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Concerned over the “disappearance” of many intangible legacies of India, the UN will soon launch a project on creating an “inventory” of art forms, craftsmanship and other cultural heritage of the country.
UN Resident Coordinator in India Yuri Afanasiev said the “wiki-style project” involving multiple stakeholders is planned to be executed, among other means, through “crowd-sourcing.”
“India is endowed with not just a wealth of iconic monuments and landmarks and built heritage, but is also home to countless intangible cultural heritage, like folk music, art forms, textile design, craftsmanship,” he said. But a number of these intangible cultural heritage is “disappearing” on a daily basis and it “pains me”, the UN official said. “We, at UN India, are working on a project that will seek to create an inventory of intangible cultural heritage. We will take help of crowd-sourcing as well,” said Afanasiev.
Heritage elements
On October 24, the United Nations had dedicated its iconic campus to India’s cultural heritage as its office in New Delhi marked the UN Day by displaying the country’s tangible and intangible cultural heritage.
A total of 13 intangible cultural heritage elements from India have been inscribed till date on the UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
These include the Kumbh Mela; Novruz; the tradition of Vedic chanting; Ramlila; Kutiyattam Sanskrit theatre; Ramman religious festival and ritual theatre of the Garhwal Himalayas; Kalbelia folk songs and dances of Rajasthan; and Chhau, a semi classical dance with martial, tribal and folk traditions, practised in Jharkhand, West Bengal, and Odisha.
“This project, tentatively dubbed ‘ A snapshot inventory of intangible cultural heritage’, seeks to capture them in a capsule, for the posterity, said Afanasiev.” He said the project duration will span about a year.
Cultural diversity
He said the UN, besides engaging with its own agencies like UNESCO and UNDP, will also collaborate with ministries, such as of Culture and Textiles.
On UN Day, Afanasiev had hailed India’s cultural diversity, saying: “I personally have a love affair with India, its rich taste, colours, sounds, smells and food.” The UN House has been revived as the site for the safeguarding the history of the seven-decade-long India-UN partnership and of India’s great contributions to the UN, he said.
“We are equally proud to dedicate this compound to India’s cultural heritage, and the vibrant plural developmental traditions of the country that will provide the right environment for thinking about the SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals),” said Afanasiev.
UN House is an iconic landmark, one of the buildings designed by American architect Joseph Allen Stein in the Lodhi Estate area, the others being the India International Centre and the India Habitat Centre.
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