Author: Vinita Deshmukh
Publication: The Times of India
Date: September 16, 2004
How can you be proud of your culture
if you destroy links with history?
Can't blame Gautam Bhatia really
('Bungle oh! There's Amar Singh's house', IE, September 14). He is
a typical forward-looking guy of Urban India, whose idea of Modern
India is development at any cost. Many like him love to talk with
an air of sarcasm and cynicism about archaic laws and wax eloquent
on the hell-with-heritage-rules theme.
All because most urban and very
educated Indians look at our past with disdain, in fact with indifference.
They mix up ''archaeology'' with ''heritage'' and are quite happy/indifferent
that some faceless government babus in various offices of the Archaeological
Survey of India across the country see to some monuments in the country.
Never mind if they see them still crumbling and neglected during
their tourist visits - hardly anyone is going to complain about it
or even write a letter to the editor.
And when it comes to heritage conservation
- which in simple yet strict terms means conservation of structures
within the city or town which showcase landmarks associated with
important historical events, thus making them worthy of special care;
which have aesthetic or architectural value and reflect a unique
lifestyle or culture of the past; which are of social value, connoting
the cultural or uniquely local significance of those places; which
are associated with natural sites and sites of scenic beauty (it
could include hills, lakes, rivers, etc) - there's a problem in accepting
the need for conservation. All because it becomes inconvenient to
make any changes as per one's whims and fancies. So, it often pinches
to back heritage.
In most developed countries, the
link with the past is kept alive through stringent heritage conservation
rules, through heritage structures, even if skyscrapers dominate
the urban skyline and the city is technologically advanced. Singapore
is a great example of this phenomenon - the Boat Quay neighbourhood
in downtown Singapore, comprising elegantly styled cottages, has
been carefully preserved.
Why, nearer home in Pondicherry,
the government in association with Italian and French experts has
taken up a unique heritage conservation programme. Here, the great
fusion of Indian and French architecture is being preserved - this
includes entire lanes, not just isolated structures. Why, Mumbai's
entire Marine Drive area is called a precinct in heritage terms.
How can you be proud about your
culture and heritage if you don't have links to your past? Heritage
structures and precincts stand mute testimony and remind you of your
back stories.
