Mumbai, Oct 29 (PTI) The Axis Bank Foundation (ABF)has tied up with Sahapedia, an online encyclopedia of Indianarts and culture, to support its 'Heritage Walks', a projectto help people understand the heritage of the cities and townsacross the country.
The ABF, through its Axis Cares programme, willsupport around 200 guided walking tours being organised bySahapedia over a period of one year, nearly half of which willbe for people with disabilities and underprivileged children.
Heritage Walk is a continuing project under whicharound eight to ten tours are organised every month indifferent locations, a release issued by Sahapedia said.
The walks are led by curators well-versed in history,culture, monuments, alleys and byways of their cities and arealso capable of engaging the participants with conversationsand story-telling.
Registration for these events is limited but free, andit essentially involves a stroll, introducing the participantsto lesser known sights and sounds of the area.
The theme-based walks are spiced with stories andinformation of the sites, chats with locals and sampling ofthe local produce.
With the support of ABF, Sahapedia expects to reachout to around 15,000 participants in 20 cities in one year.
"Heritage Walks are a novel concept for us and ABF iscommitted to support socially relevant endeavours, and this iscertainly an activity that merits support," said its CEO JacobNinan.
"The support for disadvantaged groups is at the coreof ABF's philosophy, and so we are particularly happy thatSahapedia is curating some of these walks for people withdisabilities and for children from less privilegedbackgrounds," he said.
Sahapedia's Executive Director Sudha Gopalakrishnansaid its heritage walks are inclusive by design.
"We curate tailor-made programmes for two reasons —to make such activities accessible for people who are oftenleft out from cultural engagements and also to makeinstitutions aware of the issues these groups face, so theycan alter the heritage spaces to make them more inclusive."The activities range from walks through museums,historical monuments and markets, exploration of naturallandscapes and spots known for their cuisine.
The Axis Bank Foundation is a trust set up by theAxis Bank to channel its corporate social responsibility, withits prime focus on 'sustainable livelihoods'.
Sahapedia, which has access to a large talent pool ofacademicians and researchers, undertakes culturaldocumentation and conservation projects. PTI NMGK.
This is unedited, unformatted feed from the Press Trust of India wire.
