World Heritage Day is celebrated every year on 18 April to preserve the human heritage and to recognize all the efforts of relevant organizations. The International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) in 1982 announced, 18 April as the World Heritage Day. This was approved by General Assembly of UNESCO in 1983, with an aim of enhancing awareness about the importance of cultural heritage, monuments, to conserve them, to draw attention towards their vulnerability, the efforts required to protect and conserve it.

What is Heritage and who owns it? Should it be dictated by a small ethnic group, or governed by anyone, who migrates to the land? Can Heritage change with course of time? Should we demolish buildings and forget our language?

History is the narrative, the written word, interpretations. Heritage is tangible, objective, food, religion, culuture, music, building, people, places. We have evolved, adapted and changed. The Taj Mahal has four structures of which one is Hindu and one very Christian. So is it truly Muslim?

India as it existed a thousand years ago as Jambudwip included Burma, Nepal, Afghanistan. The invaders left their mark on the people, their thought process and food. The Samosa was actually a food of the West relished by Pythagaros. It was filled with minced meat and it travelled many miles to the present day avatar. Potato was an innovation. India today is the largest producer but it came from the West and was more expensive than meat. So a samosa filled wth potato was a delicacy. Wajid Ali Shah added it to the Biryani to add flavour and the rest is History (albeit of the present day)

The concept of Shunya, Astrology, astronomy, literature, epics, music have evolved with time and reflect nuances of a bygone era.  The detailing, accuracy, proportions, the soul of the edifices that our ancestors have built –we have not been able to replicate. One should indubitably save these for posterity.

 

Can we actually obliterate Heritage from our lives? It pervades every aspect of our existence. If we do try to blot it out we would go back to starting from scratch – with Heiroglyphics?! Who owns Heritage? Each one of us do. It is not merely physical structures but the cultural fabric, aspirations, shame  of our society enshrined in the buildings neighbourhoods and shared spaces. It is embodied in our Arts, literature, language, poetry, song.  Time is an essential component of Heritage.

 

We should take pride in our antecedents, have a vision and strategy to preserve and restore. We need statutory protection and often talk of Corporate Social Responsibility. Unless we personally connect and draw sustenance from our tangible and intangible heritage. Working on the concept of Individual Social Responsibility,  we start at home, involve the immediate community to make the case for a vibrant social movement of change, to inspire, to value the past and prepare for a better future.

 

We need change, we need awareness and let us respect, restore and reuse what we have! History is a great teacher and these stones can certainly speak a language to inform educate and instruct us of objective and subjective realities of the past.