World Heritage Day 2022

Table of Contents

World Heritage Day 2022- Relevance for UPSC Exam

GS Paper 2: Indian History- Indian culture will cover the salient aspects of Art Forms, Literature and Architecture from ancient to modern times.

Recently, On World Heritage Day, Railway Board launched an online ticketing system for National Rail Museum in association with IRCTC.
Union Minister for Culture also inaugurated the Photo exhibition on the Baolis of Delhi “Absent Appearance- A Shifting score of water bodies” on the occasion of World Heritage Day as part of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav.

Background: World Heritage Day (also known as the International Monuments and Sites Day) was established in 1982 by the International Council for Monuments and Sites or ICOMOS.
About: World Heritage Day is meant to create awareness about the diversity of cultural heritage.
- World Heritage Day celebrates the work carried out by the ICOMOS – International Council on Monuments and Sites.
- World Heritage Day is also known as International Monuments and Sites Day.
World Heritage Day 2022 Theme: The theme for World Heritage Day 2022, is “Heritage and Climate”.
Significance: The World Heritage Day 2022 is all about increasing the awareness of the importance of the diversity of cultural heritage and preserving it for generations in the future.

Since the inception of human civilization harnessing water for agriculture, daily consumption and other ritualistic activities is a general practice.
As per climatic conditions ranging from aridity to availability of water the civilizations had adopted various techniques in the usage and storage of water.
- Baolis/stepwells feature in one such technology.
Objective: The purpose of the baolis was not only restricted to the consumption of water but adding to the environmental conditions the baoli’s established a deep relationship of faith in the water god, thereby giving the structures a religious identity.
What is Baoli: The word the Baoli/Bawdi has derived from the Sanskrit word wapi or vapi/vapika.
- Baoli is commonly used in Gujarat, Rajasthan and parts of North India.
Significance: The strategic locations of the baolis imply their importance and utility to a great extent.
- Stepwells located on the edge of the habitation like towns or satellite villages are mostly secular structures from where people can draw water and utilize the space for cool gatherings.
- The stepwells near the trade routes were mostly treated as resting places whereas the step-wells with terracotta rims were seen near the agricultural lands.
Reason for the Decline of Baolis: The system of step wells/baolis collapsed due to the pressure of decentralization and agriculture intensification.

Speaking of Baolis of Delhi, as per the published information there are near about 32 medieval baolis out of which 14 baolis are either lost or buried.
Further out of 18 baolis, 12 baolis are Centrally Protected and are under the protection of ASI.
A typical baoli usually consists of three elements, the well in which the water is collected, the flight of steps to reach the groundwater through several stories and interconnected pavilions.
Generally, the step-wells are U – shaped but there are always exceptions in architecture and L – shaped rectangular or octagonal step-wells are also not uncommon.