The cultural heritage of India is multivalent, and this is defined by the
diversity of cultures that inhabit this vast sub-continent. The various
forms of heritage - tangible, intangible and 'living', hold a wide spectrum
of meanings to society. The intangible manifests itself into the tangible
through a collective creative process of making or building. These processes
are imbibed in traditional or indigenous building knowledge systems, and are
ingrained in a historic building fabric.
The design intentions and methods used to make a building would together
define the *creative process*, which is embodied in a historic building and
its fabric. Like other values associated with historic monuments, the values
relating to crafts and skills that produced cultural resources are equally
important aspects of heritage.
Indigenous conservation practices and processes are still prevalent, and
form the core of the 'living' heritage of India. The seminar establishes the
need for recognition, preservation, and advancement of traditional building
craft skills and the values associated with them. This special occasion also
marks the India launch of SHILPSALA - craft based conservation practice. The
initiative was warmly supported by the audiences at a lecture orgnanised by
the York Consortium for Conservation and Craftsmanship in York, UK where it
was first launched on July 2, 2008.
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