An ode to heritage

Listening to music probably can't save heritage structures. Yet, the Mumbai Sanskruti concert makes an effort to preserve memories of Mumbai's historic legacy

"Rouse up, Sirs! Give your brains a rackingu00a0/ To find the remedy we're lackingu00a0/ Or, sure as fate, we'll send you packing!" How many times have you wanted to pencil something like that in a note to your area's corporator?

In his poem, The Pied Piper of Hamelin, Robert Browning spoke of Hamelin town and their vermin menace, but consider the sorry state of our heritage structures and our city's infrastructure in general and so many lines from that poem seem strangely relevant here.


Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia

A thousand guilders didn't mean very much to Hamelin's Mayor and Corporation when the town's children disappeared, but the damage, sadly, was done.

Hoping to get this city's residents to appreciate what we have before it's too late, the Indian Heritage Society has organised a two-day concert at the Town Hall or Asiatic Society building, which commences with a performance by our own magical piper, Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia.
u00a0
Classical Hindustani singers, Pandit Sanjeev Abhyankar and Dr Ashwini Bhide-Deshpande, will perform on the second day. "The festival," IHS Chairperson, Anita Garware says, "is not just an effort to draw attention to our glorious heritage structures, but also to rouse curiosity about our city's multi-communal heritage."

Highlighting the loss of knowledge about the history of numerous areas such as Walkeshwar, which temple that houses Walu ka Ishwar, a Shiv Ling that was carved out of sand, Garware says she is grateful for the continued support of the Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) and sponsors, that makes it possible to draw attention to these issues.
u00a0
"This year, the fest would also focus on landmarks such as Khotachiwadi, Bohra Bazar and Parsi colonies like Khusrow Baug, where planning didn't mean just putting up a parking lot and a gymnasium. Rather, it was about making room for life in its simplest, most beautiful form."

On January 8 and 9 at 7 pm
At Asiatic Library, Shahid Bhagat Singh Marg, Fort.u00a0 Limited fress passes can be collected from any MTDC counter across the cityu00a0