Memories & Dreams In Gold

Air is the Guru, Water is the Father,
and Earth is the Great Mother of all.
Day and night are the two nurses in
whose lap all the world is at play.

Japji, Epilogue – Guru Nanak

Punjab is predominantly an agrarian landscape where cultural expressions are deeply influenced by the relationship between humans and nature and, more specifically, ecological systems related to water as a life-giving source. This deep relationship can be experienced intensely in the tangible heritage of the canals and wells, and the intangible heritage of folklore, poetry, music, festivals based on the agriculture calendar. The city of Amritsar is not only Mecca for the Sikhs but also a leading source of inspiration in the way the Gurdwaras place themselves in relationship with the many sarovars (water bodies).

The city is also seen as an epitome of resilience. Ever since Amritsar was founded, it has been subjected to several acts of violence, such as the martyrdom of Guru Arjan Dev in 1604 CE, unrelenting invasions from the northwest through the 18th century, the 1919 Jallianwala Bagh massacre, the Partition of India in 1947 when almost half Amritsar’s population was displaced, Operation Blue Star in 1984, and the repeated destruction of Sri Harimandir Sahib. Time and again, events in the city of Amritsar have shown that not only is Sri Harimandir Sahib the physical centre of the city, it has continued to be the centre of the tradition of a people who derive their strength from the martyrdom of their Gurus and the tradition of sewa.

Gurmeet Rai, the editor of Amritsar: A City in Remembrance, has been engaged with the historic cities of Amritsar and Puri as city anchor for the HRIDAY Scheme by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs. Her explorations, revelations and a well-researched visual documentation of Amritsar compelled her to put together a book. A leading heritage conservationist in India and abroad, her rich experience comes from doing conservation and management plans for world heritage sites like Red Fort in Delhi, Ellora Caves in Maharashtra, Lumbini in Nepal and Bagan in Myanmar. In Punjab she has worked on the conservation of over fifty heritage sites, ­including Gobindgarh Fort and Rambagh Palace Garden. Currently, she is working as heritage specialist for the conservation planning of the Parliament House in New Delhi.

Amritsar: A City in Remembrance celebrates both past memories and future ambitions of one of the world’s most dynamic historic cities. In this book, the deeply layered palimpsest of the city’s long, and often conflicted, history is revealed in all its glorious and gory details through copious use of painstakingly-researched historical artworks, maps, and photographs. But this masterful visual narration of the city’s treasure-trove of stories does not stop in a nostalgic reminiscence of times past. The photographs capture the faces of the city’s current residents and, in recording their vision and hope for the future of their beloved city--old narratives coalesce to discover an epiphany of new dreams for Amritsar.

Complementing the book’s comprehensive visual narration of people and places are a collection of essays by the best contemporary Indian scholars and practitioners of urban heritage conservation. “As is finely demonstrated in this book, the recovery of environmental relationships, historic memories and the reimagining of futures in Amritsar have been accomplished through a process of collective co-creation based on the time-honoured Sikh traditions of sewa and gurmat,” writes Richard A. Engelhardt. “The memories of cities are often connected to a search for justice, not in a legalistic kind of way, but at a deeper, more emotional level. If you can fight off the sedimentation of history and the burying of memory, the struggle for recognition and justice will remain alive, a horizon of yearning and hope,” says Urvashi Butalia in her essay on Partition.

Can conservation of cultural heritage offer a constructive platform for learning and engaging with the public realm? Can cultural practices of communities provide the basis for developing principles for cultural heritage conservation and restoration of environmental relationships? Can processes of cultural heritage conservation be used to generate new memories, and help develop new layers of cultural meanings around heritage buildings and sites for the good of the public? Can cultural heritage conservation contribute to equitable, inclusive and sustainable development? Amritsar: A City in Remembrance seeks answers to these questions.