Leveraging Informatics to Conserve Intangible Cultural Heritage of Ayodhya: A Study of Life Events of Lord Rama

Authors

  • Sarvesh Kumar Assistant Professor, Department of Geography, D.D.U. Gorakhpur University, Gorakhpur, UP 273009
  • Rana P.B. Singh Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi

Keywords:

Intangible Cultural Heritage, Pilgrimage City, Festivitivals, life event, Ayodya, Ramayana

Abstract

Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) is defined by UNESCO as the practices, representations, expressions, knowledge, and skills – as well as the instruments, objects, artefacts, and cultural spaces associated therewith – that communities, groups, and, in some cases, individuals recognize as part of their cultural heritage. ICH is transmitted from generation to generation and is constantly recreated by communities and groups in response to their environment, their interaction with nature, and their history, and it provides them with a sense of identity and continuity, thus promoting respect for cultural diversity and human creativity. According to the UNESCO ICH Convention the intangible cultural heritage, or living heritage, is the mainspring of our cultural diversity, and its maintenance is a guarantee for continuing creativity that is part of a network and interlinking system. The Hindu pilgrimage city Ayodhya is full of intangible cultural heritage and records several festivities and celebrations related to the life events of Lord Rama. Pilgrimage journey based on the life journey of Rama, Ramalila (Rama life story through play), Ramajanmotsava (‘birthday celebration of Rama’), and Ramavivaha (‘marriage celebration of Rama’) are important festivals and celebrations of Ayodhya based on art, culture, and aesthetic sense of intangible cultural heritage. The study explores how Informatics can be harnessed to conserve the ICH of Ayodhya and disseminate knowledge on it to people beyond time and space.

Author Biographies

  • Sarvesh Kumar, Assistant Professor, Department of Geography, D.D.U. Gorakhpur University, Gorakhpur, UP 273009
    Sarvesh Kumar is  Assistant Professor in Department of Geography, Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gorakhpur University, Gorakhpur, India.  His area of specialization is Cultural landscape, Heritage conservation, management, planning, and Tourism Study- Religious pilgrimage/ alternative journey. He is Life member of INTACH- Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage and Joint Secretary of the ACLA- Asian Cultural Landscape Association (SNU Korea-Japan-India-Italy).
  • Rana P.B. Singh, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi

    Rana P.B. Singh, the President–of RWYC: Reconnecting With Your Culture (Asia), President–of ACLA: Asian Cultural Landscape Association, (-- a charter of the Euro. Comm., and a member of UNESCO), Chairman, CIRD (Centre for Informatics Research and Development) – Heritage Informatics Advisory Committee (HIAC), Trivandrum; India; and was Professor of Cultural Landscapes & Heritage Studies, at Banaras Hindu University, India. For the last 45 years, he is researching in the fields of Cultural Landscapes, Sacredscapes and Pilgrimage Studies, Heritage Sites & Planning, and did field studies in India, Japan, Sweden, Italy, Korea, and China. His publications include 340 papers and 43 books & anthologies. For the last few years together with Prof. Olimpia Niglio, working on projects related to cultural heritage, RWYC, and deep-rooted education at the global level. 

References

Aikawa-Faure, Noriko (2009) From the Proclamation of Masterpieces to the Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage; in, Laurajane Smith and Natsuko Akagawa (eds.) Intangible heritage. Routledge, London, pp. 13-44.

Bandarin, Francisco and van Oers, Ron (2012) The Historic Urban Landscape: Managing heritage in an urban century. Wiley-Blackwell, Chichester.

Idris, Muhammad Zaffwan, & Mustaffa, Norsima & Yusoff, Syed (2016) Preservation of Intangible Cultural Heritage Using Advance Digital Technology: Issues and Challenges. Harmonia: Journal of Arts Research and Education, 16. Doi: https://doi.org/10.15294/harmonia.v16i1.6353.

Kansyakar, Chhedilal (2015) Ramalila ke 500 Varsha: Ayodhya aur Kashi ke Sandarbha mei. Sakshi, vol. 44 (ISSN: 2454-5465). Ayodhya Sodh Samasthan, Ayodhya.

Kumar, Sarvesh and Singh, Rana P.B. (2017) Rationales for inscribing “The Heritage sites, Riverfront and Pilgrimages Routes of Ayodhya” in the UNESCO World Heritage List. Sthapatyam, Indian Journal of Architecture and Allied Sciences (ISSN: 2349-2369, RNI NO. DELBIL/ 2014/56060), vol. 3 (9), November: pp. 51-77.

Kumar, Sarvesh and Singh, Rana P.B. (2019) Ayodhya: A study of Urban Governance and Heritage Inclusive Development; in, Sharma, Vishwa Raj and Chandrakanta (eds.) Making Cities Resilient. The Urban Book Series, ISSN: 2365-757X. Springer Nature Switzerland AG, Cham, and New York: pp. 317-338.

Kumar, Sarvesh (2022) Sacredscapes vis-à-vis Faithscapes: Cultural Landscapes of Ayodhya, a Holy-Heritage City of India; in, Ravi S. Singh, et al. (eds.), Practising Cultural Geographies: Essays in Honour of Rana P.B. Singh. Advances in 21st Century Human Settlements Series (ISSN: 2198-2546). Springer Nature Pte Ltd., Singapore: pp. 111-139.

Roe, Maggie (2017) Landscape and intangible cultural heritage: Interactions, memories, and meanings; in, M. Stefano and P. Davis (eds.) The Routledge companion to intangible cultural heritage. Routledge, London: pp. 317-332.

Sinha, Amita (2006) Landscapes in India: Forms and Meaning. University Press of Colorado, Boulder.

Singh, Rana P.B.; Rana, Pravin S., and Kumar, Sarvesh (2020) Intangible dimensions of urban heritage: Learning from holy cities of India; in, Kapila D. Silva (ed.) The Routledge Handbook on Historic Urban Landscapes of the Asia-Pacific. Routledge, London & New York: DOI, https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429486470_16: pp. 275-293.

Singh, Rana P.B. and Kumar, Sarvesh (2019) Interfacing Cultural Landscapes between India and Korea: Illustrating the Memorial of Korean Queen HEO in Ayodhya. The Geographer (ISSN: 0072-0909 Print, 0975-9522 Online; Aligarh Muslim University Geographical Society, Aligarh, India), vol. 66 (2), July: pp.109- 120.

UNESCO (2003) Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage. UNESCO, Paris.

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Published

2023-09-30

Issue

Vol. 10 No. 3 (2023): Heritage Informatics

Section

Articles

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