INTACH Lucknow Celebrates World Heritage Day with Fanfare: Heritage Walks and Symposium Mark the Event

INTACH Celebrates World Heritage Day with Fanfare: Heritage Walks and Symposium Mark
the Event
April 18, 2026. Lucknow– The INTACH Lucknow Chapter, in partnership with the
Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), Avadh Girls’ Degree College, BKT School, Jagriti
Loreto School, Modern Academy, and Khunkhunji Girls’ PG College, organised a vibrant
World Heritage Day programme that blended heritage walks and an academic symposium to
highlight Awadh’s intangible cultural heritage.
The celebrations began with a heritage walk through Hazratganj, curated by heritage expert
Shri A. K. Srivastava for students of Jagriti Loreto School. Starting at Sibtainabad Imambara,
the walk traced the ‘Ganj’ legacy via historic sites such as Kothi Noor Baksh, Tarawali Kothi,
Kankar Wali Kothi, and the Delhi & London Bank, and included the DRM Office of Northern
Railway and key 1857 resistance locations.
A second walk was held at the Lucknow Residency in collaboration with ASI, Lucknow Circle,
allowing participants to explore the site’s architectural amalgam, complex layers of valour and
conflict that shaped 19th‑century Lucknow.
Culminating the celebrations, the INTACH Lucknow Chapter, jointly with Avadh Girls’ Degree
College, organised a symposium titled ‘Avadh’s Intangible Cultural Heritage: Folk Traditions,
Performing Arts, Literature and Songs’. The symposium featured two thought‑provoking panel
discussions. The first, ‘Folk Theatre of Awadh’, brought together eminent theatre practitioners
Shri Surya Mohan Kulshreshtha, Shri Gopal Sinha, Shri Lalit Pokhariya, and Shri Prafulla
Tripathi, who shared their long‑standing field experience in traditional and contemporary
theatre, including regional folk forms. They highlighted the historical richness of Awadh’s
theatrical traditions and underlined the need for sustained documentation, revival, and
institutional support.
The second panel, ‘Folk Traditions of Awadh: Tradition and Identity’, featured Padma Shri Dr.
Vidya Bindu Singh, a leading scholar of Awadhi folk literature, and Smt. Vineeta Mishra, a
noted poet and cultural activist. The panelists explored the role of Awadhi culture, language,
and oral traditions, underlining the value of safeguarding Awadhi language and oral traditions.
A special segment spotlighted the Mirasins, a traditional group of women performers who keep
folk songs alive at weddings, childbirths, and other auspicious occasions. The term ‘Mirasin’
derives from miras (heritage), underscoring their role as custodians of intangible heritage. The
live performance of folk songs by veteran Mirasins - Imrana, Rafiya Khatoon, Rubina, and
Farzana ji who have carried forward this tradition with pride and commitment. Their songs