Bhubaneswar was no different from any of the other heritage cities in India, which are visited by millions of pilgrims and tourists every day distinguished themselves from each others having congested roads, crowded market-places, stained water-bodies, open or broken sewerage & drainage system and hips of garbage in and around these monuments. These monuments are often hidden behind unplanned growth having little regard for design standards or harmony between old and new. Most often these heritage sites struggled in between multiple institutions for its restoration & identity.
Over years, thanks to both National & State Government and Private sector programmes, many of these heritage monuments are getting their due respect of restoration, recognition and branding. Among such city that is part of this initiative includes Bhubaneswar, the capital city of Odisha took steps to show other Indian Cities on how to integrate Heritage & Culture in Urban Management. Although the total area of city in now over 400 sq km but around 35 sq km or so forms the historic core as Old Town which dates back more than a thousand years, with glorious kalingan architecture that had mushroomed forming it as the living museums of a historic city.
As such the term living museum is yet to be used in city’s urban planning exercise but the actions are clearly visible of something happening. The activities undertaken by various institutions to improve aesthetic value of old town area are clearly visible that expresses seriousness of administration and some of its actions are beginning to show difference. The activity includes reviving architectural expressions, ecological rejuvenation and micro level urban planning so as to present heritage monuments for easier access and better appreciation of their splendor. The results visibility of living culture of the Old Town — for example, a medicinal plants garden on the west bank of Bindu Sagar, the Lingaraj Haat and wall paintings as the living examples.
Bindusagar is also known as Ocean Drop Tank. Lingaraj (Lord Shiva) is the presiding deity of the capital city and it is believed that Bindu Sagar contains water from every holy stream, pool and tank in India. However, the western boarder of Bindusagar Pond was one of the neglected parts of Old Town area in Bhubaneswar. About an acre of wasteland used as a site for open defecation by people living around in informal settlements. While restoration of Bindu Sagar pond was underway leadership in Govt. initiated steps to restore the surroundings too with greeneries. As a result a beautiful medicinal garden known as Ekamra Vana has transformed the entire landscape of the area.
The whole garden is divided into three sections one part depicts the culture of Shaivaisim, another associated with Parvati (the wife of Lord Shiva) and the last depicts the myths associated with Lord Ganesh. Inside the garden all the flowers and plants associated with these deities worshiped.
The myths associated with these three deities have been finely depicted in the garden. It also depicts how Lord Shiva had appeared in Bhubaneswar, which is also known as Ekamra Vana or Ekamra Kanan (since the areas have a good cover of shrubs and grasses with huge trees). Almost 230 medicinal plants have been planted in the garden having a backdrop perfectly picturesque of Bindusagar Pond and Lingaraj Temple. The Garden also acts as an educational ground for people to know importance of medicinal plants.
According to historical evidences and archaeological remains, the market existed as far back as the 7th century AD. The Lingaraj haat, which, due to years of neglect, had become a garbage dumping yard and a straying, ground for cattle and dogs. Today this market is redesigned keeping old ethics of Ekamra Khetra literally means land of mango orchards. Therefore a mango tree was planted at the centre of the Haat and was given a design with red lateritic stones, tiled pathways, bright parasols, manicured verandas and ornamental lights merging with Lingaraj Temple on its backdrop in a manner that it can become a site for cultural events and markets of heritage products dissemination during off days.
The new market has been developed with an area of 30,000 sq ft with a sitting capacity for nearly 250 vendors. The entire space is converted into three types of raised platforms one at the centre with 30’ podium shaped, second a semi circle 25’ 6’’ and 180 pindis (platform for selling vegetables) of different sizes (120- 5’5” and 60 -8’8”).
The Haat operates weekly twice on Monday and Tuesday from early Morning to late midnight and managed by the Lingaraj Temple Trust. Locals and villages around the old town area who used to do trade in the old haat are allowed to sell. This restoration process added value to livelihood of vendors and local ambiance of heritage area. The haat is now posed as a tourist attraction amongst international tourists interested to experience glimpses of Indian market.
Many of Indian cities street walls are smuggled with ugly, loud graffiti, posters, political slogans, cow dung cakes, unauthorized hoardings etc, Bhubaneswar was no exemption. In past the city had tried various options to keep public space free from ugly posters, unauthorized wall-posters and urinals etc. Even though law prohibits littering of street, public walls, compound walls of residence and Govt. buildings etc. In practice it has become a human tendency to use these places as spitting, urinals, put movie posters, unauthorized hoardings etc. It is often visitors found it’s strange to imagine a city of heritage importance have all such nuisance in its street walls.
The city felt that walls are spaces, which can act as harbinger of culture, tradition & heritage of the city. Today most of these ugly walls are converted into heritage-based wall paintings popularly known as gateway to Bhubaneswar as Living Heritage streets. Many tourists impression about the wall paintings adorning footpaths in Bhubaneswar is that the paintings were simply excellent and were considered the painted walls as art galleries for general public or say Public Art Galleries.
Virtually all-urban restoration initiatives, success depend on partnerships with stakeholders and such partnerships require policies and projects that respond to the constraints of citizens and promoting a commercial orientation to the restoration effort. Such acts signal to tourist & investors the intent of city to support initiatives that lead to restoration of the historic urban core.
At a base level, this reduces uncertainty and replaces it with citizen’s confidence, the latter necessary for equipping great cities to meet the global and sustainability challenges of the 21st century. Restoration of Bhubaneswar historic core thus makes sense from numerous perspectives, including economic efficiency; promotion of commerce, trade and tourism; employment creation; poverty reduction; and the strengthening of civic and national pride. Therefore today on international museum day building Bhubaneswar historic core, as a living museum is call of the hour that should not get ignored rather actions must get visible to transform it as a model in India.
