Intangible heritage is soft power

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 peopleFrom 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 Chinarsquos intangible cultural heritageIn a nearserendipitous click a news article from December 2025 showed up on my screen soon after It described Chinarsquos focused intent to safeguard and highlight their folk and performing arts The end result mdash it boasted of 45 UNESCOlisted forms of Intangible Cultural Heritage ICH the highest in the worldThe 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 lessFestivities at Keshavji Naik Chawl in Girgaon where the first Ganeshotsav celebration in Mumbai was held back in 1893 PICSWIKIMEDIA COMMONS FILE PICI jogged my mind to the time when I had returned to Kolkata after its Durga Puja festivities were inscribed in Indiarsquos list of Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2021 The sense of pride was omnipresent across the many lsquoparasrsquo neighbourhoods I had visited It was a delight to listen to selfrespecting Bengalis worth their ilish praise the greatness of these elaborate artistically designed puja pandalsI noticed that some organisers had even flaunted notes about the UNESCO inscription by the entryexit points of these ginormous pandals And trust the Bengali to take time off from their pandalhopping rituals both religious and snacking to patiently read about the hows and whys of the UNESCO inscriptionA 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 legup for artisans and craftspeople especially those who travelled from the statersquos interiors for this annual showcase of their work The overarching sociocultural and economic impact of the festival on the city and the state had ensured that it was a deserving mention on the listThen came the reality check from our backyard What about Maharashtrarsquos and Mumbairsquos own Ganesh Chaturthi festivities Shouldnrsquot a watertight dossier be created to push for its inscription on the Intangible Cultural Heritage list I hope that the powersthatbe 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 Tilakrsquos 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 grandparentsrsquo pride after witnessing those memorable moments from Mumbairsquos 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 wasnrsquot given its due as a historic landmark apart from during the festival and beyond discussions among the cityrsquos heritage custodians and chroniclersThat 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 emergeMy concern I hope there are many like me is whether wersquove 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 listThe same resilience with which it ensured that Maratha Military Landscapes represented by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharajrsquos 12 forts made it to the prestigious UNESCO World Heritage Site list is needed now more than ever beforemiddayrsquos Features Editor Fiona Fernandez relishes the cityrsquos sights sounds smells and stoneswherever the ink and the inclination takes her She tweets bombayanaSend your feedback to mailbagmiddaycomThe views expressed in this column are the individualrsquos and donrsquot represent those of the paper