Badami and Aihole in Bagalkot district are all set to get the World Heritage Site status. If things go as planned, the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) may declare Badami and Aihole, known as the cradle of Chalukyan architecure, as the new World Heritage Sites in the State.
The Dharwad Circle of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has prepared a dossier, seeking extension of the World Heritage Site status, given to Pattadkal, to these towns too. The dossier will be submitted to the Director General of ASI, New Delhi, and later it will be forwarded to the UNESCO through the Union Culture Ministry.
“Pattadkal temple complex is one of the only two World Heritage Sites, the other being Hampi, in Karnataka. Considering the universal value and artistic splendour, UNESCO accorded the World Heritage Status to temples at Pattadkal way back in 1982.
Now, we are seeking the extension of this status to Chalukyan monuments in Badami and Aihole, which are near Pattadkal,” said T Srilakshmi, Superintending Archaeologist of the Dharwad Circle of ASI.
She said, after the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act (Amendment and Validation) was enacted in 2010, protection and conservation of the Centrally Protected Monuments in the State had gained momentum. The new proposal to include Badami and Aihole in the list of World Heritage Sites would accelerate the momentum.
“Our previous experiences tell us that getting the World Heritage Status for Badami and Aihole may not be a problem as Pattadkal is already in the list,” Srilakshmi said.
The high-level officials of the Union Culture Ministry will meet in November to discuss the proposals to be sent to UNESCO. The UNESCO, which will meet in 2013 in Spain, will announce the new list of World Heritage Sites.
“There is evidence to prove that the temple architecture had evolved in Badami and Aihole much before the Chalukyan period in the 3rd century. Therefore, the monuments in these two ancient towns are most eligible to be included in the list of World Heritage Sites,” explained Prof Geetanjali Rao, director of Art, Architecture, Design Environment Consultants (AEDI) - who along with other experts - prepared the dossier for ASI.
She said, Durga temple at Aihole and four caves near Agasthya lake in Badami were known for their unique architecture characteristics. The UNESCO tag would help conserve these invaluable cultural properties in a better way.
The temple and cave architecture in Pattadkal, Aihole and Badami had reached its peak during the reign of Chalukyan kings Pulikeshi, Immadi Pulikeshi, Mangalesh, Vikramaditya, Vinayaditya in the 6th century.