The Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC) recently held an exhibition of 20 artworks made on the conservation effort being undertaken by it at India International Centre, New Delhi. Titled "The Portraits of Conservation" these paintings illustrate views of the monuments as they were expected to appear post conservation or as they had once appeared. The artist behind these works, Himanish Das worked with AKTC on conservation projects, starting with some projects in Mehrauli, and eventually being involved with Humayun’s Tomb and many other monuments in Delhi and Hyderabad. Talking about architecture and art, Dast said "I believe these are our irreplaceable assets and should be preserved for the future generations."
Take a tour through these photos and meet the women and men whose actions and attitudes are helping to create a world in which our daughters can feel safer, more respected and ready to thrive and lead.
Over the last few weekends, thousands of people have been enjoying the sun and taking in the beauty of nature in Delhi's green spaces, among them Lodhi Garden, Sunder Nursery and Nehru Park. At least 17,000 people visited Sunder Nursery on over the weekend of 12 February. “We received encouraging response from the first weekend of February when this heritage space opened on both Saturday and Sunday after restrictions on entry in January,” said Ratish Nanda, CEO, Aga Khan Trust for Culture, India. “We have planted several native flowers and these have also started blooming, adding to the aesthetics of the garden.”
The dwindling bee population over the last decade has slowly become a matter of concern, prompting conservation efforts across different cities around the world, including Delhi. At Sunder Nursery, the Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC) has set up 12 bee boxes along with Golden Hive Foundation. Ratish Nanda, CEO of AKTC said the idea arose from the need to not only protect these bees, but to spread awareness on their significance to the ecosystem. “Bees play a crucial role in pollination and eventually food creation. The idea is to educate people on how to develop habitats for bees and to protect them, for which workshops are held frequently.” The plan is to eventually “create a dedicated space for bees with signs and display centres where the bee boxes will be kept in the centre,” he said.
Sunder Nursery is famous for its gardens, water bodies, monuments, and biodiversity. Created and managed by the Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC), once barren land, the park has quickly grown to become the city’s most sought after outdoor recreational place. This 16th-century urban oasis has risen from ruins to become the green lungs of Delhi. A decade of painstaking restoration work has resulted in a 90-acre (36 hectares) biodiversity park, dotted with 20 historical monuments including six UNESCO World Heritage sites, 27,000 saplings, 4,500 trees, 100 bird species, 40 butterfly species, two amphitheatres, a bonsai enclosure, a peafowl zone and plenty more. In 2018, the park was chosen by ‘Time Magazine’ as one of the 100 world’s greatest places to visit. Recently in 2020, it became Delhi’s first heritage complex to receive two UNESCO Asia-Pacific awards for Cultural Heritage Conversation 2020 – the Award of Excellence and Special Recognition for Sustainable Development.
Rakesh Gupta, a 62-year-old beekeeper from Lucknow in India, travels with his beehive-boxes across the country. He migrates with them to orchards in Kashmir, the coasts of Gujarat, the high altitudes of Himachal Pradesh, to Uttarakhand and to Rajasthan. Golden Hive Foundation and Gupta are working with the Aga Khan Trust for Culture at Sunder Nursery to help keep the bees in the nursery safe and thriving. They are creating a healthy bee ecosystem with artificial hives and natural hives below the ground. Gupta highlights the need of abundant flora for bees. The foundation manages a small demonstrative apiary and creates awareness about the depleting population of bees. In October last year, Gupta held a workshop called ‘Know the Bee’ at Sunder Nursery to raise awareness on the vital role played by bees as pollinators in the ecosystem. A diverse audience attended the workshop. They ranged from people who study insect behaviour and volunteers interested in apiaries from Give Me Trees Trust to bankers, engineers, and writers.
Pakistan's President Dr Arif Alvi on Tuesday visited the historic Lahore Fort and inspected its various sections including the Picture Wall and Royal Kitchen. Admiring the complex and intricate works of the Mughal-era, President Arif Alvi appreciated the detailed conservation efforts in preserving an important historical building. The conservation work has been carried out by Walled City of Lahore Authority (WCLA) in collaboration with the Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC). Earlier, WCLA Director General Kamran Lashari, Aga Khan Council for Pakistan President Hafiz Sherali, and others welcomed the delegates on their arrival.
Dr Arif Alvi, President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, visited the 17th century Mughal-era Lahore Fort, one of the largest restoration projects in Pakistan that has been carried out by the Aga Khan Trust for Culture in partnership with the Government of Punjab and the Walled City of Lahore Authority.
