Heritage buzz in Santiniketan

SANTINIKETAN: People in the university town are elated after news trickled in that the central government had decided to nominate Santiniketan as India's entry for Unesco world status next year. Though the procedure for selection is complex and long-drawn, Santiniketan residents are hopeful that the Visva-Bharati campus would make it to the list.
The ball was set rolling in April, when a high-level team from the central ministry of culture visited Santiniketan.Amitabha Chowdhury, the PRO of Visva-Bharati, said, "So far, a team of experts from the Archaeological Survey of India have made a visit. Being engaged by the department of culture, they collected the necessary data to complete the formalities for the Unesco application. The work on this has already started. We sincerely hope that it is completed in time and Visva-Bharati makes it to the world heritage list. if this happens, it will be a fitting tribute to Tagore's vision on the eve of his 150th birth anniversary."
Artist Jogen Chowdhury said, "I was on the committee of the department of culture that recommended Visva-Bharati for the Unesco heritage list. It's wonderful that the Indian government has accepted the proposal and has decided to proceed with it. It will take some time and finally, the decision is in the hands of Unesco. But I'm hoping that Santiniketan will get the world heritage tag."
If the bid proves successful, the renewed interest in Visva-Bharati would help preserve the architecture and the priceless materials preserved in Santiniketan.
"A world heritage site has some restrictions. Some guidelines for conservation and maintenance would have to be followed. Quite apart from the financial assistance, this will usher in much-needed discipline," Chowdhury said.
Supriyo Thakur, the former principal of Patha Bhavan school, said, "If the heritage tag is awarded, it would bring great joy to the people of Santiniketan. It should not be difficult for Unesco to elect Visva-Bharati for the special status because of Santiniketan's rich cultural and architectural heritage. But even if this happens, I don't know if the day-to-day administration of the university will change."
Manas Roy, head of Visva-Bharati's journalism department, said, "The core area of Visva-Bharati deserves to be declared a world heritage site. Tagore and his works are acclaimed across the globe but the inclusion of the campus in the Unesco list would be a landmark recognition. The interest in Gurudev and his works would spread farther."