The newly-reconstituted committee of the Goa Heritage Action Group (GHAG) that took charge in March this year has decided to direct its efforts into safeguarding intangible heritage in addition to built heritage as well.
PANAJI
The group that began its work in the state back in 2000 focusing on heritage structures is now shifting its attention on intangible heritage comprising arts, language, traditions, agricultural practices and natural heritage.
Members elected to be part of the GHAG include Cezar Pinto as chairman, Prajal Sakardande as vice-chairman, Raya Shankwalkar as honorary secretary, Harshvardhan Bhatkuly and Rajiv D’Silva as treasurers and Poonam Verma Mascarenhas, Anthony Gaskell, Jack Ajit Sukhija and Ana Maria D’Souza as executive members.
Speaking to The Goan, Shankwalkar said intangible heritage is at risk of dying out. “The last decade has witnessed massive destruction of traditions including dying art forms and agrarian practices. We will attempt to document these traditions and disseminate this information to others and showcase its importance,” he said, adding that social media would play a huge part in the group’s campaigns.
One such dying art form, Shankwalkar points out, is that of Kaavi art that is popularly found in the area of Morjim. The tradition of creating depictions using red oxide, embedded in lime plaster has been slowly diminishing, and it has become extremely difficult to find such skilled artisans.
“We are therefore working on a plan to have an artisan’s workshop for Kaavi after the monsoons so that people interested in the art form can learn how it is done and carry on the tradition,” he said.
Another area the group wants to target is that of agrarian practices. The group believes that the practice of growing traditional red rice has been on the decline.
“Farmers today are switching to modern varieties of rice and giving up on growing rice and paddy in khazan and low lying areas. We would like to ask people to buy more of the traditional, healthy, organic forms and thus provide an incentive for the farmers to grow these themselves,” said Shankwalkar.
Social media is one platform that GHAG hopes to use to the max, especially in roping in the younger generation. A simple hashtag (#goaheritage) is all the group will use to gather information of what people are talking about with regards to heritage. They also plan to use platforms like Instagram and Facebook to create awareness among people, especially the youth on the modern uses of traditional heritage.
