Cultural and Civilisational Newsletter : February-2024

(Cultural and civilisational issues are vital as they shape societies, influencing values, norms, and identities. Understanding these aspects fosters harmony, tolerance, and cooperation among diverse communities. Addressing cultural concerns promotes inclusivity, preserves heritage, and builds a foundation for mutual respect, fostering a more interconnected and enriched global community.

This cultural and civilisational newsletter will collate diverse developments in the field of culture, new research in history, archaeological findings, events and trends on a monthly basis. It will feature insightful articles, interviews, book reviews and news reports. It will engage readers with a rich blend of historical perspectives, contemporary issues, and future outlooks, fostering a nuanced understanding of cultural and civilisational dynamics.)

Buddha’s relics at National Museum to be on display in Thailand- The Indian Express

Four of the 20 relics of Lord Buddha preserved at the National Museum are being taken to Thailand for a month-long exposition beginning Thursday, in a rare trip abroad for the delicate antiquities recovered more than a century ago. The relics fall under the ‘AA’ (rare) category of antiquities and art treasures and are not meant to be lent for exhibitions, within India or in foreign nations. But the exposition in Thailand was being held upon a “special request” by the Thai Government, the Ministry of Culture said. Click here to read... [2]

‘Dust is everywhere’: rare glimpse of how Michelangelo’s David is kept clean- The Guardian

Once every two months, the Accademia Gallery’s in-house restorer Eleonora Pucci clambers up the side of scaffolding assembled around the 5.17-metre-tall figure and gets to work on dusting David’s marble locks and perfectly toned muscles, using a vacuum and fine brushes and cloths. This week, journalists were granted privileged access to the process. Click here to read... [3]

Pulling strings to preserve cultural heritage of India- The Times of India

The 11th International Puppet Festival commenced at Tagore Theatre here on Saturday. The event was inaugurated by governor of Punjab and UT administrator Banwarilal Purohit. During his address, the governor highlighted the rich cultural heritage of puppet theatre in India, tracing its historical significance back to ancient times. He emphasised the enduring importance of puppetry as a medium for entertainment, education, and cultural preservation, noting its presence in various forms across different cultures and regions. Click here to read... [4]

British Museum’s Instagram flooded with calls to return Easter Island statue- The Guardian

The British Museum is tackling an influx of social media trolls from Chile, who have flooded the museum’s Instagram posts calling for the return of a moai statue, one of the stone monuments from Easter Island. The museum has two moai, which were taken from Rapa Nui (Easter Island) by British surveyors in 1868, and there have been longstanding demands for the British to return them to Rapa Nui, which is Chilean territory. Click here to read... [5]

Several monuments, archaeological sites under encroachment: Govt tells Parliament- The Indian Express

A number of old monuments and archaeological sites in the country are “under encroachment”, the government informed the Lok Sabha on Monday. Union Minister of Culture G Kishan Reddy said this in a written response to a query in the Lok Sabha. Click here to read... [6]

Did You Know About This Museum of Indian Currency Notes? – Outlook Traveller

The Reserve Bank of India operates two interesting museums— one in Mumbai (The Monetary Museum) and the other in Kolkata (The RBI Museum)—which essentially deal with the history of money, and monetary transactions. But if you are particularly interested in knowing about Indian currency notes, you have to visit the Rezwan Razack's Museum of Indian Paper Money in Bengaluru, which is a privately run institution. Click here to read... [7]

‘The Assamese’ is an intricately etched, exhaustive and inclusive portrait of the community- Scroll.in

The last decade has seen an explosion of writing from North-East India. While fiction and poetry from the region led the way, nonfiction, recording the history, politics, anthropology, environmental concerns of the region has made its impact felt of late, one book at a time. In 1989, Bill Ashcroft, Gareth Griffiths and Helen Tiffin wrote the pathbreaking The Empire Writes Back, which examined how postcolonial texts mounted a radical critique of a Eurocentric view of language and literature. In a similarly effective though not consolidated manner, writing from the North-East, both fiction and nonfiction, seems to be increasingly and successfully challenging the erasure and glossing over of the region that mainstream Indian writing and literature has subjected it to. Sangeeta Barooah Pisharoty’s recent book, The Assamese: A Portrait of a Community, is a meaningful intervention towards filling the void. Click here to read... [8]

'Make Ayodhya report public': Archaeologist who led excavations urges Centre | Exclusive- India Today

BR Mani, who initially led the Allahabad High Court-ordered survey and excavations at the Janmabhoomi-Babri-Masjid site in 2003. In an exclusive interview to IndiaToday.In, the top archaeologist urges the Centre to release the ASI report so that all doubts regarding the site are put to rest. Click here to read... [9]

How Ayodhya’s Ram Mandir will benefit temple tourism in India- Hindustan Times

At least 100 million people are expected to visit the Ram temple in Ayodhya, every year, according to Jefferies analysts. In comparison, about 9 million people visit the Vatican City which is home to the Pope and the Roman Catholic Church. About 20 million people visit Mecca, the holy place for Muslims.

"The creation of a new religious tourist centre (Ayodhya) with improved connectivity and infrastructure can create a meaningfully large economic impact," the analysts noted as quoted by news agency Reuters. Click here to read... [10]

What is the repatriation of cultural property? Experiences after World War II and during the Russo-Ukrainian war- Ukrainer

Repatriation — the return of stolen or illegally exported objects of cultural heritage — has a decisive role in restoring historical justice and national memory. If an object was damaged or lost due to hostilities, the aggressor state must transfer cultural property of comparable value to the affected country or pay compensation for the destruction. Click here to read... [11]

New evidence suggests Harappan civilisation is 7,000 to 8,000 years’ old- Hindustan Times

Researchers from Deccan College Pune along with the Central Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) have established that human remains discovered at an ancient site of Rakhigarhi – a village in the Hisar district of Haryana – date back around 8,000 years. The discovery has been made during the third phase of excavations carried out by the ASI along with various teams across the country, including researchers from Deccan College Pune. Click here to read... [12]

Garba joins UNESCO list of Intangible Cultural Heritage- United Nations India

UNESCO has inscribed the popular Gujarati folk dance Garba on its Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Click here to read... [13]

Archaeological tourism is on the rise. Govt to citizens, India must learn to handle the sites- The Print

In the race to establish India’s dominance in the global tourism market, we have to be a little cautious when it comes to archaeological sites, which are more susceptible to destruction. With the rise of archaeo-tourism in the country, it is essential to have guidelines catering to this niche as well. Click here to read... [14]