THURSDAY, MAY 02, 2024
Frazer Andrade
The International Day for Monuments and Sites also known as World Heritage Day is an observance held on 18th April every year around the world. Sadly, Heritage in India is given the least importance among every other thing on Earth! It is the need of the hour that the spark of the love for heritage is ignited into the hearts of children and youth so that they contribute in efficiently preserving the past, for the future to witness. One needs to remember that without the past, there cannot be the present and without the present there cannot be a future. Our heritage is our identity and the citizens of India have been blessed to have such rich and culturally diverse heritage with influences from all over the world. Sadly, a lot of this Indian and Indo- Western heritage is left to die a slow death. To begin with, one should individually try to preserve both tangible and intangible heritage belonging to one’s state. What could be better than having more and more individuals working in these lines?
Heritage may be defined as features belonging to the culture of a particular society, such as traditions, nature, food, languages or buildings that were created in the past. India has been blessed with tons of it which has been acquired down the centuries. Various dynasties which have ruled the nation have made some truly remarkable contributions to its heritage. The national pledge of India requires every citizen of the nation to take pride in the varied heritage, the country is blessed with. Unfortunately, most of those who pledge to safeguard the country’s heritage are the ones involved in the systematic destruction of the same.
Politicians holding power, in order to seek national attention are seen fighting to retrieve antiquities belonging to India from other nations, but unfortunately forget to care for the antiquities already existing in the country and hence are left to decay and ultimately perish. Natural heritage is being conveniently destroyed. Indians have always attributed religious sentiments to nature, so as to ensure its protection. Ironically, in a country where rivers, plantations and trees have been considered sacred, rampant destruction of this natural heritage is seen happening in full swing. Not many days ago, about 200-year-old banyan trees in the capital of Goa mere attempted to be killed.
Noted historian from Goa, Sir. Prajal Sakhardande expresses his grief by saying ‘Age old heritage trees are being mercilessly slaughtered in our beautiful capital city of Panjim. Panjim was one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Money making racketeers of the Smart City project have finished our city. Two beautiful Heritage trees have been cut at the altar of so- called development. One Banyan tree has been so called translocated but it will not survive. Our green heritage of Panjim is being desecrated by these unscrupulous authorities’. India, a democratic nation is home to diverse communities having their distinct culinary heritage. Sadly, this culinary heritage has been attempted to be interfered with, thus initiating destruction of traditional food practices of various communities across the nation, by governing authorities trying to control what one should eat and what one should not.
Goa is dotted with beautiful ornate or sometimes simple designed religious shrines like crosses and ghumtis along road sides. The crosses for example look beautiful when kept in their traditional form, painted with white wash. It is unfortunate that today, due to the ignorance of many, "over enthusiastic people”, these beautiful white washed structures are being mercilessly tiled in bathroom tiles, thus covering several architectural aspects of the structure, making them ugly and sometimes literally eyesores. Most people today have a lot of money, but sadly lack the sense of preserving these marvels of heritage, adopting appropriate techniques, thus not retaining the originality of the structure.
Jude Fernandes, B.Ed. teacher trainee from Vasco says, ‘Heritage is our social identity that keeps us rooted. It includes far more than merely artefacts and monuments. A lot of it is intangible. Think of the riddles and folktales you grew up with! The first step to preservation is awareness’. Further he states that the onus is on us to ask questions and learn about our culture, beginning with our neighborhood. Talk to elders and experts. Cultivate curiosity among youngsters. Technology has come a long way. ‘The options for documenting and celebrating our heritage are endless!’, exclaimed Jude.
Young and enthusiastic, Valeny Julia D’Costa a class X student from Táligão says, ‘Our heritage is the treasure entrusted unto us by our ancestors and since it is the legacy handed down to us by the bygone generation, it is the duty of the current generation to pass it down to the generations to follow’. Unfortunately, heritage is not everybody’s slice of cake. One may face a lot of discouragement complimented with crab mentality while one strives hard to preserve the past in a nation filled with destroyers of its heritage for selfish gains. All of this shouldn’t in any means bring down one’s zeal to upkeep one’s heritage. One would need to be self-motivated as one works towards safeguarding one’s patrimony, not really caring what negative one’s neighbor would have to say to you. It is necessary that parents speak about the sentimental values that objects from their homes hold. It is unfortunate that parents tend to focus more on the monetary value of the wealth they have inherited from their ancestors. The greed for money is one of the major reasons, the country is losing its heritage in all directions. Heritages also comprises of antiquities which one may not be able to touch. Intangible heritage cannot be kept in a museum as such. Hence for it to live it has to be lived. ‘Citizens of our country need to realize that the treasure is available in India itself, and hence rather than seeking green pastures elsewhere we need to look around, thus appreciating and respecting the diverse heritage of our land. This would intern foster a sense of unity, thereby making us a more inclusive society’, says Leila Ribeiro, Associate Professor, HOD, History, Carmel College of Arts, Science and Commerce for Women, Nuvem, Goa. It is disturbing to see literally ‘uncivilized’ individuals litter garbage simply anywhere!! Which is yet another act of desecration of planet Earth and its natural heritage. Let us all acknowledge the legacy of our ancestors bestowed unto us and responsibly hand it over the generations to come.
