Connecting Heritage has been designed to create a national heritage database through crowd sourcing and provide a free resource sharing platform. The travel planner helps you create your own heritage circuit. There is a lot to see in India, but apart from the well known travel circuits and monuments little is documented. We hope to add little known heritage sites and travel circuits with the help of crowdsourcing. There are heritage buildings in our cities, havelis and heritage sites in the hinterland. One could visit heritage sites within our city and within a day's journey, if such sites are identified. Join us in identifying and listing heritage sites and little known heritage sites. Identification of heritage sites will encourage people to visit them and help them and hopefully ensure their protection.
Adding to the list is easy. If you have the name, location, and a photo, yo can add to the list. Adding the description is optional.
Heritage buildings, structures and sites are identified for listing on certain criteria and for certain values. Criteria may vary from country to country. These criteria are part of the Heritage Regulations framed for a particular town, city or state. Heritage buildings should not be confused with monuments. Monuments are protected under Central and state acts and listed by government notification and fall within the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Culture. Thus, monuments are acquired and protected by the Government. In India, heritage buildings are protected under Town Planning Acts and their protection is governed by Development Control Rules. Some cities and towns have published Heritage lists which are sanctioned as part of their Development Plans. Such heritage structures can be privately owned. Incentives are provided to their owners for their conservation.
The first task is to identify the buildings, structures and record them. In order to identify a structure you need to ascertain whether the building has value for any of the criteria given below.
Criteria for Listing
Period: Age of the structure.
History: Buildings which illustrate important aspects of the city’s social, economic, cultural or military history.
Historical association: Buildings which are associated with important persons and events.
Architecture: Buildings which are locally important for their architectural design, decoration and craftsmanship, or are examples of particular building types and techniques.
Unique use: Buildings used for a unique purpose.
Special features: Buildings which have special features.
Technological excellence or scientific value or which are part of a chain of technological development.
Group value: Buildings that are part of an important architectural or historic group or are a fine example of planning such as townscapes, precincts, squares, and model villages.
Landscapes and site: Landscapes whether natural or man-made, which have cultural or aesthetic interest or form typical natural surroundings.
Natural heritage:Natural sites or precisely delineated natural areas which are of outstanding value from the point of view of science, conservation or natural beauty.
Documenting a heritage building
Listing is the preliminary stage of recording heritage sites. Listing helps identify a building and provides information of its value and significance. Documentation should include a written description, historic account, significance and special features of the building; photo-documentation and detailed drawings.
Filling the Form
A form has been provided for listing. Please read the instructions before up loading. It is mandatory to fill in boxes marked with an asterisk. The mandatory fields include a photo, name of structure/site, address/location and category. In case you do not have the address, you can add the GPS co-ordinates. If the category is not known, you can fill in other. In case you do not have a photo, but would like to add a structure, you can upload the information with an image marked – no photo available.
Photographs
A photograph should be able to identify the building. Additional photographs can be uploaded showing other features, but primarily the following photographs are required for listing:
- Front elevation or identifying photograph
- Side and rear elevations
- Special features
- Photograph of the compound, plot, site
- Photograph of the surrounding area or context.
Try not to take photographs against the light and ensure that all features of the building can be clearly seen. In case of a heritage site, take photos of individual structures and also the entire site if possible.
Feedback
We welcome feedback. The Heritage list is open to editing, so please send in any new information, clarifications or corrections are received regarding a particular listing, after due verification the original listing would be corrected.