History should be preserved so that it can be made available for future generations. Thus arises the need for digitization of cultural heritage. The present chapter discusses digitization of cultural heritage of the temples of the state of Uttarakhand, the one which fall in the Kumaon region of North India. Preserving such heritage with the help of digital technology is a fast-emerging trend in the current century. Digital technologies support the recording, analysis, and management of cultural heritage around the world. The chapter brings forth the multiple ways in which it is done and how the same has helped in the preservation, interpretation, and appreciation of the rich cultural heritage. Undoubtedly, they facilitate accessibility and improve understanding of these sites. At the same time, there are fears too in some quarters that digital technologies undermine the need to conserve the “real thing.” The chapter proposes various methods and processes to preserve temples, an important component of cultural heritage.
Top1. Introduction
Culture encompasses life values, customs, ethics, beliefs, arts, games, songs, music, dance etc. of a particular set of people living in a geographical region. Our beliefs, our talks and our behaviour all reflect our culture. Taylor (1871) has defined culture as “knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, custom and other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society”. Cultural Heritage is a human creation intended to inform. It is an expression of the ways of living developed by a community and passed on from generation to generation, including customs, practices, places, objects, artistic expressions and values.
Heritage, on the other hand, refers to a period of time during which comparisons of how people used to live are made. The same can also be learnt by going to museums, archives and libraries. Cultural heritage can be preserved with history becoming a witness to it. The IT revolution has made this preservation easy, interesting and long-lasting.
Visiting heritage sites have always been popular with students, researchers and travellers. Notwithstanding a physical presence in such sites does lead to feeling of historical awe, on the flip side, it entails on the part of the onlooker. Also, some of the overenthusiastic people are also not averse to defacing the sites they visit, by unsuccessfully trying to add to the history of the place.
However, now in the tech driven world of the 21st century, a transformation is being seen as with regard to our attitude towards cultural heritage. Depending on how much technology has advanced in a nation, experiencing cultural heritage can give different experiences to different people. It is the digital media in its various forms which is shaping people’s experiences now. It is all the truer for today’s youngsters who are more than happy to have a ‘digital surrogate’ experience of this world.
As the world wide web becomes lightning fast, the ‘digital’ is replacing the ‘physical’ even in the case of heritage sites. The graphical user interface of technical devices is increasingly replacing the face-to-face interaction with other visitors and staff of heritage sites. Action has definitely shifted to the digital domain with on-line discussion forums, sharing of photos, videos and opinions via social networks and even something like computer gaming. While social networking tools like blogs, podcasts, RSS feeds, Flickr, YouTube give individuals the opportunity to make their experiences public, online games with heritage themes, digital collections, and interactive kiosk applications in exhibitions, all offer new possibilities for heritage organizations to interact with their visitors.
This use of the digital platform can also be termed as an effort at democratization by heritage institutions. It allows them wider reach and also opens them for more brickbats and bouquets. However, as we initiate efforts for transcending heritage to the digital world, we also need to search for answers to many questions. But where do we stand in this two-way use of the digital medium vis-à-vis heritage sites is a moot point? What are the features of this new way of communication? What is the profile of these virtual visitors? Who should control and moderate this communication, if at all they happen to take place? Should there be curators in this free and democratic exchange of information?
The rich cultural heritage of India is the consequence of India being one of the most ancient cultural civilizations. The heritage resources exits are both tangible and intangible forms. If one talks about manuscripts, it turns out that India is the largest repository of manuscripts ranging from religion to astrology, astronomy, mathematics and ancient medicines. Over 4,00,000 Indian ancient manuscripts have been digitized and stored in DVDs/File Savers by Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts and National Mission for Manuscripts (NMM) nmm.gov.in. However, lack of a comprehensive digital preservation policy coupled with not much thought given to dissemination of information on digitization measures, accessibility to these is not as widespread as it should have been. Preservation of valuable ancient resources needs to be given top priority, otherwise the large amount available in various archives and museums in India is likely to be endangered. Moreover, the very concept of digital preservation has seen an inordinate entry, coming into force in the year 2008 with the launch of National Digital Preservation Programme (NDPP), but the programme has been implemented in fits and starts. These are some issues and challenges which must be overcome. A collaborative approach is the need of the hour.