A city-based heritage expert is creating Instagram archive of historical objects

In a schools history is still unfortunately about reading and memorising from textbooks But it doesnt have to be that way begins Alisha Sadikot founder of The Inheritage Project Last month Sadikot launched A History in Objects an Instagram account that she hopes will act as an archive to help teachers make history more fun for kids As the name suggests each post her own or crowdsourced on the account picks a historical object mdash either from a museum or a landmark in the city mdash and uses it to tell a storyAlisha SadikotSadikot is already in the process of reaching out to teachers in Mumbai schools where the textbook approach is standard Often its difficult to take kids out on field trips So the idea is to help teachers use visual online resources that have a curriculum link she adds Even if youre not an educator or still in school theres plenty here to pique your interest in understanding the history of the city LOG ON TO instagramcomtelling_historiesTetrapods along Marine Drive PicWikimedia CommonsTelling tales on the rocksIf youve been to Marine Drive youre sure to have seen the fourpronged structures bunched up along the shoreline As iconic as these tetrapods are few know the purpose behind their existence Sadikot advises Use models of them to discuss the citys changing geography reclamation and how these artificial sea walls help protect against the force of the sea by interlocking and staying in place while at the same time allowing water to flow through the cracks and thereby reducing water pressureThe tetrapods at Marine Drive are a fairly recent piece of history having been installed by the Public Works Department between 1998 and 2004 Sadikot adds that there are plans to remove many of these structures to make way for the Coastal RoadWHERE Marine DriveA stone tablet in Colaba Pic courtesyAlisha SadikotSilent markers of changeThis tablet marks the site of the former crossing of about 300 yards of creek that separated the Island of Bombay from Old Womans Island These words grace the face of this tablet which can be found in Colaba Sadikot writes Stone remnants mark a geography of the city that no longer exists and make fantastic teaching tools for history geography environmental studies and current issues of development She emphasises that teachers dont need to take students to the actual locations of these markers Use a map to mark its position and include an image of the inscription to discuss the citys changing form reclamation and identities that still survive she addsWHERE Near Colaba Police StationThe stone elephant Pic courtesyDr bhau daji lad museumA jigsaw puzzle of elephantine proportionsOne of the photos Sadikot has reposted is of the stone elephant at the entrance of Dr Bhau Daji Lad Mumbai City Museum The post uploaded by the museum reads Elephanta Island near Mumbai gets its name from this stone sculpture of an elephant carved circa 6th century CE which welcomed the royal visitors who disembarked on the Rajabunder Jetty In 1864 the British attempted to transport this elephant to England Due to its weight the sculpture fell and broke into several pieces These pieces were then moved to the Victoria Gardens Veermata Jijabai Bhonsale Udyan Sir George Birdwood the then curator of the Museum assembled the broken parts and installed it at the entrance of the museum Visitors can still see the marks of how the sculpture broke and was put back togetherWHERE Rani Baug Byculla East