For Humayun’s sake, Samarkand comes to Delhi with a secret
Sweta Dutta,Sweta Dutta Posted: Jun 26, 2011 at 0124 hrs
New Delhi In sultry Delhi, 61-year-old Namandjon Mavlyanov finds the weather unbearable and the food strange. But nothing distracts him when he is at work, running his fingers through soil and shaking chemicals to get that “exact” shade, one that befits the tomb of Emperor Humayun whose ancestors came from Namandjon’s homeland.
After weeks of experiments with clay, quartz, types of soil and chemicals, a team of three artisans and an architect from Uzbekistan, have finally been able to recreate the five shades of tiles that the Mughals originally used on Humayun’s Tomb.
But why call in the Uzbeks? Because the tomb of Humayun, commissioned by his wife Hamida Banu Begum a few years after he fell to death in 1556, was modelled on Gur-e Amir, the mausoleum of his ancestor Timur in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.
The tilework is a complex, traditional art form in Uzbekistan, passed down generations.
So from the time they arrived in Delhi this February, architect Farkhod Bagirov and craftsmen Namandjon Mavlyanov, Kurbon Melikov and Bakhodurkhuja Rakhmatov have been working with the local conservation team to get those exact shades of green, lapis blue, turquoise blue, yellow and white on the tiles.
“The artisans have picked up the skill from their forefathers and have over 40 years of experience in traditional tile-making. We have worked at the historic sites of Registan Square in Samarkand, Gur-e-Amir,
Bibi Khanum Mosque. But working here is a new challenge altogether. It is an overwhelming experience to recreate what the great rulers had originally made,” Farkhod told The Sunday Express.
As part of a larger urban renewal project in the greater Nizamuddin area, the Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC) is undertaking conservation works on the World Heritage Site of Humayun’s Tomb in partnership with the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and co-funding from the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust.
Though craft traditions survive in India, AKTC discovered that the tile-making tradition of the Mughals had long been abandoned. A persistent research programme saw craftsmen being called from Uzbekistan and experimenting for six months.
Having found the exact composition, the team is now passing on the knowledge to craftsmen from the local Nizamuddin community to produce tiles that match the original tiles in every respect.
The Uzbek craftsmen will head home once the process for mass production is in place. Officials estimate it could take up to two years to produce all the hand-made tiles in the two kilns, set up in a remote corner of the site.
Local youths being trained in tile production will be engaged in the conservation works and provided micro-finance to set up establishments. “The considerable effort will not only result in restoring the grandeur of this most significant of Mughal buildings but also resurrect a craft tradition that has been sadly lost in the last generation. Local youths being trained in the craft receive much economic benefit,” said Ratish Nanda, Project Director, AKTC.
Though the production cost will be less than Rs 2 lakh, over Rs 30 lakh has been spent on research, documentation, consultation and peer review in an effort to find the best conservation solution.
The process began with physical and chemical analysis at different laboratories worldwide including Oxford University, Barcelona, IIT Roorkee, Iran and Uzbekistan. The technique in Uzbekistan was found to be the closest to the original process.
In April 2009, a joint workshop with UNESCO had seen 40 experts from nine tile-producing Asian countries debating the best solution.
“In keeping with best conservation practices, it was agreed at the outset that no tile will be removed, even where the glaze has been lost. New tiles, matching the original, needed to be prepared only for portions of the domed canopies covered with cement,” said Sangeeta Bais, AKTC conservation architect.
B R Mani, ASI Additional Director General, said: “Ceramic tiles were both decorative and protective. The long research and discussion on tile-restoration at Humayun’s Tomb will not only feed the National Conservation Policy being prepared at the ASI but will hopefully be used as a basis for conservation work elsewhere in the Islamic world.”
Aga Khan Trust helps restore 16th century tomb
Submitted by admin4 on 19 July 2011 - 6:26pm
Indian Muslim
By IANS,
New Delhi : The Sunderwala Burj, a 16th century mausoleum adjacent to Mughal emperor Humayun's tomb, has been given a major facelift by the Aga Khan Trust for Culture, with the US embassy funding and support of the Archaeological Survey of India.
The mausoleum, part of the Humayun's tomb complex, was restored at a cost of $50,000 from the American Ambassador's Fund for Culture Preservation and a matching grant of the Aga Khan Trust, said conservation architect Ratish Nanda, who head the trust's projects in India.
The trust is also spending in excess of $10 million to landscape the Sunder nursery surrounding the tomb as part of its Nizamuddin Urban Renewal Initiative.
"Though protected, the Sunderwala Burj had lost its original architectural and historic character due to inappropriate repairs using modern materials such as cement," nanda told IANS.
"The actual conservation was preceded by an exhaustive documentation, including a 3D laser scan, that revealed the striking patterns on the ceiling, original polychromy layers and the original extent of the building plinth," Nanda said.
The white and red contrast, one of the favourite colour palettes of the Mughal builders, has been restored with "white lime mortar mixed with marble dust and egg white ground by hand for months," he said.
The tomb is unique for its ornamental ceiling inscribed with floral motifs and scripts seen in Kashmiri and Persian wooden ceilings, he said.
"The ceiling had suffered extensive damage because of water seepage," Nanda said.
A band of Quranic inscription circling the inner wall surfaces of the mausoleum just over the doorway has been carefully recorded and is being restored by calligraphers from the adjoining Nizamuddin 'basti', the architect said.
More than 100 master craftsmen were engaged for nine months to restore missing portions of the ornamentation and replace cement plaster layers with lime mortar, he said.
"Local youth from the adjoining community at Nizamuddin were trained in building craft traditions to help restore the tomb," Nanda said.
Conservation work should aim to restore the intention of the original builders by engaging master craftsmen, and thus create employment and help keep craft skills alive, he added.
The Conservation of Sunderwala Burj is part of the larger Humayun’s Tomb – Sunder Nursery – Nizamuddin Basti Urban Renewal project, a not-for – profit Public Private Partnership between the Archaeological Survey of India, Central Public Works Department, Municipal Corporation of Delhi and the Aga Khan Development Network.
HISTORY With exquisitely ornamented plasterwork on the ceilings, unique in Delhi, this early 16th century building is amongst the earliest building built during the Mughal reign and stands within the World Heritage Site Buffer Zone.
CONDITION
The Sunderwala Burj suffered severe decay to the decorative plasterwork due to water seepage from the terrace. 20th century and later repair works using modern materials such as cement had adversely affected the original architectural integrity and caused further deterioration.
STUDIES Conservation works undertaken with AFCP grant, were preceded with a year long programme of scientific investigation, material and architectural documentation by the ASI- AKTC team. The architectural study was coupled with a focused archival research programme, Structural analysis by a UK based consultant, High definition survey using 3D laser scanning equipment, detailed condition mapping and GPRS (Ground Penetrating Radar Survey) of the site– all aimed at making this a model conservation project in the Indian context.
Conservation Works
As part of the ongoing project the U.S. Ambassador's Fund for Cultural Preservation is funding the conservation of Sunderwala Burj. On 4-May 2011, the U.S. Ambassador Timothy J. Roemer laid the first sandstone slab on the floor that will mark the beginning of the final phase of works.
The conservation works followed a systematic and scientific approach. All works carried out using traditional materials, craft techniques and tools my master craftsmen who have inherited craft skills. Works have been supervised by a multi-disciplinary team comprising Conservation architects, engineers, material scientists and archaeologists.
CEILING
The most significant of the building element, approximately 15% of the ceiling that was lost has been carefully restored. The remaining portion was carefully stabilised and cleaned to reveal its original glory.
WALLS
Large portion of cement plaster t the internal and external walls and even the dome surface was carefully removed to retard further deterioration. This was replaced with lime plaster prepared with traditional additives such as gur, belgriri, sand and brick dust. Red polychromy was visible even prior to conservation works but greater portionhs were revealed during the cleaning process. Matching the interior surfaces and the external contrast of the Humayun’s Tomb, the final white and red surfaces have been restored with several ‘protective coats’ of lime plaster with the natural geru added for the red polychromy. No paint has been used – significant since with the use of traditional materials the patina will return within a few monsoons.
STONE LATTICE SCREEN
The four arched openings over the doorways originally had sandstone lattice screens which seem to have been removed in the 20th century for the antique market. To respect the original design intention and secure the interiors from birds, sandstone screens carved with traditional tools and master craftsmen have been restored to the arched openings.
PLINTH
Archival photographs, Ground Penetrating Radar survey revealed the extent of the plinth which will be clad with sandstone and afford great views to the surrounding areas and even to Humayun’s Tomb.
LANDSCAPE WORKS
Together with the conservation works, in order to enhance the historical character AKTC is undertaking landscaping in partnership with the CPWD. The plinth is surrounded by an almost equally deep enclosed garden.
PERSIAN PATTERNS emerge in Burj revival
Aga Khan Trust helps restore the Sunderwala Burj, a 16th century tomb
Community approach to rehabilitation of historic district
Hugo Massa
Thu, 11/08/2011 - 19:07
For nearly 12 years, the Agha Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC) has been leading an exemplary development initiative in the historic neighborhood of Al-Darb Al-Ahmar (ADAA) in Cairo.
An overview of this unprecedented experience in Egypt highlights issues of sustainable development practices in general, with a special focus on historical districts.
Al-Darb Al-Ahmar is a popular neighborhood part of historic Cairo. It surrounds Al-Azhar Park on its western edge, an area where a 1.5 kilometer long portion of an Ayyubid wall was revealed by the removal of accumulated rubble.
Home to roughly 100,000 residents, the area is considered one of the poorest parts of Islamic Cairo. A 2003 baseline survey of ADAA revealed that the average monthly income per household was LE500 and that 70 per cent of the population was living under the poverty threshold.
The Sunderwala Burj, a 16th century mausoleum in New Delhi, has been given a makeover by the Aga Khan Trust for Culture with financial support from the US ambassador's Fund for Cultural Preservation.
It was restored at a cost of $50,000 and a matching grant by the Aga Khan Trust, conservation architect Ratish Nanda, who heads the trust's projects in India, said on Friday.
The mausoleum is located in the midst of the lush Sunder nursery adjacent to Mughal emperor Humayun's tomb. It is a part of the Humayun's tomb complex.
Nanda visited the restored tomb on Friday with United States charge d'affaires Peter Burleigh to assess the restoration work.
The trust is also spending more than $10mn to landscape the Sunder nursery as part of its Nizamuddin Urban Renewal Initiative, which aims to benefit communities living in and around the complex, Nanda said.
"The actual conservation was preceded by an exhaustive documentation, including a 3D laser scan that revealed the striking patterns on the ceiling, original polychromy (colours) layers and the original extent of the building plinth," Nanda said.
The tomb is unique for its ornamental ceiling inscribed with floral motifs and scripts seen in Kashmiri and Persian wooden ceilings, he said.
A band of Quranic inscription circling the inner wall surfaces of the mausoleum just over the doorway has been carefully recorded and is being restored by calligraphers from the adjoining Nizamuddin 'basti' or slums, the architect said.
More than 100 master craftsmen were engaged for nine months to restore missing portions of the ornamentation and replace cement plaster layers with lime mortar, he said.
"Local youth from the adjoining community at Nizamuddin were trained in building craft traditions to help restore the tomb," Nanda said.
Come, Khusro, let us go home August 2011
By Rakhshanda Jalil
New life in Basti Nizamuddin.
Can culture become a catalyst for development? Can a living culture – that spans seven centuries – be transformed into an engine of growth and regeneration? Can a blend of music, ritual, food, crafts and local traditions be harnessed to improve the quality of life? Can a local community that has, despite occupying the beating heart of a much-venerated spiritual space, be made to shed some of its isolation? Can the effects of long years of disempowerment and disenfranchisement be remedied through confidence-building and inclusive growth plans? Going by preservation and resuscitation work currently taking place in the Basti Nizamuddin area of New Delhi, such goals seem to be entirely possible. A slew of recent initiatives in the vicinity of the Nizamuddin dargah has shown that cultural revival and urban renewal can become two sides of the same coin of development.
The 900-year-old fort, which received a 2011 UNESCO Culture heritage award, is an important cultural monument and tourist attraction.Bangkok, 1 September 2011 - The restoration of Altit Fort in Pakistan, an Aga Khan Trust for Culture project undertaken by the Aga Khan Cultural Service, has received an Award of Distinction at the 2011 UNESCO Asian-Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation.
Conservation works for the 900-year-old Altit Fort focused on mending structural defects, stabilising and repairing existing walls, replacing some roofs, treating wood decay and providing appropriate lighting.
“The Award of Distinction winner Altit Fort in Hunza, Pakistan represents yet another step forward in the model of community-based conservation practice that has been evolving in the body of work of the Aga Khan Cultural Service of Pakistan,” says the UNESCO Citation. “Meticulous historical research and scientific investigation informed the conservation work, which successfully tackled a complex array of problems. Today the building has regained its iconic place in the Hunza Valley and now serves as a beacon to inspire future generations.”
A unique aspect of the work was that the village at the base of the fort was restored before the fort. The village had been in danger of becoming deserted in favour of new construction; a third of its residents had already moved away. Because the new construction was using up valuable arable land, conservation efforts at Altit proceeded in reverse order: the village rehabilitation before the Fort. The introduction of water and sanitation facilities proved vital to the revitalisation of the traditional settlement.
The UNESCO Asia-Pacific Heritage Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation present the awards in the belief that “recognising private efforts to restore and adapt historic properties will encourage other property owners to undertake conservation projects within the community, either independently or by seeking public-private partnerships”.
Since 2002, AKTC has received a number of conservation awards, including several previous UNESCO Culture Heritage Conservation awards. Please see Awards for more information.
For more information about the UNESCO award, please see the UNESCO website.
Abdallah Abo Zekry from Egypt and Sirojiddin Juraev from Tajikistan, two of the musicians collaborating in the sixth Remix Music Workshop in Aswan, Egypt.Abdallah Abo Zekry from Egypt and Sirojiddin Juraev from Tajikistan, two of the musicians collaborating in the sixth Remix Music Workshop in Aswan, Egypt.Aswan, 18 September 2011 - The Aga Khan Music Initiative and Al Mawred Al Thaqafy (Culture Resource) launched the Sixth Remix music workshop and tour under the leadership of Egyptian music director Fathy Salama and Lebanese composer and oud player Charbel Rouhana.
Daily workshop and creative exchange sessions will take place in Aswan until 28 September. Two concerts featuring the Remix 2011 musicians will be performed, the first in Aswan on Friday, 30 September at the Open Air Theatre at Cornish El Nil, and the second, on 1 October at the El Genaina Theatre in Cairo’s Al-Azhar Park.
Remix 2011 offers a crucible for creative encounters among young musicians and composers from the Arab world and Central Asia—regions whose cultural links go back more than a millennium. During the workshop sessions, participants seek to reassemble diverse expressions of a shared musical heritage in contemporary forms. This artistic aim complements the broader goals of both Al Mawred and the Aga Khan Music Initiative, whose mission is to strengthen cultural pluralism in Central Asia and the Arab world.
Remix 2011 involves 17 participants from eight countries: Abdallah Abo Zekry, Ahmed Nazmi, Mohamed Sawah, Nada Ahmed and Wael Elfashny from Egypt; Firas Hassan, Kinan Idnawi, Bassel Rajoub, Rebal Alkhodri, and Salah Nameq from Syria; Badiaa Bou Hreizi from Tunisia; Ali Shaker from Iraq; Homayun Sakhi and Salar Nader from Afghanistan; Raouf Islamov from Azerbaijan; Sirojiddin Juraev from Tajikistan; and Abbos Kosimov from Uzbekistan.
Remix 2011 Music Director Fathy Salama is a Grammy Award-winning composer, arranger, producer, and pianist who has performed on prestigious concert and festival stages throughout the world with Sharkiat, the group that he founded and presently leads. Salama shares the artistic direction of Remix 2011 with acclaimed Lebanese composer and oud player Charbel Rouhana, whose eight CDs showcase his multifaceted career as a composer, arranger, musician and singer. Rouhana has toured and performed with many notable musicians, among them the legendary Marcel Khalife.
Remix 2011 is organized by Culture Resource (Al Mawred Al Thaqafy) in collaboration with the Aga Khan Music Initative (www.akdn.org/music), a nine-country music and arts education programme with worldwide performance, outreach, mentoring and production activities. Launched to support talented musicians and music educators working to preserve, transmit, and further develop their musical heritage in contemporary forms, the Music Initiative began its work in Central Asia and subsequently expanded to include musicians and artistic communities from the Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia.
For more information or press interviews please contact:
Ratish Nanda, project director at the Aga Khan Foundation and arguably India’s most important architect, beats me by reaching Blanco – a Khan Market restaurant in south Delhi – a few minutes ahead of me and has picked a nice window table for us. He’s dressed in his trademark kurta, with an equally trademark ink-pen sticking out of his front pocket, the hallmark of someone who writes or sketches for a living, says Rajiv Rao.
We exchange pleasantries and order fresh-lime sodas. Nanda looks around apprehensively as if he’s being stalked. Once he finds out that this is a feature on him, he becomes even more nervous about the lunch. When I mention that I need a photograph from him for the sketch-artist, he’s about to bolt out of the door.
Somehow, we settle down and almost immediately start chatting about his project: revitalising three of Delhi’s most-treasured sites, Humayun’s Tomb, Nizamuddin basti and Sunder Nursery into one unique heritage precinct. I tell Nanda that my wife and I, just a few weekends ago, took our kids to Humayun’s tomb and it was a fabulous experience, with its lush Mughal gardens and waterworks, liberating our trapped urban souls with its sheer size, greenness and grandeur.
I’ve said the right thing apparently since Nanda sheds his inhibitions, whips out a pen and notebook and elegantly begins sketching the inner sanctum of the tomb with firm, concise strokes. The project is the first privately-funded restoration of a World Heritage Site in India, he tells me, spearheaded by the Aga Khan Trust for Culture and in collaboration with several state agencies, including the Archaeological Survey of India, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi and the Central Public Works Department. This kind of public-private partnership is the future of conservation, he says.
We decide to order. Nanda says he eats anything, having spent four years in Afghanistan working on Babur’s tomb. Since the menu doesn’t feature roast goat, we stick to prawn and fish: I go for the Spanish prawn skillet with a hint of basil, Nanda suggests a Goan fish-curry and we both hone in on a crispy red snapper in thai chilli-sauce.
Nanda sketches out the basic issues that confront his field today. “Our heritage is disappearing bit by bit, but this is somehow not a scandal,” he says. In Britain, Nanda points out, there are 600,000 protected buildings versus a paltry 7,000 in India. However, the British had a mummified approach to conservation in India, he says, which failed. “It completely ignored the local population,” he adds.
Nanda’s – or should I say the Aga Khan Foundation’s – work in the Nizamuddin basti is an example of the rewards of an alternative approach. The landscaping of the Chaunsath Khamba complex, for instance, the largest open space in the basti, has been re-configured as an open-air theatre, attracting both local residents and citizens from all over Delhi. “Until local communities can enjoy it and benefit from our heritage, it is of no use,” says Nanda.
Then there’s the issue of local craftsmanship — age-old traditions and material that we have totally abandoned. “Why are we building with glass and steel?” asks Nanda. I mention Jeb Brugmann, author of Welcome to the Urban Revolution, whom I met a few years ago and who talks about the Indian infatuation with aping Western structures that has sidelined traditional design concepts, like the “chowk”, which are far more suited to the Indian way of life. Nanda couldn’t agree more.
“Why aren’t we using sandstone?” asks Nanda. “Our craftsmen need to get work but our architects don’t know how to use tile work. The consequence is that the ceramic tile trade has died out and the same applies to stone craftsmen and even certain kinds of masons.” This is something Nanda says the foundation is trying to revive, especially when renovating structures like Humayun’s tomb.
The food arrives. The Spanish shrimp is surprisingly good – though small – the basil, a subtle touch and the red and green peppers nice and crunchy. The Goan fish-curry is decent, but nothing more. Nanda and I are hungry so we stop talking and attack with single-minded purpose.
After some spirited gorging, we lean back, wipe the sweat of our brow, and get back to the business at hand. Nanda, a Delhi boy who went to Modern and was a gold medallist at the School of Habitat Studies where he did his BA, once again emphasises that conservation needs to step out of its isolation and become sustainable. “Heritage is actually the only asset that locals have,” he says. The Aga Khan’s projects in basti Nizamuddin bear this out. Hundreds of youth and adults have been involved in a programme that included adult education, career counselling, vocational training and skill enhancement. The project has also improved streetlights, rebuilt water-harvesting systems, built open spaces for cricket games and community toilet complexes.
Clearly, culture can be a tool for development. But heritage also makes good business sense. “There has been a 1,000 per cent increase in ticket sales in just four months of Humayun’s Tomb being opened,” says Nanda. Meanwhile, we’ve dug into the Red Snapper and something seems rotten in the state of Delhi. I have a chat with one of the servers. Oh, that’s how Snapper is, he tells me confidently, with a broad grin. Both Nanda and I inform him gently that we both cook, buy fish regularly at the INA market and that it would be a good idea to remove the offending plate and tell the chef to check his batch before someone keels over, never to wake up again. The plate vanishes.
Wrapping up, I ask Nanda for what he thinks we need in India for conservation to succeed. Understand that conservation is cash, especially when it comes to the linkages between tourism and our economy, he says. “Instead we look at it as a burden rather than an economic asset,” he adds. I pay and we both leave, but not before I’ve secured a private tour of Nizamuddin from the man who brought it to life.
A Celebration of the Poetry and Music of Pakistan in Paris
Co-presented by Théatre de la Ville and the Aga Khan Music Initiative
Paris, 7 October 2011 -- The Aga Khan Music Initiative and Théatre de la Ville team continue their three-year partnership with a two-day celebration of Pakistani music and poetry at the Théatre de la Ville in Paris on the 8th and 9th of October 2011.
The weekend, featuring 20 Baluchi, Sindhi and Pashtun musicians and poets, will begin with readings of the folk stories and popular poetry of the nomads of Baluchistan. Sindhi master of the double flute Akbar Khamisu Khan will be accompanied on dholak by Mohamed Khan. Baluchi musicians include Mohammad Bashir and the singer Nawab Khan. Zarsanga, the queen of Pushtun music, will recite love poems called landays and other nomadic kuchi songs accompanied by her son Shahzad on tabla and Muhabat Khan on rubab. On 9 October, the vibrant Sufi poetry tradition will be explored. Through music and stories, the programme will highlight Sufi poetry’s function as a means of invoking and connecting with the transcendent. A special focus will be on the Qawwali tradition inspired by Hazrat Amir Khusraw and made famous by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan at a Théatre de la Ville concert in 1985.
The Aga Khan Music Initiative (www.akdn.org/music) is a nine-country music and arts education programme, with a worldwide performance and production activities. Launched in 2000 by His Highness the Aga Khan to support talented musicians and music educators who are striving to preserve, transmit, and further develop their musical heritage in contemporary forms, the Music Initiative began its work in Central Asia, eventually expanding to include musicians and artistic communities from the Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia. Since its inception, the Initiative has helped musicians, music educators and grassroots cultural strategists to recast musical traditions of the Silk Route in contemporary forms and contexts rooted in local cultural heritage.
For more information, please contact:
Aga Khan Music Initiative (AKMI)
Fairouz R. Nishanova Director, AKMICA
Aga Khan Trust for Culture
P.O. Box 2049 1211
Geneva 2 Switzerland
E-mail: akmi@akdn.org
or
Theatre de la Ville
Jacqueline Magnier
Presse & Documentation
Tél: 01.48.87.84.61
Fax:01.48.87.81.15
16,Quai de Gesvres
75180 Paris Cedex04
Email: jmagnier@theatredelaville.com
Dust lifts from medieval grandeur
Richi Verma, TNN Oct 24, 2011, 06.45AM IST
It's a crumbling edifice of serenity at the entrance of the majestic Humayun's Tomb. But despite its intrinsic splendour, Isa Khan's tomb has always remained in the blind spot of visitors to this 16th century world heritage site.
Poor maintenance and lack of awareness about the tomb's significance in the city's architectural legacy contribute to the general lack of interest. But all of this will change after the launch of an intensive conservation programme.
In about six months from now, the tomb will don a new look with new pathways, lush green lawns and original ornamental patterns. Already, several layers of earth in the garden that surrounds the tomb have been removed and interiors scraped clean of dust and soot.
The project began on January this year as part of the Humayun's Tomb-Nizamuddin Basti Urban Renewal Initiative. The Aga Khan Trust for Culture ( AKTC) and the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) teamed up to implement it. The World Monuments Fund is also chipping in with funds.
Ensemble performing with Afghan trio at Chan Centre
By John Goodman, North Shore News October 28, 2011
- Kronos Quartet with Homayun Sakhi Trio, Chan Shun Concert Hall at UBC's Chan Centre, Saturday, Nov. 5 at 8 p.m. Concert presented in collaboration with the Aga Khan Music Initiative, a program of the Aga Khan Trust for Culture.
*****
Quartet in talks to do more with Aga Khan foundation
North Shore News October 28, 2011
North Shore News: When did you meet Alim Qasimov?
David Harrington: I think it was about 1995 or '96 in London. His singing just blew me away. I've known of his work for a long time and it wasn't until several years ago that we were actually able to finally work together.
North Shore News: When you work with Qasimov is his daughter and ensemble part of the package?
David Harrington: Initially when we were working out the pieces he had two musicians with him. Fargana was not there. We did a performance in San Francisco and he sang all the parts - pretty amazing - but then when we did the world premiere in London his full ensemble and Fargana were there and in all of the concerts it's been them together. I think she's totally amazing as well. She's just a great artist.
North Shore News: Do you have any further projects planned with the Aga Khan foundation?
Please also see Related Material:
Delhi Urban Renewal Project
Aga Khan Historic Cities Programme
New Delhi, India, 30 October 2011 - His Highness the Aga Khan toured the Humayun’s Tomb - Sunder Nursery - Hazrat Nizamuddin Basti Urban Renewal Project, in the heart of Delhi, India, to review progress on the project. Following the successfully restoration of the Humayun’s Tomb gardens in 2004, the Urban Renewal Project has expanded to encompass restoration and socioeconomic projects in Hazrat Nizamuddin Basti and the transformation of Sunder Nursery into a park for the people of Delhi.
His Highness the Aga Khan reviews plans for the Humayun’s Tomb - Sunder Nursery - Hazrat Nizamuddin Basti Urban Renewal Project. - Photo: AKDN
His Highness the Aga Khan tours works on fountains and water channels in the Sunder Nursery. - Photo: AKDN
His Highness the Aga Khan reviews restoration work in the garden pavilion in Sunder Nursery. - Photo: AKDN
AKTC Launches Guidebook of Humayun’s Tomb for Children
Let's Explore Humayun’s TombDelhi, 22 November 20011 -- Humayun’s Tomb, one of India’s 26 World Heritage Sites, is visited by over 300,000 school children every year. But until recently, they did not have a child-friendly guide book to the site.
With the launch of “Let’s Explore Humayun’s Tomb”, that is set to change. The guidebook, authored by Dr Narayani Gupta and illustrated by Ms Anitha Balachandran on behalf of the Aga Khan Trust for Culture, was printed with support by the Ford Foundation. Over 60,000 copies – 30,000 each in Hindi and English – have been published by the Archaeological Survey of India.
On the occasion of the book’s launch, India’s Minister of Culture, Kumari Selja, said, “I hope the guidebook will help involve children in the preservation effort from an early age and inspire many of them to become archaeologist, architects, and historians as we need many more people to become involved in protecting and presenting India’s built heritage or at least to be concerned about protecting what our ancestors built before us.”
AKTC has been working at the Humayun’s Tomb site for over a decade. On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of Indian independence, AKTC decided to sponsor the restoration of Humayun’s Tomb Gardens - a four-part paradise garden (chahâr-bâgh) – in what was the first privately funded restoration of a World Heritage Site in India. Completed in March 2004 through the joint efforts of the Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC) and the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), under the aegis of the National Culture Fund, the project restored the gardens, pathways, fountains and water channels surrounding Humayun’s Tomb according to the original plans of the builders.
Following the successfully restoration of the Humayun’s Tomb gardens, AKTC began work on a more ambitious project to improve the quality of life in surrounding areas. The Humayun’s Tomb - Sunder Nursery - Hazrat Nizamuddin Basti Urban Renewal Project, which began in 2007, integrates conservation, socioeconomic development and urban and environmental development objectives in consultation with local communities and relevant stakeholders. The non-profit partnership includes the Archaeological Survey of India, the Central Public Works Department, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, the Aga Khan Foundation and the Aga Khan Trust for Culture. Since its inception, the project has attracted additional partners and received co-funding from the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust, Ford Foundation, World Monuments Fund, Sir Ratan Tata Trust, the Embassy of the United States, J.M. Kaplan Fund, amongst others.
For more information, please see the Historic Cities page and the independent Nizamuddin Renewal site.
Bringing children closer to heritage
Staff Reporter
On the occasion of Children's Day, the Archaeological Survey of India along with the Aga Khan Trust for Culture released a children's guidebook to the world heritage site Humayun's Tomb here on Monday. The book is intended to encourage children to take interest in the city's heritage.
The book was prepared by the Trust and published by ASI and is part of the Humayun's Tomb – Nizamuddin Basti Urban Renewal Project, a not-for-profit public-private partnership initiative. Written in a story format along with illustrations, the book explains how the 450-year-old monument was built.
Authored by eminent historian Narayani Gupta and illustrated by Anitha Balachandran, it is the first site-specific guidebook in India.
“Humayun's Tomb is one of India's 26 World Heritage Sites and is visited by over 300,000 school children every year,” said Union Culture Minister Kumari Selja releasing the book at Humayun's Tomb at a ceremony attended by 500 children from nearly 15 schools of the Capital.
The book includes interesting facts about the World Heritage Site.
Priced at an affordable Rs.50, the book will be available at the tomb and other ASI centres in Hindi and English. Over 30,000 copies have been published so far. Said ASI Director-General Dr. Gautam Sengupta: “This book is the first in a series planned as part of celebration of ASI's 150 years of existence. The next one will be about a heritage site near Chennai.”
Nizamuddin Basti women got what they wanted, a gym
Shah Jehan is mostly occupied with household work and even though she looked forward for some personal time, she couldn’t. Besides, in the absence of a dedicated place for women in her area, the housewife from Nizamuddin Basti had no choice.
Most of the burqa-clad women like Shah Jehan who are shy to speak to others, their homes packed with people, and living in the narrow congested lanes of the Basti, the ambience hardly offered them any freedom.
However, six months ago, things changed when a women’s meeting was held in the Basti. Every single attendee demanded a ‘gymnasium’. And as a result, Avaam Fitness Centre came up, with exclusive timings for women. “I wouldn’t have gone far away. But with the gym nearby, I come regularly,” said Yasmin Qureshi, a crochet pattern artist. Like most other women, she comes covered in burqa, removes it while exercising and gets back into her conventional clothes again while stepping out.
Trainer Vimalesh (she goes by single name) starts the regime with stretching exercises. Then the women are guided according to their individual requirements, from aerobic or yoga exercises to cardio exercises on the machines. “I have to consider their background, their age and also their fitness before I chart-out exercise routine for them,” Vimalesh said.
The gym is run from a community centre and area councillor Farhad Suri was instrumental in setting up the gym and liaisoning with the Municipal Corporation of Delhi.
The civic body has signed a MoU with the Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC) under the urban renewal project. Shveta Mathur, programme officer for AKTC’s urban implementation programme, said, “During the need assessment meetings with parents, children, women and all such stakeholders, this (gym) was one demand that had come up persistently from the women themselves. We are happy with the result today.”
Each woman’s record is kept properly and attendance marked even when the facility is free of charge.
Sualeha Farheen Siddiqui, manager of the gym, said: “Women here are very happy and the demand has been increasing. We cannot accommodate them all.” The gym has about 30-40 members each in three batches between 9.30am to 12.30 pm.
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