The InterGlobe HERITAGE Fellowships 2022

InterGlobe Foundation launched the first phase of InterGlobe HERITAGE Fellowships in 2022. The objective was to encourage and motivate in-depth research on built and cultural heritage in specific towns and regional geographies of India, draw from the research to build action plans for intervention in select locations, explore multi-stakeholder partnerships for better heritage conservation, and instill a sense of pride and co-ownership for India's built heritage among its citizens. These fellowships were available to students and faculty of liberal arts, researchers, journalists, architects, and freelancers.

The fellowship encouraged fresh perspectives on the tangible and intangible heritage across India, amplified local voices, shed light on local conditions to help people understand deeper issues related to heritage-driven development. Additionally, it explained the interconnectedness between community-based planning, technology-driven conservation, community development initiatives, strategic

After a thorough selection process, two fellows were selected for the InterGlobe Heritage Fellowships 2022 who embarked on projects and conducted research on two significant topics.

Topic: Reviving the Lesser Known and Sidelined Musical Instruments - Shreekhol, Taus and Nafiri
Fellow Name: Alokparna Das

This project by Alokparna Das aimed to create a means of generating awareness and initiatives that can help revive these lesser known vadyayantras (musical instruments), mainly Taus, once integral to Gurbani in Punjab, Nafiri, once part of wedding processions and celebrations at Jain shrines in and around Delhi, and Shree Khol, an accompaniment of Vaishnav devotional and folk music of Bengal. These instruments, though not entirely lost, have some lone maestros, instrument-makers and communities who are fighting odds to keep these cultural assets alive.

Topic: Beyond the geological magnanimity: Cultural Landscape of Lonar Crater
Fellow Name: Swapna Joshi

This project by Swapna Joshi attempts to comprehend the changes and tensions between the natural and cultural landscapes of Lonar Sarowar in Maharashtra, a geological phenomenon known for its uniqueness.

Soaked into its mythological status, the saltwater lake and the adjacent village came to be a locus of several temples, tanks and monasteries constructed from the twelfth to eighteenth century CE. Over time, communities in and around the region developed an elaborate range of socio-cultural interactions and expressions with the natural and built heritage around the lake. Declared a protected site under the Ramsar Convention in 2020, changes in the natural and climatic conditions of the crater and its surroundings have affected the state of its tangible and intangible cultural heritage over a period of time.