CHENNAI: What does it take to bring various aspects of local heritage to people’s attention? At a time when tangible and intangible heritage face numerous threats climate change, depleting numbers of artisans, shortage of materials for maintenance, lack of a conscious drive to help, tourism what do we need to ensure adequate planning, maintaining and managing? In the final session of a three-part heritage series by DakshinaChitra, in collaboration with Nam Veedu Nam Oor Nam Kadhai, the concepts of heritage management and ethical tourism were discussed in regards to the legacy of Chennai.
While there is a conversation about the logistics involved in making heritage more accessible to people within and beyond the country, speaker and architect Thirupurasundari Sevvel emphasises the responsibility towards the stakeholders of the heritage. “It is important to get people involved and share the profits with them. You have to create a market, which includes the stakeholders.
Heritage management is not just giving a solution or documenting the heritage but also looking into the people. To use heritage as an effective tool, you need sensitive and sensible practices,” she says. Ethical responsibility also extends to acknowledging the less positive details of the heritage, including colonisation, social issues and conflicts. Only by addressing and learning about the good and the bad, can one have complete awareness and knowledge of the legacy of the heritage.
With the aid of beautiful artwork made by artist Srishti Prabhakar, Sevvel explained points to keep in mind when practising ethical heritage management. Apart from benefitting the stakeholders, documentation and conversation are vital to increasing the relevance of heritage. The more there is talk about the heritage, the more attention it will garner. Simpler tools such as signages and a good public transport system are essential in providing a memorable experience.
Once you bring attention to the city’s heritage and successfully market it, what next? Once a particular heritage is out there to explore, it is essential to ensure that ethical practices ensue. For one, accessibility by way of wheelchair ramps, braille text, relevant signages, sign language interpreters etc is still very rare in India and must be magnified. There shouldn’t be anyone who should be stopped from accessing a heritagebased tour...It is a lot of effort initially, but once you get used to it, it will be very beneficial,” said Sevvel. Another emphasised point was the need to mention all the references and relevant sources related to heritage. While tourism is stagnant during the pandemic, information- sharing online is at its peak.
People from opposite ends of the world acquire knowledge about heritage through social media. However, while these platforms connect people, they are also notoriously known for the circulation of misinformation. Amid an information overdose, it is important to be a conscious consumer. “We should be aware of who we are supporting or following. Sometimes when you share or repost something, your followers might think the source is ethical because they trust you. We should be conscious consumers to fact-check or scrutinise the narrative. Any information becomes viral. So, it’s important to authenticate what we consume,” added Sevvel.