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conservation architect from Lucknow, Asheesh Srivastava is a consultant and adviser to the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH). Recently, he received the Award of Honourable Mention in the 2012 UNESCO Asia-Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation for restoring the Har Raj Ji Mahal, Jaisalmer Fort. What has been your restoration work in Jaisalmer? The 350-year-old Har Raj Ji Mahal is the oldest palace in the Jaisalmer Fort. The fort has been immortalised by Satyajit Ray in a film by the same name and needed extensive restoration due to the vagaries of nature. The project was initiated by INTACH and supported by the Girghar Smarak Trust, Jaisalmer. The restoration involved engineering work to stabilise the foundation, besides restoring 90 ramparts and gates. Rajasthan has successfully showcased its heritage where other states like UP have failed. Rajasthan has a strong sense of history and its people know how to use it as commerce. They have preserved their authentic culture which is manifested not only in the historical architecture of their palaces and havelis, but also in their everyday life — their attire, cuisine, festivals, handicraft and folk music. It is alive and not stored in an attic to be brought out on special occasions, as elsewhere. Awadh was equally renowned for its nawabi and taluqdari culture. Unfortunately, the people of the region do not possess the same pride. It is not true that culture is restricted to the elite and the erstwhile courts. There was a bazaar and qasba culture distinct and authentic in its own way, and also people oriented. Why does a Birju Maharaj have to live in Delhi to sustain his art form? Why have the DJs and film songs and dance replaced the misyasins? Today, one may not find an eating place that serves authentic Awadhi food. The vegetarian fare served in homes and festive occasions is nearly extinct. Good Awadh restaurants are now found in cities like Mumbai and Delhi. Similarly, the intricate architecture of the nawabi era is disappearing. A walk down the oldest street of the city was once a cultural experience extraordinaire. You had the saraffa bazaar, phoolwalon ki gali and itrfarosh selling their fare in exquisite crystal jars. The musical call of street hawkers, taste and smell of malai makhan, intricate gotas and kinaris on sale along with the famed kebabs — each element contributed to the tapestry that was a living example of the Awadh culture. Is the Awadh culture disappearing because people lack a sense of history? Partly due to that and partly due to ownership disputes of historical buildings and a general attitude of not being able to recognise preservation of heritage as a commercial opportunity. It is basically a lack of vision. I am restoring the Tajganj area around the Taj in Agra which is older than the Taj as it was established to settle the artisans who had built the monument over a period of many years. Those who own these buildings are demolishing the crumbling structures to build modern ones, which they rent out to tourists at Rs 300 a day. I tell them to invest a little in conserving the buildings and adapt them to modern needs. They can then let them out for as much as Rs 3,000 a day. You restored the central shopping district of Hazratganj in Lucknow. Built by Nawab Amjad Ali Shah, Hazratganj is not only a central business district of the city, but also a heritage zone with a 200-year-old legacy. Our effort was to bring back the true spirit of Sham-e-Awadh — a walk down the street, popularly referred to as ganjing in local parlance. Brainstorming sessions with stakeholders and senior government officials helped identify the changes in the architectural character of Ganj and issues affecting it and finding solutions through design. We just revamped and revived some old elements and provided modern facilities associated with the heritage zones of some of the famed cities in the world. The heritage zones of most historical cities are built around the pedestrian format, where footpaths are not just walkways, but have elements of an urban space. The Hazratganj design encourages people to walk and enjoy the carefully designed squares or piazzas. The footpaths are barrier free, keeping in mind the differently abled. The lamps and other street furniture helped restore the quaint Victorian ambience. The original cream and pink colour scheme of buildings was enforced along with black and white signboards. Shopkeepers volunteered to undertake the restoration and painting of their facades and signboards. What would you suggest to make conserving heritage profitable and sustainable? Culture has to be seen as a complete package and not just a standalone activity. The bottom line is that people should share the vision of what needs to be done to preserve one’s heritage and a passion for showcasing it in a manner that is sustainable, yet profitable. The bed-and-breakfast scheme to popularise old havelis and residences on the lines of Rajasthan would work both to preserve the buildings and make them a profitable venture. Governments have to come out with stringent rules to conserve heritage zones of historical cities so that old buildings are not pulled down to build grotesque steel and glass buildings.
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Manavalan was honoured with the prestigious Saraswati Award last week for his work Irama Kathaiyum Iramayakalum, meaning Ramakatha and Ramayanas, published in 2005. The book is a comparative study of 48 Ramayanas written in Sanskrit, Pali, Tibetan, Tamil, Bangla, Malayalam, Kannada, Marathi, Hindi, Odisi, Persian, Malay, Burmese, Japanese, Telugu, Assamese, Thai and Kashmiri. His area of interest has been comparative literature and his stint at the University of Indiana (US) exposed Manavalan to a varied continental experience, making him tilt towards the ancient history of India — the Ramayana and Mahabharata. Manavalan is a former head of the department of Tamil at Madras University and a scholar of English, Hindi and Telugu. He says a study of eminently creative influences like the Ramayana and Mahabharata reveals the contemporary socio-cultural compulsions of the receiving languages. The comparative study brings out the Ramakatha’s influence on the Southeast Asian cultural splendor. “This recognition in the form of an award will help me in my work. After my second volume on the Ramayana, I now plan to work on the Mahabharata,” he says. Corporate Affairs Minister Veerappa Moily, who presented the award to Manavalan, said: “The work is the nectar which has come out after exploration of the Ramayana written in different languages. It does not belong to Tamil literature alone, but to the world.” Manavalan says: “The values enshrined in the Ramayana are of much relevance even today. Intolerance, disregard for others, usurping others’ property — these things are happening around us, yet we don’t learn from the epics. There are lessons to be learnt on what to do, not just for today, but for eternity.” “There are others beyond India who are fascinated by the epic and have their takes on the story of Rama and Sita and their tribulations. So, we have the Ramayana in Tibetan, old Javanese, Japanese, Thai and other languages, besides different Indian languages,” he says. Manavalan collected resources from across India and Southeast Asia and studied them. The result was his work, “Ramkatha and Ramayanas”, which compares 40 versions of 24 languages. The former professor took the help of other scholars since he did not know all the languages. They went through the Ramayanas in their languages and translated their findings in English, which he studied and translated in Tamil for his epoch book. The Saraswati Samman is awarded by the KK Birla Foundation that promotes charitable and welfare activities in the fields of education, higher learning, culture, art, music and scientific research. The award, which carries a cash component of Rs 7.5 lakh, a citation and a plaque, is conferred every year for an outstanding work written in any Indian language by an Indian citizen and published in the last 10 years.
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The little Ganeshas they installed are natural, silt and clay moulds handcrafted in artistic shapes and sizes — which only the elephant-headed God lends Himself to — and painted in organic colours that allow for pollution-free immersion.
The idols are made by the devotees themselves, mostly children, who learn the joys of working with their hands, and the man pushing for training young hands to craft their own little Ganeshas is a nature enthusiast Asif Mazhar. “Though Ganesh Chaturthi is a very popular festival in Mumbai, the after-effects can be quite painful,” says Mazhar. The festival leaves water bodies strewn with huge amounts of non-biodegradable material. There is lack of awareness among devotees about the damage caused to environment by plaster of Paris and synthetic colours. People prefer shortcuts,” he says. “Children relate well to the concept of making the best of waste. They work creatively with old cardboard boxes and other junk. But as they grow up, they lose their eco-sensitivity,” says Asif’s associate Ashwini Doreswamy, a sculptor and an artist. Nature freak
That 43-year-old Asif, a Muslim, is an active proponent of handcrafted Ganeshas baffles parents of children who sign up for his workshops. “Earlier, people would be surprised, but now they are used to it. There is greater acceptance,” says Asif, whose workshops draw children and adults from his nature group. An avid outdoors enthusiast, Asif runs Nature Knights that organises camping and trekking programmes for people of various age groups. A Mumbaikar by birth, Asif does not think it odd to promote eco-friendly Ganesha idols. “As a typical Mumbaikar, I have been part of all religious celebrations. I have had a cosmopolitan upbringing where all friends celebrate Diwali, Ganesh Chaturthi and Eid together,” he says. “We are among the original Mumbaikars belonging to different religious backgrounds and communities who have lived in this area. In Versova, temples, mosques and churches exist alongside and people of different faiths are neighbours. They have learnt to coexist peacefully,” Asif says. Taste of discrimination
Despite living in a cosmopolitan neighbourhood, Asif was not untouched by communalism and ghettoised living that still has some parts of Mumbai under its grip. “Eleven years ago when I was looking to buy a flat, no one was willing to sell it to me because I was a Muslim,” he says. Rather than being embittered, he continued with his search till he found a place for himself in the vicinity. “Hindus and Muslims live together in my building,” he says. Asif also had to face hardliners from his own community. “My people used to ask me why I was celebrating Hindu festivals despite being a Muslim, but that used to be 10-12 years ago. These days no one says such stuff. Things have changed for the better. I think by living among moderate people, even those with extreme views learn that peace and communal harmony are the only way forward,” says Asif, who is married to a Hindu. Giving up career
Asif gave up a career in the information and technology industry to turn a green entrepreneur following a heart attack brought on by work-related stress. “The work was quite stressful. There were times when I had to go without sleep for two-three days at a stretch,” he says. Only his fitness regime helped him bounce back. “I used to organise treks and adventure sports during my college days also,” he says. His routine includes trekking, rock climbing and white-water rafting.
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Nitin Gadkari, BJP president Sharad Pawar, union agriculture minister Ajit Pawar, former
Maharashtra Deputy CM Omar Abdullah,
J&K Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh
Hooda, Haryana Chief Minister
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A
conservation architect from Lucknow, Asheesh Srivastava is a consultant and adviser to the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage
(INTACH). Recently, he received the Award of Honourable Mention in the 2012 UNESCO Asia-Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation for restoring the Har Raj Ji
Mahal, Jaisalmer Fort.
Seventyfive-year-old
Ganesh
This is not a mother-son party. This is the party of workers. Look at me. I used to put up BJP posters and never dreamt of becoming the party president one day.
Punjab did not ask for the Centre to send a team to assess the damage caused by the drought-like conditions, if any. We are only pleading cases of states that have declared drought. 
I’m ready to face a CBI probe. I’m just an MLA now. I won’t accept any ministry or post till I’m cleared of all allegations. If I hadn’t resigned, people would have thought I was guilty.
These (militants) cowards are attacking defenceless people. If they have the courage, let them carry out an attack on me. But they will not do it as they know they will get a befitting reply.
It is not true that criminals
from the upper caste are being spared. I’m proud to be a Jat, but as the CM I’m also responsible for the entire state. Criminals have no caste.