Heritage

Poetry in a city

City – the word evokes such dichotomous imagery. As I savour the languorous beauty of William Dalrymple’s City of Djinns, the words speak to me and I learn to see through new perspectives, the city I live in. Feeling every bit the outsider, adjusting to the linguistic differences, the charms of this city have begun … Continue reading →

Today is World Heritage Day. What are your plans?

UDC conducts heritage walk for F5 Escapes

Last weekend, five, intrepid women travellers from Bangalore arrived here to explore Pondicherry and Auroville. The group included a retiree, two IT professionals, and a full-time mom with her eight-year old daughter in tow, all led by Malini Gowrishankar of F5 Escapes. As part of their travel experience, UDC took the group on a heritage … Continue reading →

Sunday morning at the Madras High Court

On the morning of 1st December, after exercising much willpower to wake up following a late night at a friend’s birthday party, I managed to get myself to the Madras High Court at 8:30am. Not to confront the long arm of the law but to go on an inaugural heritage walk of the grounds and … Continue reading →

Jane Jacobs WALKED! (and so did we…)

This is an account of UDC’s Jane Jacob Walk at Chennai on 5th May 2013 at Georgetown. Any chuckles resulting from reading this are purely accidental.  Cities stand still. Not metaphorically of course, but physically. So really, the only way you get to see them is to move within them. You could drive a car, … Continue reading →

Pondicherry through the eyes of Jane Jacobs

Jane Jacobs, a self-taught urbanist and activist believed that a city had to be experienced, lived in and required unique customized solutions. Many of her principles come across as common sense today but were ahead of their time at one point. The Jane Jacobs Walk Foundation organizes annual neighbourhood walks early May, to coincide with her … Continue reading →

Distress call from Thanjavur

What do you do when you meet a person who is dying? What do you do when you meet someone who is dying and you know that you can save him/her? What do you do when you know that something is of historical and cultural significance, already dying a slow death and someone is trying … Continue reading →

Heritage awareness workshops for school students in Pondicherry

If you are a regular follower of our Facebook page, many of you may be aware of (or probably even participated in) UDC’s Heritage Awareness workshops for school children in Pondicherry, which were held in February in collaboration with INTACH and Prastara. The series of three workshops kicked off with Calve College on 2nd February … Continue reading →