Heritage walks are not new to Hyderabad. For quite some time now, knowledgeable Hyderabadis have been enlightening interested walkers with commentaries on the numerous monuments in the city. Of late, in a bid to make heritage walks more interesting, lively and meaningful, Hyderabad Trails (HT), is organising walks with activities related to the city’s numerous monuments.
Celebrating its first anniversary, HT, the open group founded by Gopala Krishna AB, curates shared experiences of the city that explore its natural, built and cultural heritage. Its latest action-oriented initiative is a fun way to interact, learn and admire the city. Since the walks engage participants through art forms like storytelling, sketching, music etc. and help build an appreciation for and a sense of connection with the city, they are gradually gaining popularity among youngsters.
In a bid to keep it interesting, fun and not be repetitive with the kinds of engagement, the group changes activities with different walks. Last week the group had a sketch walk. Participants, mostly young children and adults, sat to sketch the Kacheguda railway station after walking around the area. Why sketch, when hand phones capture crisp images one might ask, and Gopala Krishna answers, “When we photograph a subject, we focus on it only as a subject, but when one is sketching, it is about paying attention to the slightest details, like a leaf or sapling jutting out from a wall, a crack on the pillar, a missing brick on the structure and so on and so forth. This wasn’t a class on art. It was about how one sees the Kacheguda station. It won’t be wrong to call it a doodling trail.”
The earlier trails had included story and music trails and drama trails as well. During the walk, the group stalled at a point where some music could be played impromptu without obstructing traffic or pedestrians. “It is like an instant jamming session and then there were solo performances as well. Music and spoken words can do a great to instil a sense of new found pride in the city we live. It helps us appreciate better and love our surroundings more. In another walk, a theatre session went like a street play and a mini heritage skit was performed,” he explains.
With just a nominal charge, this group is all about getting out of our houses and offices and knowing the surroundings better. Their focus is on engagement and it enables an entire family into a walk where children can be initiated into such things at an early age by showing them spaces and narrating stories to build that bond.
Most participants are a group on the social networking page of Hyderabad Trails, where they get updates about upcoming events and activities.
