Preserving heritage through melody

Love for heritage and traditions needs to be inculcated from a young age if we expect children to respect and preserve them when they grow up.

Since 2004, the Indian Traditions and Heritage Society (ITIHAAS) has been trying to embed heritage into mainstream curriculum and make it an essential part of every student’s knowledge base and understanding. To continue their mission, the society is organising a three-day event that looks to target various age groups.

On the first day of the event on Wednesday, students of Classes III to V captured the celebrations synonymous with festivals across the country. Titled ‘In-Joy’, the students were asked to become songbirds and deliver odes to their collective heritage. They were asked to collect stories and legends that make up their shared past and tie them together through strings of melody. Through this, the students managed to take the audience on a journey through festivals celebrated across the country. They displayed their knowledge about why festivals are celebrated as well as the folklore behind the celebrations. While some came dressed in traditional attire and sang about both well-known and lesser-known festivals, others spoke between performances about their experiences of the festivities.

On the second day on Thursday, students of classes VI and VII focussed on ‘In-Habit’. As part of this students were invited to look at traditional habitats – houses and settlements – and how they differ from the modern houses they live in. This encouraged students to find out about habitats that belonged to a long-forgotten era and bring out the way of life in these settlements.

On the third day on Friday, students of classes IX to XII will bring alive narratives of struggle and triumph as part of ‘In-Equality’. Students will be asked to look around for forms of inequality that exist in society and talk about the struggles to combat them.

ITIHAAS’s venture has garnered support from the Ministry of Culture, Ministry of Education, Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), National Museum, NGMA, UNESCO, and several others.

This year, over 300 song entries were received from schools across India with more than 4,000 students participating in the zonal rounds. The event is being organised at Auditorium No. 2, Siri Fort, between 9.30 a.m. and 12 p.m.