Top Honor for Sahapedia's India Heritage Walks
newsdepo.com
Sahapedia’s India Heritage Walks Project has been conferred with the prestigious Grand Award 2019 given by Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA). What makes the award more special is the fact that Sahapedia is one of only four organizations bestowed with tTop Honor for Sahapedia's India Heritage Walks
Sahapedia’s India Heritage Walks Project has been conferred with the prestigious Grand Award 2019 given by Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA). What makes the award more special is the fact that Sahapedia is one of only four organizations bestowed with the Grand Award from a field comprising 197 entries from 78 organizations and individuals worldwide, and the only one in the “Heritage and Culture” category.The recognition comes early in the life of India Heritage Walks Project, as it was founded less than three years ago, in November 2016. And in this short time span, it has grown beyond the expectations of its founders, covering more than 60 cities across the country, and organizing heritage walks woven around a variety of themes. It was formerly known as Sahapedia Walks.After the announcement of the award in July, Vaibhav Chauhan, Secretary, Sahapedia and Director of India Heritage Walks, said, the biggest acknowledgement of the success of the project came from the users who received it with open arms. “Apart from the big cities, where a few standalone walks do take place, our strength has come from Tier II and III cities. We didn’t expect so much enthusiasm.”An important reason behind the ardor with which people across the country have received the India Heritage Walks is the absence of any integrated heritage walk offering so far. Said Chauhan, “Though cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, etc. do have heritage walks in their annual cultural calendar, there has not been a single, connected, comprehensive effort. Many initiatives have come up in the past six-seven years, but none has been scaled up to include cities across the country, apart from INTACH. That’s why India Heritage Walks has hit off with the users. The North East, particularly, has been a great discovery.”Users are an important component of the India Heritage Walks as the project aims at hiving off the “elitist” tag generally associated with heritage walks. Said Chauhan, “Strangely, heritage walks have generally been considered ‘elitist’ and many interested people have stayed away imagining it to be beyond their means. We have tried to do away with this notion by including even those groups of people who would never have imagined attending a heritage walk — homeless women, underprivileged children, and more. Besides, we were careful that the heritage walk conductor is not someone from outside coming in and preaching but someone from among the people.”Chauhan informed that not all walk leaders are historians but people from various walks of life. He added that often people are surprised to discover new things about their own cities, as leaders and participants both bring a lot to the walk. All this becomes super interesting given the fact that the India Heritage Walks does not charge a fee. A quick browse through the website indiaheritagewalks.org throws up a wide array of walks. For instance, upcoming walks include such interesting ones like: “A Food Walk through the Streets of Fort Cochin,” Kochi, and “Tracing Art Forms in the Galleries of the Indian Museum,” Kolkata (both on Sunday, September 29); “A Walk to the Town Hall Museum,” Kolhapur, and “Paintings and Woodwork, Exploring the Arts of the Maratha Period,” Pune (both on Sunday, October 6); and many more. A look at the past walks is also an eye-opener, given the towns and themes covered: “The Mysterious Datia Palace,” conducted in Datia town of Madhya Pradesh on August 24, “The Majestic Churches of Baroda,” held on August 18 in Vadodara, “Walking Through the Historical Town of Andul,” held on August 18 in Howrah, and many more.Given its limitless scope, the India Heritage Walks is a year-long program, designed to suit local conditions of a particular city in a particular month. “Yes, the possibilities are limitless. We do day-long walks, there are multi-day walks, depending on what fits in the scheme of things at a particular time. The potential is huge even in terms of themes. From food walks, such as the Ramzan Food Walk to one dedicated to Wall Paintings of North India, or a walk on the Role of Women to observe March 8, the International Women’s Day... there is so much that we do and can be done. The beauty of these walks is that you can learn a lot in just one walk. It’s not just text books that impart knowledge, almost all of it is out there to see and learn,” said Chauhan.The project also holds an annual India Heritage Walk Festival in February, a month-long festival led by Sahapedia. With its varied lineup, it explores the diversity that characterizes the cultural fabric of the country, featuring themes such as, food, heritage, nature, art, architecture, and more. The festival includes walks, talks, and films from across India, covering a broad spectrum of Indian culture.“The whole idea is to make cultural spaces more interesting and inclusive. ‘Saha’ in Sanskrit stands for ‘together’ and we want to include every interested individual in our efforts. India’s heritage and culture is so immense that this field offers immense opportunities. We even share our template with individuals who reach out to us, to conduct walks in their spheres. I think the concept of heritage walks is going to catch on in a big way.”The only challenge in this rosy story is that of limited funding. Chauhan said that India Heritage Walks is supported by Axis Bank and the TCS Foundation but more support would definitely be welcome. “We are trying to get more,” he said. India Heritage Walks is a movement that definitely deserves more power.Visit www.sahapedia.org, www.indiaheritagewalks.org, and www.indiaheritagewalkfestival.org for details. p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 18.0px Times} https://www.blouinartinfo.com/ Founder: Louise Blouin Read more