Navina Jafa’s Exhibiting India explores how heritage tourism can become inclusive and sustainable | Books and Literature News
By Ila Banerji
You write, “Political perspectives add to the complexities of heritage and communities, and it is important for the presenter to build neutral narratives”: How hard is it to do that on your walks?
Let me take the example of a walk I curated on gender for a German minister just a few days ago. We went to a 15th century monument in Delhi, Hijra ka Masmid, considered a Sufi hospice of transgender people. It allowed me to discuss where eunuchs were employed, what their temples were, what the sacredness of their entity was. Then came the more political perspective — their vulnerability to HIV and the different classes/castes inside the community, as well as how some transgender people are left out of the LGBTQ movement while urban residents are very active. It let me discuss the grassroots reality of transgender rights.
What is the best way for technology to be used in heritage tourism? Where may it be a problem?
On site, audio tours can be good, but the drama, the immersion, doesn’t happen. That’s a human touch which only the enthusiasm of an interpreter can bring. However great a film is, there is always the longing of “Wow, I have to visit that place.” Why does that thirst remain? Because something remains unfulfilled, right?
Have there been any unplanned events in heritage walks that have improved them?
Recently I did a tour to Dholavira, the largest Indus Valley site on our part of the continent. Most people who go there visit and come back. But when I saw that it was next to the salt desert of Kutch, I looked for the mystical musicians of the local community. In the middle of the night we walked along the salt desert and sat under the stars while these folk musicians sang. It was ethereal. How do you create such immersiveness? By involving local communities and doing tourism sustainably.
How can heritage walks improve sustainability?
You have to focus on sustainability of the environment and the inclusion of communities who know about food, biodiversity, crafts, arts, customs, local clothes and so on. How do you engage local people to tell stories of their own heritage? Those invited to participate in this curation should be paid. Also, visitors must understand that, for however long they are there, they can give back to the community. Perhaps by donating books, stationery, battery lamps, dongles, spreading knowledge about fooding. It’s also local communities’ responsibility to police visitors so they don’t litter. Immersive tourism is a two-way dialogue.
How does a presenter translate academic content intelligibly without losing its intellectual tenor?
It’s very difficult. Not everybody will pick up a very academic book, but they will pick up a book that is public history. I always say, historians write for the initiated but there has to be a modality where you write for the uninitiated. You have to be an entertaining storyteller, maybe through anecdotes. (Think about) the way you narrate, the tone you use, how you create that theatre of heritage and history.
How do your heritage walks go beyond traditional narratives of history?
Let’s look at the Taj Mahal, which has a stereotype of being a love monument. There are other narratives you can wave in, about its architecture, the skill (of its builders), even the photographers in the site who started out with box cameras. You can also talk about the river Yamuna behind the monument and poets like Nazeer Akbarabadi who have written on it.
Ila Banerji was an intern at The Indian Express
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