Clearer Ideas,contemplation remains | Sanchari

As we near the end of the semester, I get a clearer idea of what I want to do in the course of my research and where I see my work being implemented in, though I yet am in conjecture as to the appropriate methods to be employed in order to achieve my desired outcome.
The focus area of my research is my hometown of Chandannagar,(French-Chandernagor) which is a former French colony in West Bengal, set up in 1673 primarily as a trading centre. As a teenager, I had always been told, by one of my neighbours, who was a historian, about the French history of the town and all the traces that had been left behind - the beautiful Strand road , an approximately 1 km pathway along the river Ganga, lined with huge old trees(planted in the French era) and lights,

The Chandannagar Strand Road ( Source- Google Images)

the Sacred Heart Church, designed by French architect Jacques Duchatz,

The Sacred Heart Church ( Source - Google Images)

the French Cemetery

The French Cemetry, Chandannagar (Source- Google Images)

, the Chandannagar Gate

The Chandannagar Gate ( Source- Getty Images)

, which was constructed in the year 1937 to symbolise the fall of the Bastille, and the list goes on, I was fascinated by and proud of the fact that my town stands unique and distinct from the rest of the region and the other towns as it was the only French establishment in the area. As I was introduced  to the study of the history of Indian colonisation in school, however, the first thing that struck me was how little representation my town had in the chapters of French colonial history in India. To be precise, there were only two short sentences stating the name of the town and that it was an eastern colony of the French. From what I understood then, the reason must have been the greater importance given to British colonies, and the fact that the town had long lost its glory as a trade epicentre. Either way, it was a mark of the historical significance attached to the town, which was sad, to say the least.

As a former French colony, Chandannagar is not particularly a tourist attraction, if you're looking for pretty French cafes and charming ancient French residential homes. At first visit, the town represents any other Indian small town, with shops, cars, signboards, people, vehicles, and the like. On closer inspection, however, it still retains much of its French heritage, though there is a lack of preservation and proper maintenance of the heritage. Many of the heritage buildings are still in use- the church, strand, the former residence of the French governor general(now a museum and French language institution)

The French institute and Museum, Chandannagar ( Source- Club side tours)

, the Hotel de Paris ( now the Chandannagar court)

Hotel de Paris, now the Chandannagar court ( Source- Google Images)

are a few of them.
Although measures have been taken by the municipality and the government at large for the protection and safeguarding of these heritage monuments,( the French museum has been declared a' Protected Monument" by the Archaeological Survey of India), not much of success has been achieved in this regard. The monuments continue to be ill-maintained and even fall prey to vandalism.
While conducting my research, I would first start with studying and analysing the degree of awareness of the locals with regard to the heritage of the town and find ways in which they can be encouraged to be involved in the process of conservation. The participation and awareness of the local population is key, from what I understand after looking at the restoration and documentation projects that have been done earlier. The most interesting one, and a recent one too, is a restoration and documentation project undertaken by Aishwarya Tipnis Architects and supported by the Embassy of France in India and Foundation Vieilles Maisons Francaise(VMF),which initiated local involvement by training young culture enthusiasts in documentation techniques by professionals, who then were successful in the collection of individual stories and objects from the French era.According to Aishwarya Tipnis, who is the leading architect involved in the identification and restoration of the heritage buildings since the year 2011," Heritage is not about academicians, it is not making pretty books and it is not about academic research. If we wanted to do something about heritage it had to be at the grassroots, it had to involve the local people of Chandernagore."
The problem area, however, lies in the fact that despite several attempts being taken to integrate the local people into the conservation circle, the enthusiasm and involvement has come only from a small section of the people - the rest are either indifferent to or ignorant of it.
The project, however, has an interesting side to it. The website -The website of the Project has an element of securing the indirect involvement and emotional connection of people with the town. It asks the users to "Flag" their memories of Chandannagar in a map of the town( they can choose older maps too) and mark the place(building, street) if they had a memory of the town in which they had lived or visited or just passed through. I see it as an important beginning to encourage people to participate in heritage conservation by starting with the establishment of a feeling of nostalgia. My research would be focused on ways to induce people to take the heritage of the town as an important element of the identity of the town as a colonial outpost.
This is more or less my research, as I see it now. I hope to develop my ideas further and modify them accordingly as I move forward with my research. Au revoir pour le moment !