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Heritage Education in India

Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage
 


Youngintach Forum

Heritage Clubs
News 2010

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Shri Nehru Vidyalaya, Coimbatore
The Shri Nehru Vidyalaya, Coimbatore, organized a painting competition on making their school green and eco-friendly. An elocution competition on making the school green and eco-friendly was also organized. A meeting was held on the “Bad effects of thermocol on the environment.” A meeting was also held on the “Effects of noise pollutions.” A programme was organized whereby the school sweepers were provided with masks.
 
Heritage Week Celebrations At Anand Niketan, Ahmedabad
The World Heritage Week was celebrated with great pomp and enthusiasm from 18th to 25th November 2010. The students and teachers took great pleasure in celebrating the Heritage week in various interesting ways. A One - Minute Talk show on Heritage was held for the students of Grade 7 to 11. The students of Grade 9 and 11 ventured out for a Heritage Walk to explore the beauty of the old city of Ahmedabad on the 19th 0f November.

On 20th November, few teachers from the school undertook a heritage walk at night. From 22nd to 25th November students collected information about the different worship places, the people who follow these religions, the architecture of these buildings, the sculpture, the intricate design work etc, as a part of this week.vv

Maharaja Agrasen Vidyalaya, Ahmedabad
The Maharaja Agrasen Vidyalaya in Ahmedabad organized different activities in the month of December. Some prominent activities included holding special assemblies, showing movies to students on Indian culture and heritage, organizing site visits, and organizing numerous competitions for the heritage club members as well as other students who were willing to participate. These included making presentations on Indian culture and heritage.
Vidya Bhawan Gandhian Institute Of Educational Studies And Vidya Bhawan Seconadary School, Udaipur
Two Heritage Clubs were inaugurated in Udaipur, one at the Vidya Bhawan Gandhian Institute of Educational Studies and the other at the Vidya Bhawan Secondary School. The inauguration of the two clubs was marked by a cultural programme organized by the students under an old banyan tree which is part of the city’s heritage. Students performed at the cultural programme and recited poems and also spoke about the natural heritage of Mewar. This event coincided with Mahatma Gandhi’s Birth Anniversary.
Delhi Public School, Bopal, Ahmedabad
Delhi Public School, Bopal, Ahmedabad, organized a heritage walk for the students on 20th November 2010. The walk was conducted from the Swaminarayan Temple to the Jama Masjid. The students were shown a Power Point presentation before the proceeding for the walk. They were also taken to a number of Jain temples, famous pols of the old city of Ahmedabad, and chabutras or bird feeders during the walk. A comprehensive explanation of the old city and its architecture was given to the students.
The Hive Heritage Club, Nainital
The HIVE Heritage Club of Nainital organized a clean up drive on 21st November 2010. The main focus of this drive was to clean up the forest areas of Nainital which had become dirty due to litter. Members of the club actively participated in the clean up drive and took it upon themselves to clean all the rubbish that had accumulated over some months and years. The club is planning to organize another clean up drive in the areas that were left out in the months to come.
My Tree Book Project
Planting of trees has been a popular activity with many organizations. The student members of INTACH’s Heritage clubs in Kodaikanal have been busy the last few months doing the same ……but with a difference! In this instance, a student ‘adopts’ a sapling which she/he wants to ‘bring up’. The first few pages advise the student regarding her/his parental role. The ‘My Tree Book’ has a provision to record observations for 18 months & also has a Tamil version. Till date over 200 saplings have been planted by children in areas around their schools or around their homes. The schools that have participated so far are Bhavan’s Gandhi Vidyashram, St. Xavier’s Naidupuram, My School Satya Surabhi, St. Thomas, PUM School Vadakavunji, St. Theresa’s, KCS, KIS, Government school Poombarai and Sri Sankara Vidyalaya.
The Hive- Heritage Club In Nainital
The Hive – heritage club started by Parikshit Bhargava – has organized as many as 7 clean-up drives at various places in Nainital. The club has also undertaken 2 plantation drives including one on World Environment Day. In the month of October the club organized a poster-making competition on themes related to environment and wildlife. This competition was widely acknowledged in the media.
Modern School, Barakhamba Road
Modern School, Barakhamba Road inaugurated the heritage club last year. The name of the club is Dharohar. The club is extremely active and has been participating in all programmes organized by INTACH, including a trip to the Humayun’s Tomb and a visit to Sanskriti Anandagram. The club also organizes meetings periodically. This year the club initiated the ‘Vriksha Shiksha’ project in which the members of the club participated with great enthusiasm.
Ecole Mondiale World School, Mumbai
The Heritage Club ReConnect of Ecole Mondiale World School, Mumbai, organized a trip to the Mahakali caves led by Ms. Gaynor Borade. The trip was organized on 20th November 2010. The Mahakali caves are a group of Buddhist caves in Andheri which were carved out by Buddhist monks. The members of the club participated enthusiastically in all the discussions throughout the trip and were thrilled to see the caves and their fascinating architecture.

The club has also designed a logo for ReConnect, which includes the INTACH logo.

Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan’s Public School, Hyderabad
Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan's Public School, Jubilee hills, Hyderabad celebrated "Heritage Week" from 19th to 25th November 2010. Students showcased different activities on the stage which highlighted the importance of our heritage. There was a talk on different monuments like Charminar, Golconda Fort, Falaknuma Palace, Red Fort, Taj Mahal and Buddha Statue. A skit was performed on how to preserve our monuments. A dance programme was also organized. Cleaning the campus, visiting the slum school, quiz on national heritage animal was also a part of the activities undertaken by the school during the week. These activities provided a platform for students to exhibit their talents and also gave them an opportunity to gain ample knowledge on our rich heritage.
Sri Sankara Vidyashramam Matriculation Higher Secondary School, Chennai
The Sri Sankara Vidyashramam Matriculation Higher Secondary School, Chennai, has been a very active participant in all heritage awareness programmes in the city and in the country. The Parampara Heritage Club of the school recently organized a visit to the Brihadeeswara Temple at Tanjore. It was a dream project of the club which was fulfilled recently with students of the club visiting the 1000 year old temple with their teachers. The visit was a learning experience for the students because they witnessed the grandeur and beauty of one of the Great Living Chola Temple. The students visited the main shrine as well as the surrounding structures.
Saraswati Shiksha Mandir Higher Secondary School, Jabalpur
The Saraswati Shiksha Mandir Higher Secondary School, Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh has opened a heritage club in their school. The school has very innovatively named the club “Purvanjali Heritage Club”. The club has a total of 30 members at present and hopes to include more students in the future. Meetings of the club are held once a month. The heritage club has organized many programmes ever since its inception. Some of the programmes organized by them so far include debate, essay writing, drawing, poster making, etc. The club also encourages its members to make scrap books on Indian heritage and file and preserve newspaper cuttings. An educational tour for children was also organized by the club. The club also actively takes part in all celebrations organized on special occasions and festivals in the school.
Gwalior Glory High School
The Gwalior Glory High School in Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, has started a heritage club. The name of the club is “Daay Meeras”. The club has a total membership of 110 students. The club is very active and has organized many events and programmes based on Indian culture and heritage. It has organized heritage walks for students in Gwalior which has been an enriching experience for both students and teachers. Apart from walks, the school has also been involved in organizing heritage quiz competitions and organizing special programmes for celebrating World Heritage Day. Teachers have also been training and encouraging students to become school guides and take other students on a trip of various historical sites in the city. The school has also conducted special assemblies where presentations have been made on the heritage of India.
G.K.D. Matric Higher Secondary School
The G.K.D. Matric Higher Secondary School has started a heritage club called Vindhya. The club has 36 enthusiastic members. The meetings of the club are held every Saturday. The club is involved in various innovative activities. It maintains a herbal garden and a fruit orchard within the school premises. Different kinds of trees are planted by the members of the club on a periodic basis—silver oak, bamboo, rosewood, sandalwood, teak, etc. The club also assigns one project to its members every month. These projects are based on Indian heritage and culture—festivals, musical instruments, traditional games, folk dances and music, heritage sites, etc. The club members have also made beautiful collage work for the bulletin board of the school.
Dr. D.B. Kulkarni Vidyalaya, Mumbai
Dr. D.B. Kulkarni Vidyalaya, Mumbai, started a heritage club in their school. The name of the club is Sanskruti Heritage Club. Ever since it’s recent inception the club has organized many programmes and events. One such programme was a visit to the Jijamata Udyan. This was part of the club’s Green Heritage Study Visit programme. The students were taken to the garden and shown various trees and plants. This was followed by an interaction with the teachers.
Delhi Public School, Guragon
July –Intach Activity
Students of class VIII – F along with the INTACH students performed an assembly on 27th July 2010, wherein the students spoke about the importance of ‘Van Mahotsav’ which was initiated in 1950 by K. M. Munshi, the then Union Minister for Agriculture and Food to create an enthusiasm in the mind of the populace for the conservation of forests and planting of trees. The main objectives of the planting of trees during Van Mahotsav were also discussed and the assembly was concluded by a skit on the same.

August - Intach Activity
The INTACH students celebrated ‘Languishing Languages Day’ on 16th August 2010.The INTACH members participated enthusiastically by writing poems, idioms, puzzles and write ups in their mother tongue with an English translation.

Intach - Moment
The students of our school went for the Art exhibition – REASSEMBLE on 7th April 2010 and enjoyed the contemporary art displayed by the Pakistani artists. One of the enthusiastic student Aditya Vikram came back to me after few days with a plastic Pepsi bottle. After asking him what is it…he replied it is contemporary art…I have articles from this weeks newspaper stuffed in this bottle, as I want to bottle – up all the bad things happening in my Country and make it a better place to live.

I was touched and froze for a while!!!!

Christ Nagar Senior Secondary School, Trivandrum

Members of Das Erbe cleaning the school
premises
The Christ Nagar Senior Secondary School started a Heritage Club in their school and named it ‘Das Erbe’. This means ‘The Heritage’ in German. The motto of the club is to protect, promote and proclaim India’s heritage.

The club celebrated Nature Conservation Day on 28th July 2010 and conducted some activities in the school like cleaning the school premises. The members of the club spoke about the need for conserving nature in all the divisions from 5th to 12th standard.
Sri Sankara Vidyashramam Matriculation School-Activities in the month of July
The INTACH Parampara Heritage Club of Sri Sankara Vidyashramam Matriculation School organized three activities in the month of July. The Van Mahotsav was celebrated from 1st-7th July 2010. As part of the celebrations the members of the club participated in a painting competition. The students participated enthusiastically and painted many beautiful images of forests, trees, and the environment. The students also spoke about the importance of planting trees and how important they are for humankind.

The club also organized an information gathering programme on World Population Day on 11th July. As part of this, the members of the club gathered information about the census and also made a statistical analysis of the population.

On the occasion of Parents Day on 26th July 2010 the club organized a poem writing peogramme wherein students wrote poems for their parents.

Bhavan’s SL Public School, Amritsar
Bhavan’s SL Public School, Amritsar, organized a Poster Making Competition on 5th June 2010 to commemorate World Environment Day. The event was held in the school campus. The theme of the competition was “Save the Environment.” A seminar was also conducted in which students gave their suggestions on how the world can be made a cleaner, greener, and better place to live in. Students also took an oath to save the environment commitment themselves to the cause whole-heartedly. The students announced that they will not use polythene bags and other products that harm the environment. “Make the earth breathe by making it pollution free” was the oath taken by the students.
Gita Convent School, Faridabad
The Geeta Convent School organized a meeting and a clean-up drive on 6th May 2010. The meeting was organized in one of the members’ house. After the meeting the students went for the clean-up drive to a nearby forest. The students collected 7 kilograms of non-biodegradable waste from the forest. The Heritage Club has also planned to organize an Essay Writing Competition on the theme of Heritage and Culture.
Government High School, Alur, Karnataka
Government High School, Alur, is making efforts to study India’s rich heritage and gather knowledge about monuments, literature, culture, and so on. The heritage club started by the school is called “Chalukya Parampara Jagruti Sangha.” As part of this endeavour the school organized a programme, whereby, students were encouraged to learn about regional folk literature. Apart from this, the school also organized a programme for studying the old monuments of the village. As part of these initiatives taken by the school, students were made to visit Aihole in the Bijapur district of Karnataka.
Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya, Bareilly
 
DPS Vishakhapatnam
 
Young INTACH Club In Nainital By Parikshit Bhargava
Parikshit Bhargava, a young enthusiastic kid, from Nainital has set up a Young INTACH Club in Nainital. The club organized an essay writing meeting as well as a clean-up drive. It also conducted two meetings. The club presently has 10 members. Parikshit is hopeful that more members will join in the future for which he has asked the HECS division for more badges and passports.
 
Tagore International School, Vasant Vihar Managing the Qutub Minar Complex
The Heritage Club of Tagore International School, Vasant Vihar, has always worked towards exposing students to interesting aspects of various monuments in Delhi through activities that include heritage walks and regular visits to monuments to help in their upkeep and maintenance. On 12th December 2009 the school organized the Monument Managagement Programme at the Qutub Complex for 37 students of Class IX. The enthusiasm of the students was evident in the distribution of information brochures, prepared and printed by the students themselves, prior to the commencement of the programme. The programme was educative and provided each student with a learning opportunity as well as personalized hands-on experience on a day-to-day functioning of these heritage sites.
 
La Martiniere College
The History of My School- Lamartinier College, LUCKNOW
The La Martiniere Girls’ College which is an educational institution is also a beautiful monument. The college consists of two schools on different campuses for boys and girls. Lamartinier Boys’ College was established in 1845 while the Girls’ College was established in 1869. Lamartinier College is the only school in the world to have been awarded the “royal battle honours” for its role in the defence of Lucknow during the mutiny of 1857. The first major challenge for the Lamartinier School was the events of 1857 when it had to leave its premises and assisted in the defence of the Lucknow Residency. The events of 1857 saw the making of the Martinian military legend. For the first time in history, Britain called on schoolboys to assist in the military conflict. The staff and the boys who served during the mutiny were all awarded the Indian Mutiny Medal.
 
Little Star Hr Sec School, Dimapur, Nagaland
The school started the club with 30 members in the month of March. We named our club 'Morung' which is a traditional house for young boys and girls. On 24th April the club members went to a local museum called Chumpo Museum. There we learnt about our culture and tradition. Father Abraham, the owner of the museum, told us about the Thehuba. The Thehuba is a traditional sitting room located outside a traditional Naga house. This was where people gathered to sit and socialize. He also showed us the traditional weapons and crafts. I learned a lot about my own culture from the club.
 
Heritage Clubs Pondicherry
INTACH – HECS (Heritage Education Communication Service)
Heritage Education Programs

 For School Students:
  1. My City My Heritage: Heritage Walk of the Boulevard area of Pondicherry.
    (Every Saturday morning or conducted on request. Schools should sign up for the walks in advance.)
    Resource Group: Shruti, Gaurav and Deepa
     
  2. Heritage and Craft: The program gives an exposure of the traditional Crafts of the region.
    The students get hands on experience in learning the craft from the craftsperson directly.
    Resource person: D L Rishivanthi
     
  3. The Environment around us: Environment awareness and audit of the Environment around us. Its a 6-8 module session.
    Resource person: Sutirtha Roy, Sashti B
     
  4. Creative Expression through Art forms: Use of puppets, masks, performing arts in Education and expression.
    Resource person: Gopi
     
  5. Creative writing: Story telling and creative writing workshops. (To be conducted on request.)
  6. Heritage Radio: A Radio program for children broadcast weekly for 16-17 weeks. Students will present 10-15 minutes on a particular theme during this program.

    Resource group /coordinators: Gopi, Sutirtha, Sashti B, INTACH, Department of Ecology Pondicherry University
     

  7. Learning through Films: Films are a powerful tool of education. Screening of selected films followed by an interactive session where technical and subjective issues are discussed.
    Resource person:     Prof Ravindran, Department of Ecology Pondicherry University
     
  8. Nature Trail: Visit to the Natural Heritage sites in the Pondicherry bio-region.
    Resource group: Department of Ecology Pondicherry University
     
  9. Museum and Education: Setting up a mini Museum in the School premises. Assistance will be provided in setting up a small museum.
    Resource group: INTACH
     
  10. Setting up a micro enterprise: Schools which want students to get first hand experience in running a small business with local products. The products sold could be vegetables grown in the school garden patch, craft items made by children, calendars designed by children, products developed to create awareness regarding waste disposal etc.
    Resource group: INTACH, Daily Dump ( NGO, Bangalore based ), Sutirtha, Sashti B.

For Teachers:
Heritage Education Workshops: Interactive sessions with a multi-dimensional approach to education. Workshops conducted on request.
 

Ecole Mondiale Mumbai-Reconnect Club
ReConnect’s First Expedition
Members of Mumbai’s first Heritage Club, ReConnect, and our mentor Mrs. Gaynor strolled over to the main gate of the school, intently waiting for the Jeep that would drive us through our first expedition. We all hopped in, sorting out our stationery while the car rolled through the dug-up roads of Juhu, heading directly for Bandra. We crossed archaic buildings like the Mithibhai College, the coarse waters of the Juhu beach, the Talao Lake, St. Joseph Convent from 1803, St. Peters Church, St. Stephens Church and finally our destination, Mt. Mary. Mount Mary was a basilica, meaning it contained relics of a great person. This basilica is extremely famous in Mumbai, and has a huge fair in September to celebrate the birthday of Mary. The members of ReConnect marched to the entrance of the basilica, where we noticed the heavy Portuguese influence on the construction. We noticed the silence of each footstep rebounding off the high arches that formed the dazzling ceiling, intense with bright designs like the walls which portrayed the life of Jesus in vivid colours. The tall statue of Mary stood amidst vibrant flowers looking down on the benches. After noting down facts, we leaped back into the vehicle in awe. We rode into St. Andrews, where we got a jolt to find graves dating back to 1908, piled out in the entrance like paving stones. After noting the features of the church, we rode back to school. Going on this one trip has increased my knowledge on the heritage of Mumbai and the history behind it by acres.
 
ReConnect’s Assembly with Roses
Five heartbeats boomed across the MPH as the remaining students of the audience marched in. Could they hear these heartbeats? The five of us who were crouched backstage could definitely hear them. We waited in anticipation for Mr. Craig to finally announce us on to stage..
 
We five members of the ReConnect (Heritage Club) were prepared to do a magnificent assembly with two grade 11 students. After everyone hushed down, the presentation started in full swing.
 
We were introduced one by one and the information began to be let out, little by little. Our topic for the assembly was World Mother Language Day, which takes place on February 21st. Our main concerns were about languages going extinct and how to prevent that. Each of the members walked over to the spotlight and presented a given topic about Mother Languages.
 
My topic was the death of an 82 year old lady in the Andaman Islands. But it was not just the death of a human but also the death of the language Bo, of which she was the sole speaker. Now even languages are endangered; not just our animals. ReConnect revived and presented the numbers 1-10 in Bo. This was followed by every one of us presenting a short speech in our mother tongue.
 
The assembly ended with an intense debate about whether it is better to learn and preserve your Mother Tongue or the universal language, English. As it turned out, both of them are important, as you should communicate with everyone in a mutual language and maintain your mother tongue. I am certain that everyone left the assembly hall soaked with information!
 
However, this assembly was the second event of ReConnect that week- the first one will be remembered by most of the women staff in Middle School. Since it was International Women’s day on Monday (18th March), we members of ReConnect went handing out roses to all the females we encountered in the school and received numerous You made my day!’s from them.
 
These events have made us in ReConnect more confident in approaching people, as well as given us more information.
 
Aditya Krishnan
7.2
ReConnect
 
Sharada Mandir School, Goa
 
Sri Sankara Vidyashramam Chennai - Parampara Club
 
The Indian School, Delhi
 
Delhi Police Public School, Delhi
 
Rustomjee Cambridge International School, Dahisar (W), Mumbai
Diorama On Natural Vegetation And Wildlife Grade 7
The entire 7th grade was divided into 10 groups. Each group consisted of 6 to 7 students and they were given one type of vegetation to present. Students had to prepare a diorama with 3D models. They were allotted three weeks time to prepare their models. Along with the display of the diorama each student had to present different and important features of vegetation. For example: the climate, the region where it is found, trees, animals and soil. Students used their imaginative and creative skills in preparing the diorama. They made use of cut-outs, cotton, glitter, clay models of animals, sand, etc.
 
The presentation was held on the 3rd of February 2010 in art and craft room, wherein each group presented their work in a creative way. Through this children had an exposure to different types of vegetations with detailed information on it as well as they learn to work in groups’ cooperatively.
 

Bluebells Model School Sec 4 Gurgaon
Report Heritage Ensemble
’Dharohar’, the Heritage club of Blue Bells Model Sr. Sec. School celebrated Heritage Ensemble on 27.11.09 in the school campus.

Heritage club was founded in the school in the month of September after getting inspiration from INTACH, an NGO group for the preservation and adoption of historical monuments. Since then member teachers associated with Dharohar whole heartedly dedicated to do something to sensitize students about heritage preservation .In order to do so a skit was prepared by Incharge of the heritage club Mrs. Jagjeet Kaur and Mrs. Payal Uppal which was based on the progressive and declining phases of our natural and built heritage and call for their preservation and protection.

The most important part of the preservation was ‘Vision India’ an exhibition on Indian history from Paleolithic age to the independence of India. In this exhibition charts models and role-plays were exhibited by the students in a very effective manner..

In Stone Age students made beautiful models of stones and tools used by the early man. They dressed up as early man and explained everything about their lives. In the same manner fair Vedas, Gurukul system was also shown. A small skit based on Ashoka’s adoption to Buddhism and spread of Buddhism was shown. Act showing Samudragupta playing veena was really praiseworthy.

Then we reached the sultanate period where we all met with Mahmud Ghori, Razia Sultana, Alauddin Khilzi and Mohammud Tuglak. They introduced themselves with great proud and honour..

Akbar’s Court with all his nine gems really took us to the great Mughal dynasty, where we met dynamic models in the form of girls dressed as Nurjahan, Roshan Aara and Johan Ara with all their beauty and charms.
 
Suddenly we approached to the coastal area of India when British ship(in the form of model made by students of class 8) indicated coming of colonial rule in India. Their various models and role-play by the students taught us the whole history of the revolt of 1857, Jallianwala Bagh, Non- Cooperation to Quit India movement and Independence of India ending with the song “ A Vatan, A Vatan Tumko Meri Kasam….” And the social science department of Blue Bells Model School did all the great work. Mrs. Nirupma, Mrs. Nisha and Mrs. Rachna worked hard with dedication to accomplish this wonderful task. Mrs. Gurpal, the middle wing incharge contributed a lot to make this show successful.
 
But its not the end. Heritage Club is destined to do many more such things in future with the Heritage Quiz coming up in the month of January.
 
Jagjeet Kaur

Delhi Public School, Sec 45 Gurgaon February Activity
The INTACH club of school organised ‘Know India Better’ day on 5th February’10. The students participated in group activities and prepared advertisements to attract tourists of the state allotted to their class. It was an enriching experience for the students of VI, VII and VIII. Role plays, Travel Brochures, Talks and Travelogues were among the few activities through which students had a peek into the rich multicultural heritage of our country.
 
INTACH – ‘Know India Better’
 
     
The INTACH club of school organised ‘Know India Better’ day on 5th February’10. The students participated in group activities and prepared advertisements to attract tourists of the state allotted to their class.

Christ Nagar Senior Secondary School, Trivandrum
The Heritage Club of Christ Nagar Senior Secondary School, ‘Das Erbe’, celebrated World Tourism Day on 27th September and World Music Day on 12th of October respectively. The club members actively participated in all these celebrations.
 
On World Tourism Day the students brought charts and articles regarding the importance of tourism and the pictures of important tourist places and it was displayed in the school campus.
 
World Music Day was celebrated grandly. Students brought musical instruments and displayed all the musical instruments. There was chart display that included the details of musical instruments and the great musicians of the World. 
 

Delhi Public School, Sector 45, Gurgaon
DPS, Sector 45, Gurgaon, celebrated 'Green Consumer Day' on 27th September '10 in which students enthusiastically participated and made utility items from old newspapers like baskets, trays, bowls, paper-napkin stands, photoframes, folders, paper bags etc. This was indeed an enriching experience for the students who learnt new, innovative things.