Amritsar : In another historic feat, Rambagh Gate & Ramparts, Amritsar, have received recognition for excellence. The honour was bestowed by the UNESCO Asia-Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation this year. The project was lauded by the awards jury for ensuring the continuity of the site's existing uses, while enhancing inclusivity and access for the broader community.
Every year since 2000, the programme has been recognising the efforts of private individuals and organisations in restoring, conserving and transforming structures and buildings of heritage value in the region. The awards are bestowed annually on projects and places on the basis of their understanding of place, technical achievements, sustainability and impact, as specified in the awards criteria.
The historic Rambagh Gate Restoration and Conservation Project was carried out by noted architect and conservationist Gurmeet Sangha Rai, who was also the city anchor for the HRIDAY project. The project not only centred on conservation of the 200-year-old historic gate that was built during the reign of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, but also the surrounding building that housed a school and a printing press.
“The conservation project also included a segment of the wall, enclosing a run-down building which used to run a school. The thickness of the segment of wall is what the original thickness of the walled city used to be. When the British took over, they razed the wall and broke the gates, filling the mote with debris, which is now the outer circular road that runs from the 12 gates around the walled city,” shared Gurmeet Rai. Before the conservation work began, the school had two rooms and a dilapidated printing press. More classrooms have been constructed, an improved courtyard and play area for the kids has now come up without destroying the original look, using Nanakshahi bricks and design.
The other recipients
Apart from Rambagh Gate & Ramparts, Karnikara Mandapam at Kunnamangalam Bhagawati Temple, Kerala, garnered an award of distinction. Church of Epiphany, in Haryana, was recognised with an award of merit. David Sassoon Library and Reading Room in Mumbai and Bikaner House in New Delhi have also been mentioned. Pipal Haveli, in Punjab, got special recognition for sustainable development for their transformative heritage practices which contribute to larger principles of sustainable development.
Gurdaspur district's famous heritage site — Peepal Haveli — added yet another feather to its cap when it won the 2023 UNESCO Asia-Pacific Award for Cultural Heritage Conservation in the category of Special Recognition for Sustainable Development.
Nawanpind Sardaran, which otherwise is a non-descript typical Punjabi village located 2 km off the Gurdaspur-Sri Hargobindpur state highway on the banks of UBDC (canal), houses heritage havelis which include the 125-year-old Peepal Haveli. Its owner is (Mrs) Gurmeet Sangha Rai who herself is a renowned heritage conservationist. The village is 12 km from the district headquarters of Gurdaspur.
The village shot to prominence a few months ago when it was conferred the ‘Best Tourism Award' by the Union Ministry of Tourism at Pragati Maidan. The other heritage kothi in the village is eponymously called ‘The Kothi' and which is located adjacent to the Peepal Haveli.
The construction of both the havelis — ‘The Kothi' and ‘Peepal Haveli' — was started 125 years ago by a family headed by Sardar Narian Singh. It was followed by his son Sardar Bahadur Beant Singh, who was also the founder of the cooperative societies in Punjab.
These kothis are visited by domestic and foreign tourists throughout the year. Board and lodging facilities are available here.
Gurmeet Sangha Rai said the Peepal Haveli had been receiving a tremendous response from tourists. “Foreign tourists come throughout the year and spend quality time here with their families. Bookings are made online,” she said.
As far as the UNESCO Award for the Peepal Haveli is concerned, as many as 48 entries were received by the organisrs. “Project entries were diverse in scope and were submitted from 11 countries spread across the Asia-Pacific region. The jury, consisting of seven international conservationist experts and one jury chair, was convened on November 9 and 10 to deliberate the project entries. This year the jury awarded one Award of Excellence, three Awards of Distinction, five Awards of Merit, three Awards for Special Recognition for Sustainable Development and one Award for New Design in Heritage contexts,” read the press release of the UNESCO Regional Office in Bangkok.
The citation for Peepal Haveli reads, “Peepal Haveli is a contemporary community-centered, multi-use educational building rooted in time-honoured principles of sustainability. This building emphasizes traditional building methods as well as construction techniques that utilize locally-sourced materials and vernacular architectural language. The project serves as an example of how the strength of nature and culture together may be a resilient, transformative force for community enrichment and economic prosperity.”
Sangha says people of Punjab are immensely proud of their heritage, but conservation work is not happening on structures representing local values, traditions and history. “More work needs to be done by the government and civil society to protect and preserve the heritage of local people,” she added.
