Intach
INTACH
1. On 1st Feb a two- day program was organised at HAPPY DAYS SCHOOL in collaboration with SPIC MACAY in which Hindustani violinist Pt. Praveen Sheolikar and Tabla Player Mr. Makrand Halve won the hearts of the audience by giving a wonderful musical presentation.
UITRGPV Director Rakesh Shinghai Shashank Tyagi, Head of Department Bio Chemistry Medical College Shivpuri, Chapter Coordinator Shambhu Singh Dangi, Vikram Solakhia and students were the witness of this program Finally the program concluded by thanking the guests.
2. The meeting of INTACH was held on 30th March 2023 in the HAPPY DAYS SCHOOL SHIVPURI. All the members of INTACH SHIVPURI CHAPTER attended this meeting and discussed about the Roles and Activities of INTACH SHIVPURI CHAPTER:
1. Creating awareness about local Heritage by gathering knowledge, listing and documentation of architectural, archaeological, art, natural and intangible heritage involving local chapter and communities.
2. Developing passion projects and help local people conserve heritage by their own efforts.
3. In the forests near Sultangarh Falls, Shivpuri district, INTACH members along Shivpuri Youth Forum went for a nature walk and bird watching. We were using the Field Guide on jungle trees of Central India by Pradip Krishen to ID the trees and the Cornell Lab app Merlin for bird identification. As we went deep inside the forest, we saw Egyptian vulture, owlets, woodpecker, plum-headed parrots, kingfisher, and many more species & we suddenly noticed a cave-like structure which was at a height of around 50ft from the stream.
To our utter surprise, we saw that there were some paintings on the roof of the cave made with red colors. We were so intrigued by it that we took the risk of climbing to that height and observed it closely. This structure has a flat surface that was big enough for 8 of us to be seated with ease. There was an entrance and a back door to go behind the cave which was another flat area adjoining the cliff. It seemed like the early men used to live here given the design of the cave.
As for the paintings, they were painted with red color with different subjects: a bull, people with bow & arrow, small animals like deer, some animals with horns, some without it. These paintings are still in a good condition, some of them are big enough to be seen from a distance. (Pictures attached)
This area where these paintings have been identified fills up with water during monsoon and the base of the cave gets under water. We have a feeling that there were other similar structures but one can see the rocks have fallen or eroded with time and water. There could be more caves like these in the region but that's subject to exploration by experts.
We have corresponded with the forest department as we need
support in confirming whether it's a pre-historic site and if it is, to take steps for its notification and preservation.
4. On 2 Aug, on the occasion of Van Mahotsav students of ECO CLUB along with INTACH members planted trees in and around the school.
Students of classes 6 to 8 planted herbal plants like lemon grass, aloe vera, ginger and turmeric under the project Herbal Heritage. During the project students will plant herbs, monitor their growth and learn about their medicinal uses.
Through this activity the students came to know about the vegetative propagation of different types of vegetables, and understood the importance of organic farming of vegetables.
5. Local Heritage walk is a captivating journey through our town's history which connects us with our roots. The members visited a local heritage site, Old Panchayat Bhavan at Thakurpura Shivpuri. Through this heritage walk they understood the importance of local Heritage and its preservation for our future generation.
6. Heritage walks are the best option to acquire knowledge and awareness about our local Heritage.
In this series on 6 Aug, A team of INTACH members of Shivpuri Chapter organised a heritage walk in Ramrai village near Kolaras
This place is very well known for the Gastropod Fossils found there and few caves which are located on a small hillock.
There is a community of Ojhas who make amazing bells for the cattle and is supplied throughout the region during Melas. The team visited their houses and workshop where they make these bells. The Team also witnessed a significant Heritage Tree *कल्प वृक्ष*which is very popular. The local people talked about its religious importance and popularity. People from far and near come to see this holy tree. There is also an archaeological site of jain sculptures depicting Tirthankaras. People believed that there were people who followed Jainism used to come for worship here.
It was a very good experience for the members to know about the local culture, local craft and belief of the local people of the village.
7. International youth day is an annual event celebrated on 12th Aug. In the series of this event Shivpuri youth forum co partnered with INTACH and organised Saavan Raag on 13th August 2023 as a continued annual event to promote the culture of traditional music in the residents of Shivpuri. The event was organised at the historical monument Scindia Chhatri.
This event was graced by the presence of artists who have been mastering their notes for almost a decade now and an outstanding audience who were euphoric after the sumptuous taste of music.
As Tapas Upadhyay, an artist who sings Kabir, said, "it's not a show or a performance but a Satsang where people connect to the truth or their inner self"
Saavan Raag is not just about organising a music event but about celebrating, rejoicing and caring for each other as members of community who are connected by music, art and literature
8. On 27 Aug, INTACH in collaboration with Shivpuri Youth Forum organised a session on the 'Art of a story telling' by Mr. Sandeep Naik at Happy Days school. Sandeep Nayak has worked for 27 years in schools, international NGOs and funding agencies on education health and governance. The session was very fruitful as the students and teachers learnt to create a story through words and imagination as well as understood the importance of storytelling and story creation.
9. On 12 September, the students of Heritage club presented a glimpse of tangible and intangible Heritage of Incredible Bharat in the school morning assembly. They also depicted their activities done in the club.
10. In a heartwarming act of helping others, students from classes 1 to 10 at Happy Days School joined hands together, to collect grains and share them with under privileged areas nearby. This noble initiative was conducted as part of the 18th AFS India Anniversary "Mutthi Bhar Anaaj 2.0 – A Handful of Grains" campaign.
11. Students of Heritage club and Eco club attended workshop conducted by the Youth Forum . Students learnt about basics of Architecture. They had hands on experience of making Catenary Arch with bricks and cement without using Iron rod( saria).Students saw the 3D map of the Panchayat Bhavan in a presentation. given by the Architect members of the Forum, children were exposed to making building plans, 3 D maps.