Axis Bank Foundation Supports Sahapedia Heritage Walk Project

NEW DELHI:
In one of its first major initiatives in art and cultural philanthropy, the Axis Bank Foundation (ABF) under its Axis Cares program has tied up with Sahapedia, the online encyclopedia of Indian arts and culture, to support a series of nationwide Heritage Walks — a project aimed at helping people gain deeper understanding of the material, cultural and built heritage of their cities and towns.
ABF will support around 200 fully guided walking tours organized by Sahapedia over a period of one year, nearly half of which will be planned and curated exclusively for people with disabilities and underprivileged children.
Heritage Walk is a continuing project of Sahapedia, which organizes around eight to ten such tours every month in different locations. The walks are led by curators who are not just well-versed with the history, culture, monuments, alleys and byways of their cities, but are adept at engaging conversations and story-telling.
Registrations for these events are limited but free, and a typical walk involves a light itinerary, a gentle stroll introducing participants to lesser known sights and sounds of the area, interesting stories and tidbits of information, chats with locals, sampling of local produce and so on. The walks are often theme-based and may cover anything from art and architecture, to food and nature.
With the support of ABF, Sahapedia is hoping to reach around 15,000 participants covering 20 cities in one year’s time.
“Heritage Walks are a novel concept for us and ABF is committed to support socially relevant endeavors, and this is certainly an activity that merits support,” said Jacob Ninan, CEO. “An awareness of history and heritage of a city is not just important for visitors, but for residents too that they may appreciate and conserve it better” he said.
“Support for disadvantaged groups is at the core of ABF’s philosophy, and so we are particularly happy that Sahapedia is curating some of these walks for people with disabilities and for children from less privileged backgrounds,” added Ninan.
Sahapedia’s Executive Director Sudha Gopalakrishnan said their Heritage Walks are inclusive by design. “We curate tailor-made programmes for two reasons — firstly to make such activities accessible for people who are often left out from cultural engagements for no fault of their own, and secondly to make institutions aware of the issues these groups face so they can alter the heritage spaces to make them more inclusive.”
The activities will range from walks through museums, and historically significant monuments and markets, to explorations of natural landscapes and areas known for their cuisine. They will be themed and curated for specific groups such as students, travelers, women, children, corporate teams and so on.