State govt mulls aerial photography, GPS to map historical sites…..Alison Saldanha
The state government, as part of its master plan for preservation of historical sites, may soon use aerial photography and GPS technology to map and maintain visual documentation.
According to aerial photographer Gopal Bodhe, who is part of the State Department of Archaeology and Museums committee that is working on the plan, the department has commissioned a pilot project for detailing two historic sites a fort and a temple using this technology.
We proposed this idea to the government mid-July and conducted a workshop on aerial photography, GPS technology and use of remote-controlled helicopters for checking the status of historical sites. The department has expressed interest and should hopefully finalise the temple and fort that will flag off the project after the Ganpati festival celebrations, said Bodhe.
Cultural Minister Sanjay Devtale, who led the workshop to fruition, said: We have decided to implement the mapping project on a trial basis for a fort and a temple. Based on the results, we will take it forward. At present, the costs are not finalised.
Since its inception last year, the master plan committee has held a meeting only once, months after which this workshop was conducted. At the first meeting, all members gave a lot of ideas on how to preserve historical sites but nothing was done after that. So, we decided to take this idea to the department, said Bodhe.
He explained that using this technology the full extent of a site and its current state of conservation can be viewed comprehensively. This will help in restoration projects and we can also ascertain if there have been any encroachments. While foreign countries routinely employ these methods, in India we are still in the dark about aerial documentation, said Bodhe, who has been working on the project since 1993 and has published nine coffee table books on the subject since. I have seen the changes historical sites have undergone. The landscapes of Haji Ali Circle, Kings Circle, the disappearing chimneys of cotton mills no one will get these kind of pictures again.
In state museums as well, the archaeology department is now mooting the creation of a visual log of the artefacts preserved. Bibhas Amonkar, who held a presentation on display and visual documentation of museums, said, At present, we only have a written description of the artefacts kept in these museums. With pictures we could better understand the articles we are preserving, their size, weight and what effect time and poor maintenance has had on them, said Amonkar, who has worked on the Raja Kelkar Museum in Pune.
We took four and a half years to visually document all the artefacts housed in the Pune museum, he said. Amonkar added that following the workshop the department is now circulating a Q&A to its 13 museums to assess their status and the state of the artefacts housed. Museum display is an art and science in itself and we need to develop the visual aspect. Our displays are very drab in comparison to those abroad. This is surprising because India has such a rich history, said the designer and wildlife photographer.
Visual documentation is a powerful tool for drawing tourism. It will raise public awareness of the history that surrounds us. Hopefully then these areas will not just be viewed as as picnic spots, added Bodhe.