In the present context of globalization and
consumerism, it becomes the duty of
every citizen to conserve and preserve history and culture for the future
generations. Here is an example of an extraordinary man with a beautiful
vision. He was a banker by profession, but at heart he cherished immence love
for art
and architecture. The Hastha Shilpa Heritage Village is the outcome of
Dr. Vijaynath shenoy's vision and passion. If you are in India, pl visit
Heritage Village which is in Manipal. Manipal is situated in Udupi district, in
south Karnataka.
I had met Mr. Shenoy, a great personality with a deep voice and keen sharp eyes, some years back as he was to our house on invitation for breakfast. Before coming to our place, he had written a lengthy epistle to our association regarding the project that he had undertaken. The epistle with clean beautiful hand writing spoke of his passion for art and architecture and its preservation for future generations. No doubt, he was a man with great vision endowed with tremendous work discipline. These two things kept him active, energetic and dedicated to his vision.. His dream was to establish Heritage Village, and for this cause he had sacrificed his own house and had moved to a small house. When he was at our place for breakfast, we could make out his dedication, clarity of thought, determination. He was very clear about his vision and the ways of establishment of his vision. This great personality passed away a few days back leaving us a great fortune
A couple of years back, I met him again in
Manipal at the Heritage Village, his long cherished dream project site. An
artist camp was arranged in Manipal , and I was one of the Participants in the
camp. In the evening, all of us artists had gone to see the much acclaimed
heritage Village. Dr. Vijayanath Shenoy was
sitting in a wooden chair and interacting with friends. He seemed frail and
weak as age has taken its toll. On introducing myself to him, he himself
mentioned about the breakfast at our place. Though he was pretty old, he had a
wonderful memory. I was really taken aback by his vivid memory power. That was
my last meeting with him.
One
has to acknowledge his enthusiasm, hard work and tremendous contribution in establishing
this famous Heritage Village. He travelled extensively to collect artistic
materials from the depleted houses, palaces and shops. Centuries-old pillars,
doors, windows, utensils and other artifacts were collected and palaces, houses, and shops are reconstructed
in the traditional manner. On entering these houses, you are taken into the
bygone time periods and reminded you of the earlier living patterns. This, six
acres of vast location, has housed many such century old architectures structures,
which need long hours to go through these structures and enjoy the traditional
architecture and artifacts. The heritage village has a number museums and galleries. Among all these galleries, I liked the
gallery which showcases the litho prints of Indian artist Raja Ravi Varma. Huge
litho machines and stones used by the artist are also in the gallery to one's
great surprise. Another gallery has a huge collection of traditional paintings,
belonging to especially to Mysore and
Tanjore school of painting. The list goes endless. Visit
www.indiaheritagevillage.org for more information. This location is very useful for
study for artists, architects and historians. let me know your ideas about
preservation of culture for future generations.
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