When Things and Buildings Stop Being Things

by-Himanshu Vyas

This relation of common man with Haveli's delights me. It is a relation which transcends popular and easily understood reasons like heritage and culture. Even their nostalgia can be explained and cherished. But when we see ordinary citizens, most of them who never lived or could own such splendorous Haveli’s, arguing and protesting their dismantling, the reason is somewhere deeper.

When an ordinary middle aged man, pushing his bicycle pedals, with a cotton bag full of vegetables dangling from handle, passes these haveli’s, he may not even look at them but their towering presence is a consolation.

He finds the same consolation as which is in his old and frail grandmother sitting whole day in chowk…occassionaly coughing …occasionally asking “paachho kane aasi?” (When will you return.)

Be it Daa’saa’s old charpai or Bhabhu’s gediya (walking stick)...there comes a point after history when things and buildings stop being things and buildings and become our Buzurg.

Of course these Haveli’s are heritage, but I do not see these Haveli’s merely as material heritage or staple for tourist camera’s. Again and again I wish to see them from that ordinary man’s lowered eyes. Buffeted from every conceivable direction in his struggle to exist with grace in today’s whimsically changing world, the ordinary man looks for a stable thing. For something which was there, is there and will be there. He perceives this unchangeableness in these Haveli’s which he doesn’t own but in a sense, is ‘owned’ by.

I lived my childhood in Bikaner. Then in Jodhpur and today I’m in Jaipur. At all the three places, if I return after a few months or years and find that an apartment has sprung where a khejdi tree used to be or a mall has displaced an ever present home, I sense something disappearing in my personal past. And these Haveli’s are a collective past of a complete society…a city … a civilization called Bikaner. They are the features of city’s face. Expression of its eyes and their presence lends the city a grace that comes with age. How, without them, will Bikaner be different from a newborn Noida or Gudgaon?

The world is changing under various guises like development, modernization, usefulnesse etc. And some of them are even necessary keeping in mind the changes in world. But are all these changes and developments an emergency situation! Couldn’t they themselves be redundant a day later! Nature too is constantly changing. But a Parijaat flower that blossomed one morning thousands of year ago looks and smells the same in 2012. If we site nature as an example of change, isn’t nature an example of stability too! Cant our creations too be lasting and what beautiful has been created, made to last? Instead of seeing reason in what world is doing can’t we make the world understand the importance of stability, a human pace and grace that flows from past? Isn’t it our duty too? As Nida Fazli says ‘jin charagon ko hawaon ka khauf nahin / un charagon ko hawaon se bachaya jay.’

And even literally these haveli’s have stood the storms. Imagine the Bikaner decades ago, when desert would saddle the storms and visit its lanes almost everyday. And Sun would make streets deserted. These haveli’s not only protected those living in them but reined the storms passing through the lean lanes between haveli’s. They protected and shaded the ordinary Bikaneri without asking for anything in return. Once they faced the storms for us, now that the ‘modern’ storms are about to devour them, who will protect them?

And there can be an equally profound exploration of their architectural and anthropological worth. Some of which are so obvious reasons to save them with cooperation and consensus of every soul concerned with them.

Vandalism of Cultural Heritage in Bikaner

by-Gopal Singh

Have you ever thought of destroying your own heritage? This very thought will scare you but in Bikaner, hundreds of architectural marvels known as Havelis constructed are left to be demolished and dismantled lacking effective policies for heritage preservation. During our ground research it is disheartening to find the fact that as many as forty to fifty notable Havelis have been lost in Bikaner in last one year. The situation got quite grim when we noticed that ancient and historically important architecture of four Jain temples have been renovated with modern marble and tiles. Their old carved red sand stones have been sold without any permission from government authority in this medieval city. These temples and havelis’ rich and ancient history have been standing for over 400 years in Bikaner and who would suspect that it could ever be endangered.

Present status

Bikaner is known most for its continuous of its culture, not to forget its contribution to literature, folk and classical music, miniature art and many other innumerable disciplines. One of the most long lasting consequences of this recent heritage shock in this city cannot be described more than anything but the immeasurable loss to its culture. This serious physical damage of its heritage is unfortunate and a blot on our cultural and collective identity since it is divested by its own people and place. There is no doubt that the wealthy merchant Marwari class, that profited from the trade route, was responsible for creating such an era of historical buildings in the form of Havelis 300 years ago but then what made them to think of such rude behavior towards their own created legacy? where has the sense of nostalgia to their own rooted identity gone (as this class is known for)? And are they not guilty if their self created history is being reduced to rubble? Do they stand to lose its culture?

Bikaner has identified 15 historical monuments in the list of protected monuments by states’ Art & Culture department and its two historical temples have been listed as protected monuments under a national organization ASI which is one of the premier organization for the protection of the cultural heritage of the nation. But more than fifty ancient monuments of heritage importance are still waiting to be recognized by ASI in this small city.

Earlier in 2011, the Havelis of walled-city of Bikaner were proposed by a local organization Lokayan to be included in the World Monuments Fund’s biennial list of the endangered sites that are facing severe challenges to survive today. In October 2011, these Havelis were successfully included in The World Monuments Watch (Watch List) as an endangered site. Being on the watch list is an advantage as the worldwide recognition helps its survival.

Being on Watch List

Amita Baig, WMF representative in India, says ‘I hope that regional,state, national and international attention will help save the invaluable heritage of this city and that we will all work together towards this goal. We must ensure that development protects our past and not destroy that which we have inherited". The next step to rescue and restore the beauty of these monuments should be covered by local authority by preparing a preservation plan and ensuring its necessary implementation to stop this disaster in progress. Taking on the same Sikha jain, Director of the Delhi based development and research organization DRONAH, says “The Havelis of Bikaner are testimony to the invaluable stone craftsmanship of Rajasthan and I hope that their placement on the World Monuments Fund 2012 Listing will lead to addressing the urgent conservation needs for this incomparable heritage. This achievement is realized today because of the initiatives taken by Lokayan. To achieve sustainable conservation, it is essential that the locals, government and NGO's (national and international) should collectively work for this cause."

Meanwhile, non functioning of Bikaner chapter of the National Trust for Art & Cultural Heritage (INTACH), an autonomous non-governmental organization set up for the conservation of natural and man-made environment by acting as a pressure group whenever any part of it is threatened, failed in doing its duty and in keeping up its role of acting against all odds happening at local level. Also there was no concern showed by local conveners to create awareness and to render their expertise. This Heritage era has never been considered on serious note by District tourism department and Municipal corporation and it is pity that they haven’t realized that tourism is the direct beneficiary of heritage preservation. No restoration work at any point of time at any spot has been implemented so far by any of these authorities.

As per the Archaeological Survey ofIndia (ISI) norms, 100 meters of area around a monument has to be kept free of any structure. But in old Bikaner, sub habitations are so close to the old boundary wall that people have “illegally” encroached the wall area adjoining their house. Enormous construction is taking place within the restricted area of 100 meters.

Issues in heritage conservation in Bikaner

1. Owners of heritage properties often take no interest for renovation/conservation/restoration processes because it is considered as a burden since there is no income generation from these properties.

2. Lack of specific and effective Monument and Heritage Properties Act, in the absence of which the uninterrupted demolition of the heritage properties continues.

3. Mafias are promoting owners to sell these building at high costs.

4. Present socio-economic conditions are inclined to give priority to infrastructure development activities rather than preserving the historical grandeurs.

5. Heritage issues are not in place with the city master plan and township agenda.

6. Lack of political will to save the city’s heritage buildings.

7. Heritage conservation hasn’t been counted as priority sector for any government department including local municipality.

How can it happen now?

We all have to ask ourselves- how this can be done? it is hard to find any single ray of hope of rejuvenation, if a historic city, like Bikaner, continues to be ignored and if no immediate attention is paid towards its preservation.The sadder part is that since past so many years, most of the city’s portion has been dismantled by its own people. But at the same time we cannot directly blame the government only. Each of us, be it be a foundation, a public authority or even an individual, needs to be aware of the importance of this heritage and consider it as our prima facie duty to maintain the glory of this heritage. The most necessary and sustainable change will come only by partnering with local development authorities and tourism department and also by taking help of local people and organizations . Till now it should have been understood that development and heritage conservation will go hand in hand in complex infrastructure city like Bikaner. No identification of a single heritage site in recently made city Master Plan as a planning objective shows nothing but complete immaturity among right corridors of power where decisions are made. Before restoring these damaged historical monuments and Havelis, we need to restore our pride of our place as a center of cultural learning and then we can give future what they deserve.