Fairs and festival as well as Pilgrimages and Yatras are some of the noteworthy living aspects of Indian cultural heritage. We will discuss here these aspects in brief.
Fairs and Festivals
India is called a land of fairs and festivals. Since ancient time till date we celebrate one or the other festival every month or fair is held to mark in one part or the other part in our country. Festivals are either connected with the season cycle or religious events, agricultural operation or even some historical event.
Pilgrimages and Yatra
The people of our land are very fond a pilgrimages and yatra. They have been going to holy places, town and cities, mazars or darghas of holymen, lakes, streams and rivers. One can see the people of Sikkim to Hyderabad or from Kashmir to Kanyakumari or of other parts of the country going to Amarnath cave, Vaishno Devi shrine or the constant moving of persons to the four main dhams (Rameshwaram, Puri, Dwarka and Badarinath) or other holy places all over the country. This exposes people to different lifestyles which result mutual exchange of ideas and culture.
Our cultural heritage is very rich, vast and varied and forms a colourful national mosaic. It is the cultural mosaic that gives a distinct character to our country.
Unity in Diversity
Ours is a land of unity in diversity. Its large size has given rise to different types of regional diversities and they are flourishing. The geographical features of the country and its climate have contributed to the development of these diversities. Since the earliest days of the human progress India proved to be a crucible of ethnic groups. The pre-Aryans, Indo-Aryans, Greeks, Scythians, Hunas, Turks, etc., made India their home. Each ethnic group contributed its mite to the evolution of Indian social system, art and architecture, and literature. All these peoples and their cultural traits mixed up so inextricably with one another that at present none of them can be clearly identified in their original form.
India has since ancient times been the land of several religions. Ancient India witnessed the birth of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism; but all these cultures and religions intermingled and acted and reacted upon one another in such a manner that though people speak different languages, practise different religions, and observe different social customs, they follow certain styles of life throughout the country. Our country shows a deep underlying unity in spite of great diversity.
Another notable fact is that the ancient epics, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, were studied with the same zeal and devotion in the land of the Tamils as in the intellectual circles of Banaras and Taxila. Originally composed in Sanskrit, these epics came to be presented in different local languages. But whatever the form in which Indian cultural values and ideas were expressed, the substance remained the same throughout the country.
Indian history deserves our attention because of a peculiar type of social system which developed in this country. In north India rose the varna/caste system which came to prevail almost all over the country. The caste system affected even the Christians and the Muslims. The converts belonged to some caste, and even when they left Hinduism to join the new religion they continued to maintain some of their old caste practices.
Preservation of heritage
Conserving this heritage is a complex issue particularly in view of rapid changes due to globalization on the one hand and lack of awareness among the people of our land about its importance on the other. Several other factors are also responsible for this. Some of these are:
- Uncontrolled growth of tourism.
- Disregard of the people of our own land for our fragile environment.
- Over-exposure in the name of tourism.
- Indifferent attitude of most of the people towards our heritage.
Why to preserve National Heritage
Most of the people who do not like to have link with the past and do not like to worry for the future generation do not like to preserve national heritage—Natural as well as Archaeological. They favour to use all natural heritage as per their present requirements and do not like to preserve even rare and valuable natural heritage. They think that preservation of archaeological heritage has no advantages. This however is not right.
Heritage is the reflection of the identity of a people and the nation. One identifies himself or herself with one’s heritage, which gives a sense of pride.
Some of our traditions, which represent our ethos and personality are facing threat of extinction. These traditional skills and different variety enrich our cultural landscape and heritage. During ancient times traditional artists and their crafts were patronized by rulers, This in turn gave them livelihood and their skills and creativity got encouragement. If our traditions in arts and crafts extinct, the artisans will lose their livelihood and our cultural heritage will also get a setback.
Our heritage is a mirror of our national identity. Its preservation therefore is important and urgent. Though government and different agencies are responsible for its preservation, involvement of people is very necessary. Without cooperation of the people no plan or programme gets success completely.
Tourism and our heritage
India is a vast country. It is very popular among its own people as well as among foreigners for its fairs, festivals, places of pilgrimages and yatras, different historical places and monuments. No doubt our big tourist industry is thriving on our heritage but it is also correct that it is our heritage which draws tourists to our country and also motivates people of different ages, regions and parts of the country to visit one or the other part of the land. This brings economic benefit to the people of the area.
Measures and cares to be taken
While taking up conservation of a monument the uppermost fact that is to be kept in mind is that the historical building or remains declared important for our country is repaired in a manner so that it does not lose its original look and condition. The Central and State Government undertake the work of conservation of monuments and site.
At present the Archaeological Survey of India has under its protection nearly five thousand monuments and sites.
As a result of the steps taken to preserve our monuments and sites, these have been saved.
Some of our archaeological sites and historical buildings and remains are located in remote, out of the way places difficult to access and in different altitudes and environments. Availability of materials, dwindling number of traditional artisans, difficulties of access, etc. are some of the inhabiting factors.
In some cases keeping in mind their importance it becomes necessary to transplant some of the monuments or sites elsewhere due to the future submergence of the area.
Preservation of antiquities
The other important aspect of heritage preservation relates to antiquities or movable (very costly) objects. The first legislature measure taken in this regard was the passing of the Indian Treasure Trove Act, 1876. This made it obligatory for persons to inform the concerned authorities in case any objects were found accidentally. This restrained people from indulging in clandestine or hoarding for treasure or antiquities. Such objects which were brought to the notice of the concern authorities were acquired after giving due compensation. This Act helped also in building museum collections.
With the passing of Antiquities and Art Treasures Act, 1972, made possible getting the information about antiquities in possession of individuals and private collections became available in certain categories. Works or art of some of the Indian artists who are no longer above were declared national treasures. This has helped in controlling smuggling of antiquities or valuable treasures.
The preservation of antiquities and monuments also involves chemical processing and treatment in order to check further decay or damage. This requires not only skill and patience but also a clear understanding of problems.
Our museums and conservation
We are having museums in big as well as of small sizes. They have displayed very useful and noteworthy stories of our heritage and its preservation. Equally important has been the role of other institutions that were created for preservation of old manuscripts. Some of the Jain bhandars and Buddhist gompas have saved valuable and rare manuscripts and objects.
In our country there are museums of different types almost in all the states. There are archaeological museums established by Archaeological Survey of India at some important monuments or excavated sites.
Different organisation have also taken steps for preserving, enlisting and documenting different aspects of our cultural heritage so that steps can be taken for its protection and preservation.
Role of citizens
No doubt our governments have taken up steps and is responsible for protection and preservation of our national heritage, individuals as well as the family and community has an important role to play. They can help by identifying hitherto town or cities monuments, sites and antiquities, take up the work of listing and documenting these and maintain vigil so that the monuments are not disfigured or destroyed and the antiquities are not removed or stolen from their location.
India is a vast country and has large number of archaeological monuments, remains, sites and antiquities. Awareness about this heritage will help serving it for posterity.
