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INTACH Jammu & Kashmir Chapter I Vol: 3 I Issue: 12I Month: March, 2018

I N D I A N N A T I O N A L T R U S T F O R A R T & C U L T U R A L H E R I T A G E

As a part of its yearly heritage awareness

campaign, INTACH Kashmir organized

‘Green Heritage Walk’ on 25th March, 2018

here in Kashmir. The program was a part

of global activity of goUNESCO focusing

upon the need to care for natural heritage.

The event, organized in collaboration with

the J&K Forest Department & Earth Day

Network received positive response from

the people who came to join the walk. The

participants, numbered around 100, were

remained focused throughout the program.

The green areas explored on the day

included: Mulnar Village Dhara, Kral Sangri

Nursery Cheshmashahi, and green belt of

the famous Dal Lake in Srinagar.

Mr. Irfan Ali Shah, IFS , Conservator

Forests Srinagar Circle, Mr. Nazir Ahmed,

Wildlife Expert and Mr. Mehraj-ud-din,

SFS, DFO Planning & Publicity Kashmir

Division were the experts who briefed the

participants about the natural heritage of

the valley of Kashmir.

As a part of global activity

of goUNESCO, INTACH

organizes ‘Green Heritage

Walk’ in Kashmir

Mr. Irfan Ali Shah stressed upon the need

to adopt validated practices of preserving

natural heritage. They encouraged the

participants to know more about the green

heritage of in and around Srinagar.

The 2018-19 heritage awareness

campaign planned by INTACH Kashmir

focuses on conducting various heritage

activities including Tree talks/walks,

workshops, seminars etc. in different

heritage corridors of Srinagar city.

Constructive dialogues, discussions, meet-

ups, ‘Clean the Monument’ drives, craft-

training programs for rural and urban

audience shall all be a part of this year

program.

Heritage walk for

students

In the summer capital of J&K State –

Srinagar, INTACH Kashmir in

collaboration with Sahapedia organized

heritage walk for students on 24th March,

2018. The walk starts from the famous

Pather Masjid and culminated at the

Khanqah-i-Mualla (Shah Hamdan

mosque). The walk-route mapped by

INTACH was followed to explore the

heritage monuments and sites around the

area which includes; Pather Masjid, Vakil

House, Budshah Tomb, copperware

market in Maharaj Gunj, & Khanqah Shah

Hamdan.

Umar Farooq, an architect working with

INTACH, briefed the participants about the

built heritage of the city, their typology,

significance in terms of construction. The

participants were seen interested to know

about these heritage structures.

The event focuses on introducing the

participants to the rich heritage of Kashmir

especially Shehar-i-Khaas, both in

tangible and intangible forms.

The participants who attended the

program were the students of Green

Valley Educational Institute and

Government MIddle School Gulab Bagh.

Speaking to INTACH, the students

expressed happiness for being a part of

this program which added to their

knowledge about the heritage sites and

monuments they have in their city.

At Khanqah-i-Mualla, Ar. Umar Farooq

briefly explained to the participants about

the ongoing restoration work on the spire

of Khanqah Shah Hamdan carrying by

INTACH Kashmir. The spire which was

gutted in a devastating fire recently is at its

final stage of restoration and shall be

completed soon.

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INTACH Jammu & Kashmir Chapter I Vol: 3 I Issue: 12I Month: March, 2018

I N D I A N N A T I O N A L T R U S T F O R A R T & C U L T U R A L H E R I T A G E

INTACH Jammu organizes Heritage Awareness Camp

The Jammu Chapter of INTACH organized

an Awareness Camp about the Heritage

Temples in Jammu City on 24th of May

2017. The camp was at the Historical

Raghunath Ji Temple in Jammu. Shri B.R

Kundal, IAS (Retd.) President Dharmarth

Trust Council, J&K (Former Chief

Secretary J&K State) was the Chief Guest.

Mr. S.M Sahni, Convener INTACH Jammu

Chapter while welcoming the Chief Guest

and other members of the chapter and

Dharmarth Trust explained the salient

features of historical Temples of Jammu

maintained presently by J&K Dharmarth

Trust. The trust was established during the

period of Maharaja Ranbir Singh for the

management of the Temples within the

J&K State.

While appreciating the efforts of the

chapter in terms heritage conservation,

the trustees of the Dharmarth Trust

discussed with the Convener of Jammu

Chapter about the preservation of wall

paintings of Sui – Sumble Temple at

Kanachak. It was further said that

INTACH shall act as an advisor to J&K

Dharmarth Trust for Conservation and

Preservation of Heritage Temples within

the State of J&K.

At event, the project of photo-

documentation of heritage temples within

the Jammu City was also kick-started by

Shri B.R Kundal.

Philately Exhibition in Jammu University

Dr. C.M Seth, State Co-Convener, Shri

Kuldeep Wahi, Co-Convener Jammu

Chapter and Shri Vinod Malhotra, Advisor

Built Heritage explained the significant

architectural features of the heritage

structures and stressed upon the need to

preserve their glory.

INTACH Jammu Chapter, with the

Department of Environmental Sciences,

University of Jammu and Department of

Posts, India (J&K Circle) organizes

‘Philately Exhibition – a unique collection

of stamps on Environment’. Also, various

oral presentations were made on the

theme “Connecting People to Nature” to

mark the World Environment Day 2017.

Prof. R.D Sharma, Vice Chancellor,

University of Jammu was the Chief Guest

on the occasion. Sh. Sanjay Sharan,

Chief Post Master General, Department of

Posts(J&K Circle) and Dr. C.M Seth, IFS

(Retd.) State Co-Convener INTACH, J&K

State were the Guest of Honor.

Prof. Sharma, applauded the efforts made

by the organizers in organizing such a

unique event and congratulated them for

introducing this new concept in the

University which shall be very beneficial

for the students at large.

Prof. Anil K. Raina, Head, Department of

Environmental Sciences, welcomed the

august gathering and introduced the

theme of the Environment Day 2017. He

also highlighted various initiatives and

achievements of the department during the

past one year along with various extension

and outreach activities organized by the

Department both within and outside the

University specially the project like Listing of

water bodies of Jammu District in

collaboration with INTACH, Jammu Chapter.

Dr. Deepika Slathia, Senior faculty member

and her team of scholars made presentation

on the topic “Revitalisation and Restoration

of Natural Heritage Sites of Jammu” wherein

she discussed at length about various

threats being faced by these heritage sites

and the need for their restoration and

conservation. She made a presentation of

bowlies, water talabs and step wells of block

Dansal – Nagrota.

Dr. C.M Seth, in his address stressed

upon the need of bringing positive

changes in our attitudes if we really wish

to conserve and protect environment. He

also emphasized on the fact that J&K has

large number of natural heritage sites

which need to be explored, and protected.

To achieve the desired results

involvement and intervention of local

inhabitants is needed.

Sh. S.M Sahni, Convener

INTACH, Jammu Chapter highlighted the

role of their organization in Conservation

of Built/Natural Heritage Sites of J&K. He

made a special mention of collaboration

of INTACH Jammu Chapter with the

Department of Environmental Sciences,

University of Jammu for conservation of

Natural heritage sites of Jammu District.

At the end, he proposed formal Vote of

Thanks to the dignitaries and to all other

participants.

More than 100 participants attended the

programme including Faculty Members,

Scholars, Students, and other local

organizations.

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INTACH Jammu & Kashmir Chapter I Vol: 3 I Issue: 12I Month: March, 2018

I N D I A N N A T I O N A L T R U S T F O R A R T & C U L T U R A L H E R I T A G E

To create a virtual database of all the

craftsmen involved in production of

different kinds of handicrafts in the state,

Jammu and Kashmir Government, with

the help of the World Bank funding, is

going to conduct an artisan’s baseline

survey.

Commissioner Secretary, Industries and

Commerce Department, Shailendra

Kumar told Greater Kashmir that a

portion of Rs 100-crore World Bank fund

allotted to the department would be used

for conducting the artisans’ baseline

survey to create a virtual database of all

craftsmen involved in the Kashmir arts.

As per official records, there are 2.32

lakh unregistered artisans in J&K making

handicrafts. These artisans are unable to

gets any benefits of government

incentives and schemes.

Kumar said that in order to bring the

marginalised artisans’ to the forefront,

the department is planning to register

50,000 artisans in first phase on its web

portal in next one year. He said mapping

of artisan clusters such as Downtown,

Srinagar and Wathoora in Budgam

district will help to identify neglected

craftsmen.

“Becoming a part of the portal will help

artisans to do marketing of their products

in a better way and will eradicate the

middlemen. We intend to have each

artisan running a virtual showroom and

expect this online facility to help them

reach a wider client base,” said Kumar.

In its endeavor to boost handicraft and

handloom trade, the department in its

recent draft trade policy of the state has

asked allied government corporations to

develop e-commerce platforms for

trading products from respective sectors

Govt survey for creation of artisan database on cards Kumar said that in order to bring the marginalized artisans’ to the forefront, the department is planning to register 50,000 artisans in first phase on its web portal in next one year.

“This will help to enhance silk production

from 50,000 meters per annum to 5 lakh

meters per annum,” Kumar said. The

Rajbagh Silk Factory, established in 1937

is presently functioning with obsolete

infrastructure comprising looms made in

1939. The current annual production of silk

at the factory dwindles between 20,000 -

50,000 metres and the annual turnover for

2017 was Rs 4 crore.

“As a part of this project, Rajbagh Silk

Factory is set to be revamped by July 2019

following which the raise in its annual

production would help annual turnover rise

to Rs 12.85 crore with a profit of Rs 2.93

crore,” he said.

As a part of the World Bank funding,

Woollen Mills Bemina, which has been

lagging behind in production would be also

upgraded. The upgradation project for

BeminaWoollen Mills has been approved

at a cost of Rs 11.74 crore. “This will

enhance Woollen fabric production from

the present 75,000 meters per annum to 5

lakh meters,” he said.

Source: www.greaterkashmir.com

to increase the outreach of local products

worldwide.

"The e-marketing shall also eliminate

mediators and improve linkages between

farmers, food processors, small time

artisans, manufacturers and retailers,"

states the policy.

Kumar said the Rs 100-crore funding for

“Restoration and Strengthening of

Livelihoods” by the Industries Department

is from the World Bank “Flood Recovery

Project”.

“This funding will be helpful for providing a

boost to a series of upgradation projects

which our department has lined-up. With

such projects, the handicrafts and textiles

industry of Kashmir will be granted a new

lease of life and people involved in these

sectors will also be benefitted,” Kumar

said.

A large portion of these funds have been

earmarked for upgradation of Rajbagh Silk

Factory, Bemina Woolen Mills and

Rajbagh Silk Factory upgradation project

has been approved at a total cost of Rs

22.85 crore.

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INTACH Jammu & Kashmir Chapter I Vol: 3 I Issue: 12I Month: March, 2018

I N D I A N N A T I O N A L T R U S T F O R A R T & C U L T U R A L H E R I T A G E

GKNN

Srinagar, Publish Date: Mar 16 2018

A valley-wide campaign to save Chinar trees

was launched today with wide-scale

plantation of Chinar saplings, a symbol of the

famed heritage of Kashmir.

At Srinagar, Minister for Relief, Rehabilitation

and Reconstruction and Floriculture, Javaid

Mustafa Mir today kick-started the plantation

drive by planting a Chinar sapling at

Emporium Garden here.

The Minister was the chief guest at a function

organized by Department of Floriculture

themed “Plant a Chinar, Plant a hope” which

was attended by director Floriculture,

Kashmir, Mathura Masoom, noted poet

Zareef Ahmad Zareef and officials besides

farmers from various areas. On the occasion,

Mir was informed that the Department starts

Chinar plantation drive every year on March

15 and distributes 10,000 free Chinar

saplings among the people and various

government departments. The director said

that this year Floriculture Department has set

target more than previous years.

Speaking on the occasion, the Minister said

that there is a need to plant more trees in

order to create the eco-friendly environment.

He said that preservation of Chinar tree must

be a duty of every conscientious Kashmiri

and by planting more Chinar trees, “we are

doing some good for the future generations.”

Later, the Minister also released the booklet

on Chinar trees “The Majestic Chinar of

Kashmir” which was published by

Department of Floriculture, Kashmir. At

Bandipora, District Development

Commissioner SajadHussain kick-started the

Drive by planting a Chinar sapling at the Mini

Secretariat premises Bandipora.

On the occasion, the DDC was informed that

Floriculture Department is providing 250

Chinar saplings to schools and other

Government institutions free of cost in the

district.

‘Srinagar’s rich cultural heritage must be preserved’ Tassaduq Hussain Mufti convenes meeting on Urban Infrastructure

Srinagar: Published at March 02, 2018

Summer capital Srinagar of Kashmir

region has a rich and diverse heritage

and should be an example to the world

by preserving it, said Minister for

Tourism, Tassaduq Hussain Mufti

Thursday while convening an interactive

meeting on Urban Infrastructure in the

tourism hub of Srinagar City. The

heritage city is home to many heritage

sites and buildings. But even these are

threatened by urbanization.

The meeting was attended by the

representatives from SMC, SDA,

LAWDA, UEED who gave separate

power point presentation on the statues

of ongoing development projects and

schemes being executed in the city.

SMC Commissioner Riyaz Ahmad Wani

briefed the Minister about various

development schemes being

implemented for the beautification of the

city. He informed the meeting about the

development of parks, green spaces,

public conveniences points, installation

of street lights, creation of parking

places, besides plantation and

beautification of open spaces.

SMC Commissioner also informed the

meeting that Corporation is working on

tackling the dog problem in the city.

For the conservation of the Dal Lake and

other water bodies, Lakes and Water

Ways Development Authority (LAWDA)

outlined its rehabilitation plan of the Dal

dwellers and also demarcation of the

lake boundaries to prevent

encroachment and construction illegal

structures.

VC-LAWDA in his presentation informed

the meeting that they are doing geo-

tagging of the structures within 200

meters of the water bodies in the notified

area to keep watch on any illegal

construction.

Source: www.risingkashmir.com

It was said that the district has 1491 Chinars

as per the census conducted by Floriculture

Department during 2017-18. At Baramulla,

the drive was initiated by Deputy

Commissioner Dr Nasir Ahmad Naqash at

Government Degree College for Boys. The

drive is being organized by Floriculture

department under which chinars will be

planted at several places across the district.

Principal GDC for Boys Prof Fazlul-Rahim,

District Floriculture Officer Shakeel Samoon,

officers of various departments and other

concerned were present on the occasion.

At Shopian, Floriculture Department carried

out the plantation drive in the premises of

District Administrative Complex Shopian.

At Kupwara, the drive was organized by

Department of Floriculture at Handwara in

which Additional Deputy Commissioner

Handwara was the chief guest. The ADC

kick-started the drive at Government Degree

College, Handwara by planting Chinar sapling

in the premises of the College.

Similar functions and plantation drives

highlighting the significance and importance

of Chinar trees were held in all the districts of

the Valley.

Source: www.greaterkashmir.com

Drive to save Chinar launched across Kashmir

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INTACH Jammu & Kashmir Chapter I Vol: 3 I Issue: 12I Month: March, 2018

I N D I A N N A T I O N A L T R U S T F O R A R T & C U L T U R A L H E R I T A G E

Shashank Bhargava (The Hindu) MARCH 17, 2018 Some 50 years before that magnificent

monument of love, Taj Mahal, was built,

Abdur Rahim Khan-e-Khanan, a poet and

diwan in Emperor Akbar’s court, built a tomb

in the memory of his wife Mah Banu. It was

the first Mughal tomb built for a woman.

Constructed in 1598, the tomb stands a few

hundred meters south of the Humayun’s

Tomb, a world heritage site, in Delhi. This

location was chosen for its proximity to

Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya’s Dargah — it was

considered auspicious to be buried near the

grave of a saint. Rahim too was eventually

buried here in 1627.

Located near one of Delhi’s busiest roads,

Mathura Road, Rahim’s tomb remained

largely ignored for several years.

Then in 2014 the Ministry of Culture

requested the Aga Khan Trust for Culture

(AKTC) to restore Rahim’s tomb.

The tomb’s condition was precarious, to say

the least, when the project began. “I usually

don’t say this, but this building could have

collapsed,” says Ratish Nanda, AKTC’s Chief

Executive. It was “a very complex” project, he

says. The restoration began in association

with the Archaeological Survey of India and

funding from InterGlobe, an Indian

conglomerate.

There were deep cracks in the crypt, the first

floor and the dome – “some so wide that you

could put your arm through them.”

This needed immediate attention, and he

realized it would take up to a year to fix them.

Vandalism had added to the structure’s

deterioration. Stones were missing, the white

marble on the dome had been stripped off,

water was seeping through. A flood a few

years ago had also created cracks in the

crypt’s vault.

Kilos of concrete The restoration that had been attempted

previously was woefully inappropriate and

used modern plaster and cement, and had

compounded the problem.

AKTC had faced a similar challenge during

their restoration of Humayun’s Tomb, where

they had to remove over a million kilos of

concrete. The tomb wasn’t particularly

Renovating Rahim’s tomb: The original monument of love

Menon says that an attempt will also be

made to restore the grand garden with plants

that the Mughals favoured, such as citrus

orchards.

A project of this scale requires several layers

of work — preservation to keep the building

in the state that it is found, restoration to

bring the structure as close to its original

condition as possible and reconstruction,

which also involves a technique called

‘anastylosis’, where a ruined building or a

broken object is restored using its original

material. The vaults and parapet here were

reconstructed using new pieces of Delhi

quartzite and red sandstone respectively.

Paint and lime-wash layers had to be

painstakingly removed to reveal the incised

geometric and floral patterns.

It will be another 16 to 20 months before the

restoration of the tomb is complete, as there

is major structural work to be done on the

dome and facade.

But views on conservation can be subjective.

There are those who criticize the work being

carried out, saying that such techniques take

away the narrative of age from the structure.

Some believe that preservation is the only

correct conservation technique.

But critics often focus on the aesthetics, not

taking into account the structural integrity of

the building. Nanda illustrates this with the

analogy of skin. “You cannot say, ‘oh my

skin is falling off, but I won’t repair it.’ Skin,

besides making you look like who you are, is

also fulfilling a lot of other functions.”

It is to counter such ‘mad arguments’ that

Nanda says AKTC got the project

extensively peer reviewed by over 50

different individuals — from architects,

archaeologists and engineers, to historians,

journalists and bureaucrats. These included

Jaya Jaitly, Narayani Gupta, Saleem Beg,

William Dalrymple, Gillian Wright and Lynn

Meskell.

Nanda says that AKTC doesn’t take up a

project unless the work can benefit local

people. The Nizamuddin Basti Urban

Renewal Initiative, of which the Rahim tomb

renovation is a part, has also generated over

five lakh man days of work for master

craftsmen.

Source: www.thehindu.com

Rahim’s tomb, inspiration behind the Taj Mahal, was about to collapse when it was rescued by a conservation project Major structural work is being carried out both on the dome and the facade of the tomb of Abdul Rahim Khan-I-Khana.

structurally sound to begin with either, much

like Humayun’s Tomb.The team began with

architectural documentation. This involved 3-D

laser scanning (a technique first developed to

find leaks in nuclear plants), photo archival

research, historical research. Every stone was

drawn up.

In 1968, the renowned British historian Percy

Brown identified Humayun’s and Rahim’s

tombs as structures that inspired the Taj

Mahal. “But what is most significant about

Rahim’s tomb,” Nanda says “is Rahim.” Rahim

was just four when his father, Bairam Khan,

an important military commander in the

Mughal army, was assassinated. He grew up

under the foster care of Emperor Akbar. He

would later become one of Akbar’s nine most

important ministers, the Navaratnas, and

prove his own capability as a commander.

Most of us, however, know Rahim better as a

poet. Apart from his famous dohas, he also

wrote verses in Arabic, Sanskrit and Turkish,

and translated Emperor Babur’s

autobiography, Baburnama, from Turkish to

Persian.

“I like the idea of this multidimensional

personality. [He is] almost a renaissance

figure,” says former diplomat T.C.A.

Raghavan, whose curiosity about Rahim

eventually led him to write a book about the

man and his father, Attendant Lords (2017).

Secular symbol

Ujwala Menon, a conservation architect with

AKTC, says that he was a secular figure and a

patron of architecture. “The water supply

system that he built in Burhanpur, with

underground pipelines to every part, we can’t

replicate that even today.”

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INTACH Jammu & Kashmir Chapter I Vol: 3 I Issue: 12I Month: March, 2018

I N D I A N N A T I O N A L T R U S T F O R A R T & C U L T U R A L H E R I T A G E

INTACH Craft Shop

Craft products available: Publications available:

Hand-embroidered Cushion Covers

Crafts of Kashmir

A monograph on Willow Wicker

Craft practiced in Kashmir

INR 200/-

Architectural

traditions of Kashmir

A monograph on Naranag

Temples in Kashmir

INR 200/-

Hand-embroidered Rugs

INTACH Jammu & Kashmir Chapter

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