This post is coming after a bit of a gap, I am aware. The field trip to Arakere, Banavara and Belur being mostly responsible for it. The project, introduced to Srishti by Dr. Jyoti Hosagrahar, aims at promoting the vernacular as well as classical heritage of the Hoysala region on behalf of UNESCO. The aim of the trip, from what I gather, was to quantify the Hoysala heritage materially. Given the focus of the project on the vernacular cultural landscape of the Hoysala region that encompasses many towns in present-day Karnataka, we set out to document the objects and their stories from the region. Apart from the fact that the plan did not fructify, it raised many crucial doubts about what heritage actually stands for.
Ditionary.com defines heritage as something that comes or belongs to one by reason of birth; an inherited lot or portion. Now, the sensitive approach would require one to go to people and get a perception of what the local perception of their own heritage. Classical heritage, namely, sculpted buildings like temples and tanks, were immediately and exclusively perceived as heritage. The real trouble surfaced with the request for exhibits of vernacular heritage. How old should an object be? How does one work towards framing a limit on validity of history for heritage?
