Women's Day: Mukul Agarwal on preserving heritage today
Bengal’s colonial past finds reflections in the beautiful heritage buildings and architecture in and around the city. We speak to Calcutta Heritage Collective’s (CHC) founder-trustee Mukul Agarwal on spreading consciousness about heritage, today.
What piqued your interest in the heritage and history of the city and its surroundings?
I have studied architecture at CEPT, Ahmedabad. Thus there has always been a natural bent towards architecture of all kinds - traditional and contemporary. Living in Kolkata, I got really intrigued by the beautiful structures built in the 19/20 century! Then there came a time when my heart said I needed to give back to my city, what better way than doing my bit to preserve Kolkata’s built heritage.
Do you remember the first place of historical importance that you visited and how you felt about it?
In Kolkata, we have all grown up visiting the Victoria Memorial. But I remember visiting the Ajanta-Ellora caves as a 10-year-old and wondering why the whole world does not visit it. Much later I realised that for us Indians, heritage tourism was not anywhere at the top in the list.
How is CHC helping to create awareness about heritage?
Whatsapp group for exchange of knowledge. We invite members and non-members for extensive guided tours of various areas in and around the city. We conduct Talks and panel discussions by experts from all over the country. We believe that children are our future and they must be introduced to our history on ground. Lastly, there is the social media! We have attracted the interest of thousands by our posts.
Are people of the city more heritage-conscious today?
Yes and thankfully so!! People are now curious, want to visit areas they have not been to, want to know the history and are proud of these properties! Many corporates and real-estate developers are buying / leasing old properties and sensitively restoring and reusing them.
How can we as individuals do our bit to keep our heritage intact?
If you see a graded property being damaged or demolished, immediately raise a voice. Ensure that all properties are listed and graded —in Kolkata and Bengal. Find creative ways of re-using properties to ensure sustainability. Be a part of crowd-funding when required. Take photos and write about them on your social media handles. If you are a lucky owner of a heritage property and are finding it difficult to maintain, ask for help from groups like ours
Roadmap for CHC…
Besides continuing all our regular events which are spread throughout the year, we have identified certain heritage sites and are working to get permissions to restore them. We also plan to do a couple of fundraising events.