Intangible heritage is soft power

China’s Kunqu Opera is on the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage list

Last week, from June 11, for three days, Beijing celebrated its Cultural and Natural Heritage Day. It was organised by the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism with the intent to create awareness of its cultural riches and traditions, using technology and immersive experiences, with a focus on young people.

From fashion shows sashaying homegrown silk, to jade carving workshops, and heritage food markets, the extravaganza seemed to have covered elements under the broad umbrella of China's intangible cultural heritage.

In a near-serendipitous click, a news article, from December 2025, showed up on my screen soon after. It described China's focused intent to safeguard and highlight their folk and performing arts. The end result - it boasted of 45 UNESCO-listed forms of Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH), the highest in the world.

The stat touched a raw nerve. I did an immediate check to discover that India has 16 on its Intangible Cultural Heritage list; much less than what I had imagined, given our rich, diverse heritage and that our landscape transforms every 10 kilometres, or even less.

Festivities at Keshavji Naik Chawl in Girgaon, where the first Ganeshotsav celebration in Mumbai was held back in 1893. PICS/WIKIMEDIA COMMONS, FILE PIC

I jogged my mind to the time when I had returned to Kolkata after its Durga Puja festivities were inscribed in India's list of Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2021. The sense of pride was omnipresent across the many ‘paras' (neighbourhoods) I had visited. It was a delight to listen to self-respecting Bengalis worth their ilish praise the greatness of these elaborate, artistically designed puja pandals.

I noticed that some organisers had even flaunted notes about the UNESCO inscription by the entry/exit points of these ginormous pandals. And trust the Bengali to take time off from their pandal-hopping rituals [both religious and snacking!] to patiently read about the hows and whys of the UNESCO inscription.

A few days of scouring the city, and chatting with locals had convinced me that it was a good thing. More support and exposure was a leg-up for artisans and craftspeople, especially those who travelled from the state's interiors, for this annual showcase of their work. The overarching socio-cultural and economic impact of the festival on the city and the state had ensured that it was a deserving mention on the list.

Then came the reality check from our backyard. What about Maharashtra's, and Mumbai's own Ganesh Chaturthi festivities? Shouldn't a watertight dossier be created to push for its inscription on the Intangible Cultural Heritage list? I hope that the powers-that-be are working on it, given that it ticks most boxes. It would automatically propel it to worldwide recognition, offer means of livelihood to the same ilk as their Bengali counterparts, and preserve its original practices and character. Remember Lokmanya Tilak's masterstroke of using the idea of the Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav to inspire Mumbaikars to rise against British rule through this mode of community engagement? Original residents of Keshavji Naik Chawl in Girgaon recall their grandparents' pride after witnessing those memorable moments from Mumbai's local history. My annual visits to this chawl during Ganesh Chaturthi, where the first such Ganeshotsav was held in 1893, always made me wonder why it wasn't given its due as a historic landmark apart from during the festival, and beyond discussions among the city's heritage custodians and chroniclers.

That the chawl will be redeveloped is a statement of the times we live in. While a community hall on the same spot will ensure its historicity [will it, really?], original residents have vowed to return to the site every year to conduct the aarti during Ganeshotsav despite the construction, and until the new buildings emerge.

My concern [I hope there are many like me] is whether we've weakened the otherwise watertight case now that the original character of the site will be altered. Truth is that instead of waiting to lose another heritage location to a rapidly changing city skyline, the state needs to think fast and smart, and make a solid case for Ganeshotsav on the ICH list.

The same resilience, with which it ensured that Maratha Military Landscapes, represented by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj's 12 forts, made it to the prestigious UNESCO World Heritage Site list, is needed now, more than ever before.

mid-day's Features Editor Fiona Fernandez relishes the city's sights, sounds, smells and stones...wherever the ink and the inclination takes her. She tweets @bombayana
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The views expressed in this column are the individual's and don't represent those of the paper.