INTACH Teacher Workshop on Heritage

History is the heritage and patrimony of mankind in its lesson of the past that gives priceless inspiration for the future. - Henry Cluasen

HECS, INTACH conducted a teacher training workshop for teachers of Delhi, Gurgaon, Noida, Ghaziabad, and Faridabad on 18th April 2023, enthusiastically attended by 55 teachers from 52 schools. Ms. Anupriya Choudhary of The Indian School-Second Shift successfully participated in the workshop.

The workshop began with a short introduction to INTACH and HECS by Ms Purnima Datt, Principal Director of HECS. A short INTACH film was screened to further explain what the organisation does. The first session was conducted by Dr Ritu Singh, Director, Natural Heritage Division, INTACH. She spoke about millets and their role in our diet, culture, and heritage, and how the year 2023 was declared the International year of Millets. Dr Singh explained the history of millets and then addressed a few things that consumers should be aware of before buying millet products.

The next session on Delhi’s History from 1805-1847 was conducted by historian and author, Dr Swapna Liddle. She covered in detail, the history of Delhi during this period, the changes that occurred and the development in various fields. She laid emphasis on the fact that understanding the history of Delhi is important to understand the concept of heritage.

The third session conducted by Mr Tejinder S. Randhawa, Director of IKC, INTACH. He spoke about the vernacular heritage of India, while highlighting the north and north-east’s vernacular heritage and the dangers to it, using several photographs.

The final session was conducted by Dr Vasant Swarankar of the Archaeological Survey of India. He gave a brief introduction to the history of Delhi and its seven cities followed by a lecture on Purana Qila and the ongoing excavations undertaken there by his team and him. Through images and detailed descriptions, he explained the findings to the teachers, who interacted enthusiastically with him.

Brief explanations were delivered by Ms Purnima Datt, Mr Abhishek Das and Ms Trikaya Soni, of activities planned in the ongoing year. The workshop ended with a felicitation ceremony, where certificates and books were presented by the Chairman, Maj. Gen. (Retd.) L.K. Gupta, and a group photograph was taken with everyone present.