manish kumar, post news network, Bhubaneswar, March 18: Ekamra Kshetra, which comprises the area of the Old City of Bhubaneswar, is all set to give the numerous heritage sites across the world a run for their money, as it holds course in the race to get the UNESCO’s heritage site tag. The department of culture, government of Orissa is now preparing a dossier, to be submitted to the UNESCO, in order to take forward the process of granting the heritage status tag to Ekamra Kshetra by the world body.
“We decided to nominate Ekamra Kshetra from our state for the heritage tag last year. This site is rich in archaeological heritage. This is an outstanding example of a man-made repository of cultural heritage. We are preparing a dossier related to the site as also our response to a set of questionnaire. We are also planning to take the help of professional experts in preparing a detailed documentation of the historical site,” Sushil Kumar Das, director of culture, Orissa government told Orissa POST.
In 2014, the department submitted its initial report on the heritage site to UNESCO. The department has now been working on the next step of making a dossier. An official from the archaeology department said, “The process of batting for the UNESCO tag comprises three steps – an initial report, which is later followed by a dossier and a response letter to a set of questionnaire, which can justify the international value of the heritage site tag. The last stage is an inspection visit by the UNESCO team. Only after completion of these stages, the global body decides to give the heritage tag to any site. We are now preparing for the second stage.” The official also said that the department is toiling hard to maintain international standards at the historical monuments sites, which can help in complying with the standards of the global body.
According to the procedure to be followed for the UNESCO tag, the state governments often recommend their heritage sites for recognition by the world body. Explaining the process, Vijay Raghvan, project assistant, UNESCO, New Delhi, told this newspaper, “For bagging the global recognition from the UNESCO, the department of culture from every state recommends their sites to the institution with proper documentation in some stages. The UNESCO’s headquarter in Paris, finally compares the different nominations and ultimately recognises some of the unique sites globally.”
A meet to decide on the heritage sites is slated to be held in June at Bonn in Germany this year. Ekamra Kshetra, however, will not be considered during this meet as it is slated to be considered next year. The whole process needed to properly uphold the case of Ekamra Kshetra is yet to be completed. The UNESCO, after the submission of the initial report by the state government, has, however, included Ekamra Kshetra in their tentative list of heritage sites.
Ekamra Kshetra comprises the area of the Old City of Bhubaneswar that forms the centre of this temple architecture and is considered to be a Hindu holy city. The initial report submitted by the state government to UNESCO, available on its website says, “As per Ekamra Purana, a 13th-century Sanskrit treatise, it is believed that this sacred kshetra was a Panchakrosa (10 miles) in circumference bordered by Khandagiri hills in the west, Kundalesvara temple in the east, Balhadevi Temple on the north and Bahirangesvara temple near Dhauli on the south, with Lingaraj Temple as its centre. …
“Ekamra Kshetra comprised of 45 villages and was divided into asta-ayatana or eight sacred precincts, each with its water body, temples, small shrines, tirthas and prescribed pilgrim/ritual procession routes that are ritualistically and symbolically connected to the Lingaraj Temple.”
