In lieu with the previous article, let us look at what does the ‘world heritage tag’ mean to our beloved Ramappa Temple and on the flip side how so many heritage sites of equal importance are neglected just because they are not given a tag.
The jewels ‘World Heritage monument’ tag add to the crown of a Monument –
In the words of UNESCO, “Once a site is inscribed on the World Heritage List, the resulting prestige often helps raise awareness among citizens and governments for heritage preservation. A country may also receive financial assistance and expert advice from the World Heritage Committee to support activities for the preservation of its sites.”
Let’s celebrate for the fact that ‘the once oh! so poor, abolished temple will be the must-see destination for years to come’. It means huge number of visitors the temple might experience both domestically and around the globe. According to a report, the number of foreign as well as domestic visitors has gone up by more than 10% after Ahmedabad clinched the World Heritage City tag in 2017 (The Hindu, JULY 26, 2021). The huge flock of admirers also means more inflow of money, better amenities and thriving opportunities for micro economics and local business. Along with the financial benefit the site will also receive a funding for maintenance and preservation of the site by the UNESCO along with protection against destruction during war under ‘The Geneva Convention.’
The big challenges ahead –
The world heritage tag does bring a lot of recognition, protection, maintenance, development and pride to the side, however, like for every great thing there comes greater responsibilities. As part of the recognition, the government body along with conservation architects, heritage bodies, interest groups and local residents have to play their part in protecting the structure independently and in partnership. A conservation management plan has to be prepared and submitted with a long-term preservation policy. Timely preservation methodologies like repairs, material conservation, adaptive reuse policies, infrastructure in and around the temple complex, information kiosk and amenities are to be followed. Conservation societies from around the globe along with UNESCO look at the site with interest bringing along scientific team to decode the techniques and understand the architecture of the monument. This recognition also brings the local tradition, culture, cuisine and intangible heritage onto lime light to be celebrated, learned and experienced.
As you may have understood by now – A world Heritage Tag is “the red carpet for the structure”
While celebrating the due recognition to our Ramappa temple, we must at this hour of apprehension need to ask this question: Is the Heritage value of sites in India recognised and applauded only after getting world recognition? Do we as the real stakeholders of these sites only applaud and celebrate these structures after a heritage tag? Does the value of our monuments and their right to conservation depends upon an external recognition?
These questions may seem a bit far stretched and we seem to avoid asking ourselves and the society. Often times we conveniently brush off these ideologies to merely visit and talk about our heritage sites with a fabricated clear consciousness.
So, let us look at the following examples as a retrospective of our attitudes.
Lepakshi Temple – Where every stone has a story to tell
Lepakshi temple perched on top of a low rocky hill called Kurmasaila is located in the Anathapur District of Andhra Pradesh. As per historians, Lepakshi was a famous centre of trade and pilgrimage during the period of Vijayanagara Kings and the temple complex was built in the 16th century, by two brothers Virupanna and Veeranna during the reign of Vijayanagara King Achyuta Devaraya.
The temple is an excellent example of Vijayanagara architecture and is an engineering marvel. The temple complex boasts of the magnificence of a 100-pillared Natya Mandapa with intricately carved pillars and exquisite sculptures, a miraculous hanging pillar, timeless paintings on ceilings, colossus sculptures of monolithic Nandi and monolithic Nagalinga, unfinished Kalyana Mandapa, and above all, so many mysteries and legends.
Every stone here has a story to tell and every pillar has an episode of an epic.
The marvels of Lepakshi –
The temple is known for its intricate sculptures and ornamentation. However, what sets it apart is the fresco paintings done on its ceilings and the floating pillar.
Floating Pillar: In the main hall in front of the shrine, there is a hanging pillar, the base of which does not touch the floor. It is analysed that the pillar is built a few inches above the ground so that it would avoid distortion of the roof and realignment of the nearby pillars, which would collapse the entire structure.
Fresco Paintings: It is one of the few Dravidian temples that have frescos painted on their walls.
The current condition of the Temple Complex –
The amount of neglect the temple have gone through can be seen through the cracks on the stone pillars; black crust, green moss on the stone cornices and ceilings; black deposit and paint loss on the fresco paintings; salt deposits and weathering of stone due to waterlogging were seen in many instances. Along with this the attitude of the visitors are exasperating. There were glimpses of graffiti on the walls and ceilings. The site seekers were negligent of the temple, its heritage and the materials. They are barbaric in treating the physical attributes in the name of selfies by climbing the walls and pillars. This will result in damage and how ignorant we are of our own heritage.
Erramatti dibbalu – The red sand dunes of India
Along the coast of the Bay of Bengal, away from the buzz of the beach city, visakhapatnam there sleeps red sand dunes spread to a width of 2 km, running for 5 km along the coast in an east-west direction. Such sand deposits have been reported only from three low latitude tropical regions in South Asia among which our Erramatti Dibbalu are a part of the trilogy.
Owing to its geological significance, the Geological Survey of India declared it as a National Geoheritage Site in 2014 while state government notified it as a Protected Area in 2016.
The origin
This epic story started as far back as 1.8 million years ago and stretched across the broad canvas of geological time to around 10,000 years ago. During that time the sea level rose to as much as 150 feet and fell away a number of times to the current level. Between these oscillating sea levels, the coast was submerged and exposed over and over again, huge volumes of clay, silt and sand covered the coast from where the sea water had receded. Due to the extreme changes in climatic conditions the material under the sandy dunes “baked” in the sun like a brick gets baked in a kiln leading to the peculiar red sand dunes. Subsequently action of the wind and flowing water caused the deeply gullied characteristic landscape. The red colour of the dunes is due to the “ferrogination” of the “haemitite” (the principal form of iron ore; consisting of ferric oxide in crystalline form).
Archaeological Signatures
Archaeological excavations of artefacts found in the compact dark yellow Erra Matti Dibbalu indicate undisputedly, an Upper Palaeolithic horizon. Mesolithic and Neolithic cultural materials were also unearthed from the red sediments at different locales. The region was also home to prehistoric man, ascertained through excavations at several places, which revealed stone tools of three distinctive periods and also pottery fragments belonging to Neolithic cultures.
Red Alert – The vanishing dunes
This site, like any other heritage site we know, is seen as only a commercial spot manifesting it to make quick bucks or a political statement. This is very apt to the sand dunes. The site is turned into a dance background by filmmakers who took the liberty to bulldoze and excavate these dunes. This happened time and again while the anguish of concerned civilians fell onto deaf ears. The site has no fence around, no amenities, broken shades, guard or a guide. The policy makers and political leaders do give a cameo once in a while for making a big statement or to showcase ‘concern’ over the city.
While this happens, let us also talk about the ‘concerned civilians’. The visitors look at the site as only a good picnic ground for family lunch or a night avenue for fun booze party. Forget about exploring the place, they become too comfortable to even gather their own trash to dispose off. The site is littered with garbage, plastic, mis-used for entertainment purpose, the dunes are very often displaced to suit the comfort of the benefactor and are left to wild without care.
The site is registered as National Geo heritage Site but left to its own peril without sparing another glance at. The dunes have survived millions of years only to be wiped off the face of earth due to mere carelessness and determined neglect.
“Every monsoon the sediments are washed away, turning the sea a bright red. Further degradation due to human interference such as digging, climbing, littering is affecting their stability and exacerbating erosion. As such, we face the danger of losing a rare and picturesque record of Nature,” says Rajasekhar (advisor to Geo Heritage Cell of INTACH).
Bojjana Konda (Vizag) – The Indian Nirvana
The Bojjana Konda Buddhist site is proudly perched on the hill top forty-five kilometres away from Visakhapatnam along with another twin site called Lingalakonda. This is one of the most graceful creations by the Buddhists which include fine rock cut caves, stupas and monasteries. This place has been declared by the UNESCO as a heritage site. This Buddhist monastery is dated back to 3rd Century BC. The early Buddhist monks and their disciples made these monasteries their home where they lived, studied, prayed and propagated Buddhist ideologies.
There are a large group of monolithic stupas, which surrounds the Maha stupa of which the dome is constructed of brick. Among them, two of the brick stupas has the stone relic in the form of miniature stupas. There are six rock-cut caves on this side of the hill. Among them, some of the caves have sculptured panels which consist of seated Buddha statue and his attendants. The main cave has sixteen pillars out of which five of the pillars are broken. The main cave houses a monolithic stupa in the centre. Just above of this stupa, on the ceiling, has a carving of a chhatri or umbrella which was originally connected with the top of the stupa. But in the present context, the shaft is lost. Above of this cave, there is an upper storey which houses Buddha statue. This ancient site's unique feature includes the Buddhist arts and architectures from all the three phases of Buddhism- Hinayana, Mahayana, and Vajrayana.
Is it enough to do the bare minimum at an UNESCO listed site?
The site is listed in the UNESCO monuments list but the site is dilapidated and ignored. There are major blasts happening near the site which had led to the formation of cracks and deterioration of the sculptures and the buildings. On top of this, every year a local ‘stone pelting’ festival is conducted during which the villagers remove loose brick or stray stone from the monuments to throw on the stupas as a belief to drive away evil. The government was mum regarding the custom only to be opposed by heritage enthusiasts who by debate and persistence convinced the locals to forgo the festival after many years of effort.
The temple had to also go through graffiti, abuse on the fragile structure by young adults and littering. There are also no amenities what so far.
This brings back to the impending question: Does the protection of our heritage sites depend on an external recognition?
It is our heritage and it is our pride and responsibility to protect them. If we do not know where we come from, we will never know where we can go.
Today, we live in a society where these sites became a mere picnic spots and canvases to graffiti their names and doodles. Who will respect our heritage, if not us? Who will protect them, if not us? Who will own them, if not us?
We are proud Indians in front of the world. Proud by words. Proud by our history. Proud by our heritage. Then, let us be proud by protecting them. Not for the world to see or judge. But, for us as a representative of the story we present.
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