Digital platform ‘Live History India’ seeks to revive interest in Indian history and culture and inspire young people to rediscover their historical roots, says Mini Menon, co-founder and editor
Shabiha Nur Khatoon
After an 18-year stint in journalism, Mini Menon started a digital media venture, Live History India, along with history enthusiast Akshay Chavan to take the fascinating stories of Indian history and culture to a wider audience spread across the world. The digital platform went live May 15, 2017.
In a telephone conversation with Sunday POST, Mini pointed out that, despite our vast and rich history and heritage, there isn’t a single platform in the country that brings together the finest minds on Indian history, arts and culture and young Indians are growing up with no knowledge of the legacy they have inherited.
Tell us about the Live History India venture.
The platform www.livehistoryindia.com was launched in May 2017, though the soft launch was done in January 2017 which created interest around the concept. Live History India (LHI) seeks to help rediscover, revive and restore our heritage and history. With a bouquet of content, it aims to showcase history in a different way by bringing together the stories that make India. Our web based platform publishes well researched content using a mix of text, video and images in story format.
We have a va
riety of videos, from short snappy two-minute videos to deeply researched documentaries.
LHI is also working with the state governments to fuel the growth of India’s tourism industry. Our country has a tremendous tourism potential which is yet to be fully realised. LHI is working in a focused manner to engage youth and the tourism sector because we believe we can contribute by taking the stories of our fabulous sites, crafts, weaves and cultures to a wide array of people across the world.
Since the launch we have reached over 35 million people across 120 Indian cities and over 50 countries across the world.
What prompted you to launch this website?
Live History India started because of the strong belief that Akshay Chavan and I shared that most Indians are unaware of their own history. While some great work is being done, all the research work is relegated to select circles and the world of academia.
The inspiration for the platform was the love for the subject both Akshay and myself have. This combined with our frustration that there isn’t a single platform that brings together the finest minds on Indian history, arts and culture. Considering we have such a vast and rich history and heritage, this is a real pity because young Indians are growing up with no knowledge of the legacy we have inherited. We believe history is essential to develop a sense of pride.
Also, I believe, we need a dose of solid journalism here—to understand why our built heritage is in the state it is in, why we have such poor infrastructure and amenities at our sites, and why so little is being done to restore our heritage. We believe that the process of change and improvement will start by first creating awareness, love and passion for history and our country.
We believe that history plays a pivotal role in our lives and also in the travel and tourism business and LHI will play a critical role in driving this.
How big is your team?
We have a team of 12 in-house resource persons like archaeologists, researchers and journalists.
We also have a network of more than 75 contributors, including authors, historians, archaeologists and journalists. Dr Usha Balakrishnan, India’s foremost jewellery historian, archaeologist Suraj Pandit, Deepthi Sashidharan, archivist, curator and expert on 19th century Indian photography, Pushkar Sohoni, top expert on Deccani Sultanates and author of books on the Deccan—these are just a few of the names associated with us as contributors. All our contributors provide niche, city, region and domain specific content which is currently available for all to access on the website.
The platform was launched in May 2017. How many stories and unique historical sites has LHI rediscovered?
Since its launch, 400 stories and videos have been published on the website and we have a ready pipeline of over 250 stories.
In October 2017, we did a series called the ‘Weavers of India’ in association with Future Group, where we looked at India’s textiles through a historical perspective. In just two months, over five lakh people accessed the series. We run a ‘Road to Enterprise’ series which traces the origin of India’s famed business communities like Marwaris, Chettiars and Sindhis.
How do you ensure accuracy in a story?
A team of historians and archaeologists looks at each story. Every story on Live History India is well researched. The research division is led by Akshay Chavan.
In addition to kings, dynasties and historical figures what are the other focus points for LHI?
We believe that there is a little bit of history underlying everything. We have covered a range of topics related to food, jewels, cities, temples, etc. Our cover stories are deep dives by experts who have spent a lifetime studying the subjects that they write on.
What is the revenue model?
We have a robust revenue model and a pipeline of partnerships that has already kicked in. Given the uniqueness of our product and the resonance it has had with key audience groups, we are finding a lot of partners. We are working with six state governments and some of India’s leading brands to create some great content and tell the stories that make India.
Have you done any interesting stories from the eastern part of the country?
We have done some fascinating stories on Sishupalgarh, where we did a special ‘Backpacking through History’ module. We also did a feature on the Hirapur Yogini Temple.
Besides, we have done pieces on Unakoti and the palace in Tripura, the Manipur Fort, Naga tribes, the old port of Tamralipti, and many stories on Sikkim.
What has been the response to LHI so far?
We have been overwhelmed by the response we have got on each and every one of the 400 odd stories and videos we have done since we launched. Analytics show that we have a loyal and rapidly growing audience base that spends a lot of time on our site.
