Know Kurukshetra, be a city explorer

Interested in stories from the land of the Mahabharat? Want to share with tourists? The Kurukshetra University has a plan for you. The university's department of tourism and management has roped in India City Walks (ICW) to explore the tourism sector through walks and organized sightseeing. You could be a homemaker, student, teacher or a retired bureaucrat. The new assignment could be city exploration, and then, a knowledgeable tourist guide.

Prof Manjula Chaudhary, dean, commerce and management, says she expects a positive response from the state tourism department to whom she wrote about a month back. “The tourism department can make policy guidelines for granting licences to city explorers coached by the KU. The department can also prescribe a fee structure for the tourists,” she said.

The ICW organized first such walk on Nov 3 with KU students and teachers. The select group visited a Buddhist stupa, the Brahma Sarovar, many ASI-protected monuments of Nabha House and the tomb of Sufi saint Sheikh Chehli. The collaborating team plans to undertake many such walks to the sites associated with spiritual and archaeological prominence. 

Soumi, a city explorer with ICW, showed interactive and research-based storytelling techniques to the visitors about the places they visited. “It is a vibrant city for walk-enthusiasts. Our research teams are preparing details to make sightseeing more interesting while relating to the perspective of modern-day life,” she said.

Prof Manjula Chaudhary says the city can no longer ignore its organized tourism potential. “Our collaborative study in the past few months has concluded that Kurukshetra has a lot more to offer beyond religion. The city has several protected archaeological sites, museums and wildlife conservation projects. These have never been explored to attract tourists,” she said. The district administration has no data about the number of pilgrims/tourists visiting the city. “We don’t have reliable tourist guides.” 

“The ICW has agreed to sponsor research work for monuments, ancient religious sites and a few private heritage buildings in the city. We are motivating students to take up research assignments on these subjects for their PhDs,” she said. As per the ICW-KU format for encouraging city explorers, about 15 people would be coached at KU for a short-term course. We'll help them in getting a tourist guide licence,” said Prof Chaudhary.

Sachin Bansal, an ICW promoter, says persons interested in heritage with good communication skills would be trained at KU. Homemakers, students, teachers and retired bureaucrats will be preferred to opt for city exploration or tourist guides as an avocation, he said. “The ICW also plans to hire professionals as freelance city explorers.”

“Nine Sikh gurus had visited Kurukshetra. So, a pilgrim circuit can be developed. Also, Brahma Sarovar and Jyotisar may be utilized for yoga and spiritual enthusiasts. We are in talks with the Kurukshetra Development Board and other authorities to introduce a tonga service for various heritage walks,” said Bansal. He is also exploring the possibility of foreigners staying at dharamshalas and joining diverse religious spots.

KU's research scholar Naser-ul-Islam, who participated in the maiden heritage walk and research work on the city exploration, says the city had several temples and sites associated with folklores of Lord Krishna. “All such details should be documented for storytelling by tourist guides.” 

Prof SS Boora, an expert on tourism and heritage management, says the state government should take KU on board for policy formulation to boost tourism. “We have human resources and capability to undertake research and suggest ways to tap tourism opportunities.”