Pan-India Heritage Walk Festival Kicks Off   

New Delhi: From textile trail in Ahmedabad to stories of the Partition in Amritsar and from exploring the making of Lutyens' Delhi to tracing history of theatres in Mumbai, a heritage-themed festival promises to offer diverse experiences to people this month.

The India Heritage Walk Festival began today with walks in World Heritage City Ahmedabad, Delhi's Mehrauli Archaeological Park and a nature walk in Hyderabad, its organisers said. The festival spans across 20 cities, including Agra, Bengaluru, Varanasi, Chennai, Kolkata, Srinagar and Itanagar.

"This is the first time we are holding a walk festival to celebrate the heritage of India. Besides walks, there will be 'baithaks' for history enthusiasts and 'instameets' for Instagram users," a representative of Sahapedia told PTI.

Sahapedia, an open online resource on the arts, cultures and heritage of India, has joined hands with YES Culture of YES Bank for this multi-faceted walk festival. "One of our first events, 'Walking the Sacred Route at World City of Ahmedabad' is slated for today while the textile trail walk will be held there on February 10. In Delhi, noted historian Sohail Hashmi is leading a walk in Mehrauli Archaeological Park and there will be an event in Nizamuddin Basti on Sufi culture too," the representative said.

In Vadodara, heritage aficionados can explore the Indo- Saracenic architecture at MSU, Baroda on February 17 and in Bikaner a Holi Walk would be held on February 25, she said.

Mumbai residents can explore the bylanes of Bandra tomorrow with a walk leader while on February 11 they can trace the history of old single-screen theatres of the tinsel town through 'The Talkies Walk'.

In Delhi, besides exploration of history of making of New Delhi on February 25, several other walks beckon visitors ranging from heritage of Hauz Khas to public art in Lodhi Colony area.

In Srinagar, a walk will be held on February 26 around the Jhelum River and in Varanasi a tour of the city is slated for February 24.

PTI