Walking Through History: How Heritage Trails Tell Stories

Think about this: the very place where you are sitting right now, was once home to some other person. Maybe you’re at home, at an apartment that once belonged to someone else with a family and a life. Maybe you’re at your workplace, on a desk and chair—which someone else used to work at. We rarely think about it, but it’s fascinating once you begin. Because now think of years ago…who must have lived and breathed right where you are? Maybe this land was a forest, inhabited by tribes, flora and fauna. Maybe it was the prime location for a village mela (fair) where families came all dressed up and children ran amok with balloons in their hands…

But this is just fanciful speculation. Imagine if a person actually knew the history of a location, could trace the rise and fall of its inhabitants and entire civilizations, could tell us as we wander through it with them, the various tales and legends attached to it. Well, that’s exactly what Heritage Trails and Walks are all about. Guides with historical knowledge of the location’s rich past take you through its pathways and crevices. Regale you with folk tales, historical accounts and fun facts about the particular monument, the particular cultural or natural location that you wish to find out about.

If you’re still not convinced, let us take your eyes through a heritage walk to understand why heritage walks are the best way to engage with and discover a culturally significant location.

The Ancient Atmosphere

To someone who hasn’t ever visited a historical site, it’s difficult to explain the feel of one. It’s ancient and not only because of the architecture. There’s a certain air about it that just feels condensed, heavy, full of stories untold. Your mind naturally tells you to be reverent, to consider it sacred. Walls and streets that have existed for centuries, enclosed spaces that have stood the test of time and sometimes horrible histories…in such places, even the air feels ancient. Not to mention how unique ancient structures are. The amount of space that just the verandah of an ancient palace or fort takes up would include three apartments in today’s time. These structures physically speak to you, they tell you what kind of a person designed them, what the secret passageways and exits meant…it intrigues you, makes you wonder how different and difficult life was then, even as many aspects of it (like the housing situation) were clearly so much better.

Heritage walks give you an opportunity to move among such atmospheres and connect with people and incidents that were once real, alive, and right here.

FUN FACT: The Red Fort of Agra was originally white. The British painted it red when the white plaster began to fade away.

The Unique Stories

The textbooks only tell you what we are sure occurred. They never tell you what the locals believe, what folk tales and legends enrich the site and how they have assimilated into the lives of people. Heritage walks are hosted and guided by scholars who know what they’re talking about. They bring to your knowledge stories that are privy only to the locals. Moreover, heritage walks aren’t always quite what you might imagine—a group of people surrounding the guide, straining to hear what he’s saying. In fact, such trails are nothing like the educational trips we had as kids. Here you get to interact with the locals, meet the local artisans and merchants that you pass on your walk. They are just as keen to interact with you as you would be to know their unique stories.

FUN FACT: It is believed that Buland Darwaza, located in Fatehpur Sikri, Uttar Pradesh, had a secret tunnel that led to the Red Fort of Agra.

The Food!

Heritage walks are fun like that, because you come across food stalls on your way and that becomes a natural pit stop. You all shuffle off to try out the various local dishes and street foods. This is frequently the case with walks that cover an entire area, or a locality as opposed to a single monument. And guess what? There also exist food-centred walks! They’re called Food Walks and the guide takes you through narrow lanes and busy streets to the most flavourful and authentic local food places. They then tell you how specific food practices in the region began, how certain dishes were invented—marvelous isn’t it? A food lover history buff’s paradise.

FUN FACT: Rudyard Kipling’s father, John Lockwood Kipling, supervised the construction of the majestic exterior of CSMT Station.

Make New Connections and Have Novel Experiences

Well, let’s be real. We all want to make more like-minded friends and connect with people from different places with different experiences. It’s hard enough as it is making and maintaining adult friendships, so why not focus instead on just connecting without any long-term expectations? Heritage walks and trails aren’t just about heritage and history, it’s also about you. About the exposure and experience that it gives you and ten other people who would walk with you. Talk to them, make unexpected memories, share an experience together that is new to all of you. Heritage walks are actually perfect during solo trips or as a solo experience—because you’ll be on your own, but never lonely.

FUN FACT: The Sunderbans of Bengal and Bangladesh house more than a hundred islands, including both inhabited and uninhabited ones.

Stoke Your Imagination

When you walk among the ruins of a dead monument, the streets that are ancient, the alleyways that are now crowded by none, you imagine it in its glory. You imagine what the Hawa Mahal must have looked like with the women that lived there, what must it have been like to call it your home. You imagine it lit up with mashaals or small diye, you imagine soldiers manning its gates, servants and daasis milling about. It is quite an extraordinary experience, one that is a must for all who are artistic and dream in the realm beyond the real.

FUN FACT: The floors of the Mattancherry Palace of Kerala are made up of egg white, jaggery, and buttermilk.

If these little fun facts were the highlight of this blog for you, you’d love to go on a Heritage Walk some day. Stay tuned with Rooftop, because we have some major cultural activities planned for you:)