'Janmashtami at Roza helped recall its history'

AHMEDABAD: The city's 600-year-old heritage and how to prevent its decay were the topic of discussion at an event organized at Alliance Francaise on Thursday, as part of the World Heritage Week celebrations.
Bhavna Ramrakhiani, advisor, Sarkhej Roza committee, spoke about the strategies of the Ahmedabad Community Foundation which has relentlessly worked to restore the heritage site.Sarkhej Roza was built by Shaikh Ahmed Khattu Ganjbakhs Maghribi, the spiritual guru of Ahmed Shah who built the city of Ahmedabad.
Ramrakhiani, who has been working with Sarkhej Roza committee headed by Abrar Ali Saiyad for more than a decade now, said the results of their efforts have finally started to show.
"With our efforts, a 500-year-old tradition of celebrating Janmashtami on the Roza premises was revived. This brought the heritage back into the spotlight and helped people connect to its history," she said.
She further suggested that more local festivals should be revived and promoted to bring Ahmedabad a step closer to being India's first Unesco-recognized World Heritage City.
Hotelier Abhay Mangaldas spoke about uExplore, the online heritage mapping initiative of the House of MG and INTACH Ahmedabad Chapter, assisted by graduate students of the University of World Learning, Washington DC. He also talked about 'D-Tours', an audio-synchronized heritage walk that is complete with instructions and interviews with common people, presented by the House of MG.
The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation has initiated a lot of guided tours and cultural heritage programmes as part of the ongoing World Heritage Week celebrations from November 19 and 25. The Alliance Francaise has also prepared a unique bouquet of events - discussions and seminars on the city's heritage and on the French influence in the city's architecture. The events will feature discussions involving figures like Dr Sara Keller, Dr Ratan Parimoo, Prof Snehal Shah, Ravindra Vasavda, Y S Rawat, Ramrakhiani, Pavan Bakeri, Rajiv Patel, Rishi Singhal and Mangaldas.