India’s four iconic sites secured their place in the UNESCO Asia-Pacific heritage awards, announced recently.
The UNESCO Asia-Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation ceremony was held in Penang, Malaysia, marking the institution’s 20-year-long journey.
“Sixteen projects from five countries – Australia, Bhutan, China, India and New Zealand – have been recognized by the international Jury of conservation experts in this year’s Awards. The jury met in August to review 57 entries from 14 countries across the Asia-Pacific region,” UNESCO Asia-Pacific said in a statement.
Pride Moment for Indian Heritage Sites
Four Indian heritage sites chosen for these awards include:
- Award of Distinction – ‘Vikram Sarabhai Library’, IIM Ahmedabad
- Award of Merit – ‘Keneseth Eliyahoo Synagogue and Our Lady of Glory Church’ of Mumbai
- Honorable Mention – Mumbai’s 155-year-old Flora Fountain
“The careful restoration of the fountain completes the series of conservation interventions to revive the city’s many Victorian-era fountains, a collection of ornate civic monuments unique in India,” tweeted the institution describing ‘Flora Fountain’.
“Undertaken with generous private sponsorship…celebrates the cultural plurality of Mumbai,” it said while speaking about the ‘Keneseth Eliyahoo Synagogue’.
Announcing the Award of Distinction to Vikram Sarabhai Library, UNESCO said, “the restoration of the monumental heralds an important step forward in the preservation of 20th century architecture in India (sic)”.
Vikas Dilawari, one of the key architects of the Flora Fountain Restoration project, was elated at the announcement.
“We hope this achievement and recognition by UNESCO will mean that both governments and people will give heritage conservation a chance. In a rapidly urbanizing India, we keep sacrificing our heritage in the name of development. But these awards will fill every Indian with a great sense of pride, and we hope they will make them more sensitive towards heritage and its protection,” he said in a statement.
