Till kingdom come

When Sangita Jindal visited the United States last year under an Eisenhower fellowship and met Bonnie Burnham, president, World Monuments Fund (WMF), as part of her course study on conservation, she never realised their mutual interest in cultural heritage would result in a concrete partnership less than a year later.

The WMF, a non-profit organisation that has worked with local communities and partners to stem the loss of over 430 irreplaceable sites in 83 countries, already had a presence in India "" in Jaisalmer (where it is working to conserve the bastions of Jaisalmer Fort, which are collapsing, endangering the entire historic city), in Kochi, and in Ladakh.

And now it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding for safeguarding cultural heritage sites in India with the Jindal South West Foundation (JSWF) headed by Sangita Jindal.

"While most of our partnerships in India have involved public funding," Burnham says, "the partnership with the Jindal SW Foundation is the first mutual commitment we have made with a private Indian foundation to work together toward common goals".

The project, at an estimated cost of Rs 6 crore, to be split evenly between JSWF and WMF, will begin with a detailed conservation survey and diagnosis. Abha Lamba, a reputed conservation architect, has been enlisted to head efforts at the site and Jindal claims work will be completed in two years if the government and other stakeholders cooperate.

Jindal mobilised the support of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) right at the outset, when she coerced Babu Rajiv, director general, ASI to sign a letter of no-excuses cooperation.

"WMF's biggest complaint to me was that India was the only country where they had never made enough headway. They've worked in Pakistan, in China, in Peru, but what frustrates them about working here are the constant bureaucratic roadblocks," explains Jindal.

The focus of the association is Hampi, the seat of the famed Vijayanagara dynasty, established in 1336. With 136 monuments, many in ruins, strewn over 26 sq km, Hampi was designated a World Heritage Site in Danger in 1999, suffering from unplanned development and environmental damage.

Ironically, the Vijayanagara empire was famous for its support towards the renovation and reconstruction of temples throughout India.

Thirty-six of Hampi's smaller monuments are controlled by Karnataka state, and 100 others are under ASI Delhi's control; conflicting interests and inefficient prioritising of funds have spelled neglect for its unique heritage.

Unplanned development, misuse of monuments (there are banana plantations on top of some structures), and a lack of basic tourism infrastructure are all issues that are now in the spotlight, but as Jindal says, if she can demonstrate that a public-private partnership can work with one key monument (the Chandramouleswara temple), then there's no reason why it shouldn't take off as a large-scale initiative.

Jindal clarifies that her interest in Hampi is not vested (the Jindal Vijayanagar Steel Plant is in Toranagallu, an hour's drive from Hampi) but as an ordinary citizen interested in passing down the cultural legacy of the historic site, "larger", as she points out, "than the ancient city of Angkor".

WMF wants that local partners, both public and private, learn to take responsibility for long-term preservation.

Jindal, meanwhile, is keen to demonstrate that world-class standards of conservation can be successfully applied in India, and is hoping that this will be a blueprint that will encourage other private companies and foundations to seek engagement in protecting the country's heritage.