sustainability in heritage conservation -Tamilnadu

Sustainability in heritage conservation seems like a lot more complex subject in general to fathom and work on, but in reality all the practices and age old monuments speak for itself as they in a way stand testimony for conserving resources for future generations. Now people may not get it initially but for starters  think about the water tanks of all the temples of South India.   An account of 2359 temple tanks in Tamil Nadu alone made sure atleast at some point to keep a check on ground water level , utilised rain water from all the inlets and stored enough in those tanks as portable water. But then in 2011 article of downtoearth states that only 55% are in good condition. When the ancestors over years knew importance of water conservation the modern encroachment and sealed inlets of the tanks by residents arround don't seem to know.  People like Dr madhavi ganesan work on reviving these tanks and showcasing thier significance to their once glorious conditions.

                  However,  on a deeper note is just reviving those tanks enough? Heritage sites such as temples can play major role in water conservation is actually a sense of pride for all the present generation. One has to evoke the sense of past and the pride the Tamil people hold inorder to not litter and dump those tanks and know the value of those reservoirs. The balarshah fort conservation programme by nagpur Asi held for DC students had left a rooted understanding in me of how inclusiveness of residents have payed off in stopping the encroachment as well as conserving the fort that is situated on the river banks of wardha river,Maharashtra . As a person from archaeology background I can tell the problem lies more in the lack of understanding, poor awareness and scholarly language for selected audiences. Thus usage of media like YouTube , Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr, twitter in a simple local language to convey the information and it's translation could pay off due to the magnitude of reaching larger audiences. Incase of  time length, YouTube shorts and insta reels which are of very short period could be easily used to create awareness without boring people down. Secondly to creating awareness , restoration of tanks at crisis should be done not just as mere storage but as a source to revive the ground water of that area. 

Now back to the initial problem at hand is sustainability in heritage sites,  is it limited to the conservation of water alone? Nah!  infact different heritage sites across Tamil Nadu like that of the world around go hand in hand with that of sustainability and conservation of Nature. As they are statistically located in such environmental zones. Inscriptions across the various outcrops and rock surfaces of Tamil Nadu mostly are situated on the hillocks. While these sites serve heritage importance one can think about the environment around it too. Vandalism is any sort of etching or moving the existing rock formation. While we trying to preserve our ancestral vandalism in forms of art and inscriptions we are against the modern ones created with pointless religious symbols and initials of ardent lovers. To add to all of that the practices of rock stacking on sites can actually cause erosion which inturn threaten rare fauna and flora. So we as people who conserve are bound to conserve not just the outcrop which holds inscriptions or paintings such as in sittanavasal but also of the fauna and flora around it. By doing so we care for the natural environment which encased our cultural heritage for  quiet some time. This can be better understood in cases of ajanta and ellora where the caves are carved in continuous hill range which even now serves as natural habitat of wildlife animals. 

           When it comes to mordern India Tamil Nadu again has various monuments built in indo-saracenic style such as the Madras High court built by Henry Irwin, senate house built by Robert Chisholm ,chaepauk palace-kalas Mahal, Amir Mahal.  Forts such St. David fort of Cuddalore, St. George fort of Chennai , Sandra's Dutch fort also are traces of the Colonial India. While buildings like PWD department, Madras High court are properly utilised to use space and avoid over building in the city, places such as senate house of Madras University is actually not taken care and are left to disintegrate. Fort St David once also functioned important for the then port city devapattinam today's Cuddalore can be restored to maximize the utilisation and avoid building something completely new . It could be converted to a museum so the monuments are conserved and also provides home for thousands of artefacts that stay at repository instead of building something new altogether. As keeping St. George fort as the model which still functions as a secretariat, reviving old monuments can not only benifit heritage conservation but also stop building something entirely new which again take lot of human power, resources and often cause construction waste along with over building in cities. 

              Apart from these monumental / features sustainable heritage conservation there are other areas we have to focus on. While I've always visited Asi circles and important Asi monuments there are several flyers and brochures handed out which contains information on important sites , these in general aren't perceived well by all the visitors some don't even bother to look at it, while some fall under people's feet to stomp. Thus, Making it digital sharing PDFs would do instead of those glossy brochures  that takes years to decompose. Postures could be made digital using digital displays as an alternative for Postures that are generally ridden after a particular event . Events could be conducted in broad daylight in outer spaces to cut usage of electricity. When VIPs make visits to real important sites bouquets distribution should stop , instead of them alternative souvenirs could do. The bouquets always comes in plastic. The sites electricity usage should also be managed wisely. The free space of monuments and museums could install solar power plant so they could run on them as Tamilnadu has always had lot of sunlight, specially Chennai can always be scorching.Installation of hanwell systems to monitor environment should also be done at museums and other public institutions.  Living cultural heritage such as jallikattu which could avoid artificial insemination and improve local breeding should always be encouraged. Martial arts such kalari, silambam, adi murai function as source of discipline and defence art on daily human life which gives a chance to stray from hectic computer world for once in a while, should also be supported.  This could be applicable for the art forms such as Tanjore painting,  bharatanatyam and koothu. 

       The measures that are prescribed to be taken may seem small, at some case even trivial but a little change goes a long way. There are hanwell systems installed by professionally sustainable heritage conservatonists in Edinburgh museums and holyrood palaces. So such discipline also provides opportunity for employment and manages our generation to be mindful of their environment. Thus sustainability in heritage conservation shall be much more plausible than before. 

Bibliography :

  https://bigthink.com/life/stone-stacking/

https://chennai.citizenmatters.in/chennai-temple-tanks-fare-well-in-harvesting-rain-water-11237

  

https://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/tamil-nadus-temple-tanks-hold-key-to-water-recharge-34389

https://www.gdrc.org/heritage/heritage-strategies.html

https://whc.unesco.org/en/sustainabledevelopment/