the construction
technology adopted by the Kakatiyas in construction of temples and irrigation
structures, the floating bricks and carvings of Nagini figures in different
dance forms. Mr. Samba Shiva Kumar, Senior Conservation Assistant, ASI,
explained the activities of ASI in preservation and reconstruction and
conservation practices. Sri B.V. Papa Rao, IAS (Retd), was the chief guest who
advised the students to participate as volunteers in the task of preservation
and protection of monuments of this region.
Heritage Run was organized by INTACH on 24TH November,2012 from Leisure Valley Park as part of Heritage Week Celebration from 19th to 24 th November. Students from various schools in Gurgaon participated in the run. Students from Chiranjiv Bharati School, Sushant Lok also participated in the Heritage Run. A band of dummers and flute players from Delhi public School and Shalom Hills International School performed at the event and the run started at about 8.30 a.m. and ended up at 10a.m. Students were given T-shirts, hats and refreshments by the organizers and a certificate was awarded to the Participants by INTACH, New Delhi. The students enjoyed the pleasant morning with the rising sun.
Chiranjiv Bharati School,Sushant Lok, Gurgaon.
INTACH Faridabad / Palwal is happy to inform you all that one more school, APJ Svarn Global School, SECTOR 21D, FARIDABAD was enrolled under Young Heritage Clubs in Nov 12, 2012. 35 students from 6th to 8th class were given INTACH badges & passports. Mr. Anand Mehta, Convener, INTACH Faridabad / Palwal Chapter advised the club about the activities to be undertaken by the school. Children were taken on Heritage tour of Delhi by the school management with the support of Mrs Vohra, Principal after the setting up of the Heritage club.
As part of the process of nominating Delhi as a UNESCO, World Heritage City, INTACH, Delhi Chapter has over the last two years, initiated various activities to generate awareness among the citizens of Delhi and the public at large. A set of Tourism Literature part of the World Monuments Fund’s, Sustainable Tourism Initiative sponsored by American Express Ms. Amita Baig, India Representative of the World Monuments Fund that covers all the heritage sites in Delhi is one such initiative. This set of 20 booklets and 18 walk foldouts was edited by Annabel Lopez and Swapna Liddle and designed by Alpana Khare. The publication will be launched by the Chief Minister of Delhi, Smt. Sheila Dikshit, on 13th February 2013 at the Delhi Secretariat in the presence of Shri M M Kutty, Principal Secretary Tourism; Shri Manish Chatrath, Chairman, Delhi Tourism and Transportation Development Corporation, Maj. Gen. (Retd) L. K. Gupta (AVSM), Chairman, INTACH and Prof A G K Menon, Convenor, INTACH, Delhi Chapter. The Heritage Education and Communication Services, INTACH, headed by Ms. Purnima Datt and her team Ms. Moby Sara Zachariah and Mr. Abhishek Das, programme coordinators, Ms. Priya Sinha, Delhi Chapter along with Ms. Arshiya Sethi, Managing Director of Kri Foundation reached out to the young citizens in all the 35 participant schools. The Chief Minister handed over the trophies, certificates and cash prizes to the winners of the competitions. The function was attended by all 40 prize winners and the head girl/head boy and principals/teachers from the participant schools. The school principal and head girl/boy had signed a pledge to look after Delhi’s Heritage. At the function, Shri G G Saxena, Managing Director of DTTDC, the nodal agency for the nomination process lead the school children as they pledge to nurture Delhi’s Heritage. A compilation of these pledge cards was handed over to the Chief Minister of Delhi. Paintings and Posters created by the students was printed as cards, postcards and posters which were distributed by INTACH and DTTDC.
Founder’s Day
Adopt a Tree -Book Release
To commemorate Founder’s Day at INTACH, Heritage and Education Communication Service (HECS) released Adopt a Tree on 1st February 2013 as a part of the ‘INTACH Heritage Education’ series for raising awareness about protecting the rich natural heritage of India. Adopt a Tree a publication funded by Ministry of Culture is yet another step towards bringing together young minds to care for our environment. The concept and text development is credited to Ms. Purnima Datt and Ms Chandni Sengupta and the design by Ms. Anitha Balachandran and editing by Ms. Bashobi Banerjee. The book was released by Maj. Gen. L.K. Gupta, Chairman, INTACH at the end of the day’s celebration.
INTACH Srikakulam Chapter conducted Classical south Indian Carnatic music concerts of a Chennai based singer Sri Alepy Venkatesan, in three educational institutions namely Social welfare residential school for Girls Peddapadu village, Govt. women’s hostel of Govt College for women and Govt.girls high school Srikakulam on 10th and 11th February 2013. The programs were sponsored by Spicmacay organization and the local hospitality is only provided by INTACH. In all the three concerts, M.Sathyanarayana, a violinist and M.Suryaprakasarao a Mridangam player were the accompanying artists. The artist gave an elaborate demonstrative lecture explaining the nuances of south Indian classical music quoting a number saint poets and vaggeyakaras and sang the compositions for one hour at each venue. He urged the younger generations to practice and preserve the heritage of classical music. The INTACH chapter of Srikakulam hosted and local hospitality provided to the artist.
The INTACH Thanjavur Chapter in collaboration with Kalai Aayam and Periyar Maniyammai University jointly organized the National Tourism Day and INTACH Foundation Day program at Thanjavur on 30th January 2013. Painting and photography competitions, in which around a 100 students from 10 different colleges took part, were held during the program. The winners received prizes and all participants were awarded certificates. A Heritage Awareness Campaign, presided over by Dr. V. Varadarajan, EC Member, INTACH, followed the competition and the award ceremony. Mr. Dhenuga, an Art Critic, ended the program with a Heritage Lecture.
INTACH Hyderabad chapter inaugurated a heritage club in Vignan Techno Spaes School Huzurnagar, Hyderabad in the month of February 2013. INTACH chapter and Mr. Mohammad Shaker Ali, Program Officer,The heritage club was inaugurated by Ms Anuradha Reddy,Convenor Hyderabad Chapter Children and Youth Activities organized an exhibition of the models made by the students of Heritage Clubs on the Heritage of their city as a part of COVA-Ican Project Hyderabad. This was well received by the community in Hyderabad. The project was a successful one conducted by Hyderabad Chapter with the initiatives of Ms Anuradha Reddy.
A two-day workshop on the Heritage Volunteer Training was commemorated on 15th -16th January 2013 by the HECS team. Around 42 undergraduate history students from Lady Shri Ram College, Miranda House, St.Stephens, Gargi College, Sri Venkateshwara and Jesus and Mary college accompanied by their college teacher representatives of Delhi University participated in this workshop. The workshop was inaugurated by Chairman INTACH, Maj. Gen. (Retd.) L.K. Gupta (AVSM) and Joint Secretary, Ministry of Culture, Dr. V. Venu with the book release of Hands for Heritage: INTACH Volunteer Kit. Ms. Purnima Datt, Heritage Education and Communication Service (HECS), INTACH, New Delhi started the workshop with an interactive session.
During the workshop, the participants were exposed to the various components of heritage; training on ways to conduct heritage walks; an outline on the heritage of Delhi as well as the on-going Heritage City nomination initiative. The participants also got an overview about INTACH and the heritage conservation projects being undertaken by the various divisions with series of lectures by (HECS, Architecture, Natural, Material, Intangible, CCTCB and Delhi Chapter).
The workshop emphasized on volunteerism and role of a Heritage Volunteer; highlighted various aspects of heritage and its listings; the heritage of Delhi and its nomination as a World Heritage City; as well as raised general awareness on various heritage issues gripping the nation.
The second day started with a heritage walk to Safdurjung’s Tomb and Lodi Gardens. The participants expressed an interest to become ‘Heritage-Volunteers’ and support the heritage initiatives of INTACH. Further, they outlined a calendar of heritage activities to be undertaken by them at their respective colleges and neighbourhood. The workshop ended with distribution of certificates and words of encouragement by the Member Secretary, Dr. C.T. Mishra and Chairman, Maj. Gen. (Retd.) L.K. Gupta.
Under the INTACH Udaipur new initiatives in 2013 on Heritage Education and awareness programmes in Heritage Clubs, INTACH Udaipur chapter had arranged a visit by 150 students of Heritage Club and 10 staff members to the City Palace Museum with 3 Guides on 26th December 2012. This initiative is a result of net working with other organizations independently. From 2013 onwards INTACH Udaipur would require assistance from Governmental like CCRT Udaipur and non governmental organizations for the following activities such as Heritage Awareness Workshops with renowned artists and dance forms of music Indian classical and folk, Musical Instrument, craft workshop on sculpture (statue, idols etc.), Indian handicrafts, Tie & Die (Bandhani), Paper mache, Pottery, Toy from drift wood, Block printing, Mural painting, Phad painting etc, Study Tours to Heritage Sites, Museums, Nature Interpretation Tours with Experts in Wildlife Sanctuaries and biodiversity areas, Audio-Visual Presentations with talk by Subject Matter Specialists on Mewar Architecture, Ahar civilization, Archaeological excavation, Save water, Clean and Green City etc. A new proposal of 3 Heritage Clubs of Alok Group of Schools, Alok Sansthan Udaipur is approved for convening a Workshop of 3 Days with 3 to 4 hours each day for 600 students 12 years to 17 years in age.
