Documenting heritage, retelling stories - new student trends

The sight of young students trailing around with video cameras and filming a historical monument isn't very usual. Yet, retelling stories, documenting history and creating an online buzz about monuments are now in vogue with school and college students in India.
A result of initiatives undertaken by history enthusiasts, activists, filmmakers and students have actively involved to help conserve historical monuments, raise awareness about the varied heritage therefore, develop a connect with their roots.
To help college-going students realise the importance of heritage structures, Cultural Resource Conservation Initiative (CRCI), a Delhi-based body working towards interdisciplinary, community focused heritage conservation is set to kick-start its initiative to educate the young on September 16.

The initiative, aims to bridge "the disconnect with the history of the Grant Trunk road in Punjab."
"Students cannot relate with historical monuments because they are unable to connect with the past. There are no memories that they can relate with," director CRCI, Gurmeet Rai told PTI.
This drive, in collaboration with the British Council targets college students, who learn to document, conserve and therefore develop a connect with historical monuments under expert guidance.

"Our first project involves training twelve students of Mata Gujri College in Punjab about heritage conservation, specifically revisiting the Aam Khas Bagh," she said.
The plan involves, dividing into three groups of four, a total of twelve students, who will work towards conservation of Aam Khas Bagh in Sirhind.

After receiving training in the importance of heritage conservation, documentation and new media skills the organisation hopes students will be able to retell stories of monuments.
Emphasising on the importance of developing a contemporary relationship with history, Rai says, "Monuments are no isolated architecture of historical importance. They must be related to people and seen through the lens of 'people's monuments'. It's importance to retell stories to be able to develop a sense of belonging to our past."
The CRCI also plans to upscale this project to several cities, highlighting the role of college students in retelling historical stories.