The Bengaluru chapter of the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage has kickstarted celebrations for World Heritage Day, which falls on April 18.
It has scheduled walks, workshops, treasure hunts and talks to celebrate Bengaluru’s heritage for 10 days beginning April 8.
The best part? You can attend all these events from the comfort of your home. The events are being conducted on social media platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, as well as Zoom.
“The biggest challenge is, of course, that of technology. Even today we had to tackle a few glitches. We had more participants than we anticipated. But we are learning,” explains Meera Iyer, convenor, INTACH Bangalore.
Hita Unnikrishnan, a Newton International Fellow at the Urban Institute, University of Sheffield, and visiting faculty at Azim Premji University started off the programme with a virtual walkthrough ampangiramanagara in the heart of Bengaluru.
She took participants on a virtual walk from the Kasturba Road entrance of the Kanteerava stadium to Vittal Mallya Road, St Joseph’s institutions, Sri Sampigehalli Beereshwara Swamy Temple, Raja Ram Mohan Roy Rd, Sampangi Rama Nagar to Cubbon Road, before ending the walk at the stadium. She used screenshots of Google Maps, pictures and the help of her audience’s imagination for the walk.
At each of these locations, she spoke about what remains of the landscape’s past. “There is so much we don’t know about the city. And these events are a great way to bring that past into the public consciousness,” she says.
There were many glitches. At one point she got locked out of the
conversation because of connectivity problems.
“At another point there were just pink and red squiggly lines on my screen. But these were expected,” she says. On the plus side, there were about 100 participants, which is a huge number compared to the numbers that turn up for the physical walks.
‘We are living at a time when the things that make a community are missing. So these events will help bring that sense of connection. It is also a great way to disengage from your routine, and learn something new,” she adds.
How to take part
Check out the INTACH page on Facebook for details or visit www.zoom.us/j/196574891?pwd= Z2R5cS9qRkRwTGFMaWRqd3AxYm1aZz09 to join in on the sessions.
Use the meeting ID 196 574 891 and password 069380.
What is lined up
April 12, 4.30 pm: The Temple as a Performance Space, by art historian Gayathri Iyer.
April 13, 4.30 pm: A Virtual Open House at a Conservation Site: the Octroi Post at Mysore Road, by Chetana Hamsagar, Ramya Rajan and Pankaj Modi.
April 14, 4.30 pm: The Bengaluru Heritage Quiz! by Thejaswi Udupa.
April 18, 4 pm: Shared Cultures, Shared Heritage, Shared Responsibilities - A Conversation between Architect Bijoy Ramachandran and artist Suresh Jayaram. An online treasure hunt in collaboration with FlippAR.
On till April 18
The #SketchWithINTACH #HeritageAtHome sketching event, which began on April 8, will go on till 17th. It is led by architect Sahesra Muguntan, who works with INTACH. Each day a theme will be given and people will be asked to share sketches on Instagram or Facebook.
Virtual opportunity
“We usually have a few events on the days leading up to World Heritage Day. We thought the lockdown would be a great opportunity to help people connect to the city’s heritage, especially since people are looking to be a part of something bigger than themselves,” says Meera Iyer, convenor, INTACH.
The theme for this year is ‘Shared Cultures, Shared Heritage, Shared Responsibility’. “It is one that will resonate with many. If the current scenario shows anything, it is that we are all connected to each other,” she says. The trust logo, she points out, is also symbolic of a similar idea; that protecting and upholding the country’s heritage is a shared responsibility.
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