By Purushotham Agni
Journalist and Academician
Today, as the world marks World Heritage Day, social media will be flooded with “aesthetic” captures. There will be selfies against ancient pillars, pre-wedding shoots amidst carved corridors, and cinematic reels framed by weathered arches. But as I look at these stones—the very bones of our Motherland—I am struck by a haunting irony: We are capturing the beauty of the stones while losing the history of the land.
We have turned our heritage into a photo studio, a mere commodity for digital validation. In doing so, we have forgotten the most primary issue: the purpose, the contribution, and the legacy of the ancestors who laid these foundations.
The Tragedy of Negligence
Across our country, and even within our own backyard, enormous heritage sites are crumbling. They aren’t just falling due to time; they are falling due to the weight of our collective negligence. When a society and its governance view a historical site only as a “tourist spot” rather than a “sacred inheritance,” maintenance becomes an afterthought. We watch stones fall, we see inscriptions fade, and we remain silent because we no longer feel they belong to us.
The Education of the Heart
If we want to conserve our history, the revolution must begin at the dinner table. We must educate our children within our own homes. We must tell them: “This is not just a monument; this is where your legacy started. This belongs to you.” When we instill a sense of belongingness, the relationship changes. You do not scribble on the walls of your own home; you do not litter in your own temple. Why, then, do we treat our heritage sites with such detachment?
Making the Stones Breathe Again
To preserve our heritage, we must make it alive. It is not enough to stand and stare; we must participate.
• Practice the Traditions: We must take our rituals and our customs back to these sites. When we celebrate our culture within these walls, the site ceases to be a “dead ruin” and becomes a vibrant, living space again.
• Active Stewardship: We must move from being “visitors” to “volunteers.” Whether through cleaning campaigns or local advocacy, we must take physical responsibility for the dust and the grime.
• Recall the Purpose: Every site was meant for something—learning, governance, or community. We must seek to understand why it was built, not just how it looks in the golden hour.
A Call to My Fellow Citizens
Our forefathers did not build these wonders to be “backgrounds” for our films. They built them as a testament to our identity, our engineering genius, and our spiritual depth.
This World Heritage Day, I challenge you: Put down the camera for a moment. Touch the stone. Feel the grit of the sand. Acknowledge the sweat of the ancestors that still lingers in the architecture. Let us stop being mere spectators of our history and start being its protectors.
Our heritage is not a relic of the past; it is the foundation of our future. Let us restore it, clean it, and most importantly, let us belong to it once more.
Reflection for the Reader
The next time you visit a heritage site, ask yourself: If these stones could speak, would they recognize me as their rightful heir, or just another stranger passing through?
