Deputy CM Sisodia said the intiative will help tackle attempts to ‘manipulate history’.MDH owner Dharampal Gulati, author Krishna Sobti, photographer Raghu Rai and a peasant from outer Delhi — at first glance, they appear to have nothing in common.
“But tracing their personal journeys will help us chart the journey of Delhi, which no history book can offer. The story of Delhi is not just about epic wars and the fall and rise of kingdoms, it is also about those intimate details, the songs, festivals, the recipes, the businesses,” Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia told The Indian Express.
Part of an eclectic list of around 200 personalities, their voices will shape the Delhi government’s ambitious oral history project, in the pipeline for over a year, which is set to be launched on January 14. The Delhi Archives, a branch of the Art and Culture Department, is signing a Memorandum of Understanding with the Ambedkar University in this regard. The project, which will be undertaken in two phases, will deploy audio and visual formats in the process of documenting.
“It is also essential to disseminate oral history as it will help tackle constant attempts to manipulate our past to advance a particular narrative,” Sisodia said. Director of the Delhi Archives, Sanjay Garg, said the project was about filling the gaps in history, by focusing on the socio-economic and cultural changes.
“Conventional history is mostly about the lives of prominent individuals. As part of the initiative, we will talk to authors, journalists, politicians, bureaucrats, farmers, traders, among others. Every session with an individual will last for 45-60 minutes,” he said. Abhinandita Mathur, advisor in the Art and Culture Department, said the project will have a special emphasis on documenting history of women and the working class. “There will be a segment on recipes and music, as well as history of the working class, those who built the city, literally. The Ganga-Jamuni Tehzeeb (syncretic culture) of old Delhi, its songs, festivals, weddings will be another component,” she said.
While the products of such exercises are usually handy for academics and archaeologists, the Delhi Archives will share all the collected information — including audio, video and text — on a public portal. While around 20 prominent individuals will be interviewed by researchers, the rest will be representatives of voices from the masses — such as old farmers of outer Delhi and traders of the walled city. The well-known voices also include writer R V Smith, Delhi gharana vocalist Ustad Iqbal Ahmed Khan and retd Justice Badar Durrez Ahmed.
“An important aspect of the project is dissemination of knowledge. These archives will be a part of their shared history. The collation part will only be a job half done. The information is not to be stuck in galleries, museums and archives. They will be put out on websites and social media platforms. The fact that pages like India History Pic get so many hits and shares clearly shows that there is interest. It may be pure nostalgia, or tracing one’s roots or for academic purposes,” Mathur explained.
