By Our Staff Reporter
Dehradun, 19 Dec: A memoriam session was also held at the VoW literature festival on Sunday in the memory of Surjit K Das, (Feb 1949-Sept 2023) who passed away this year. This session was jointly organised by the Doon Library and Research Centre and INTACH. The session was titled ’The Man, the Legend’ under the ‘Tribute’ section. SK Das was the Sixth Chief Secretary of Uttarakhand. The session was curated and moderated by Anjali Bharthari. Ravi, Co-Convener INTACH, Uttarakhand, Dr BK Joshi, Advisor DLRC, and Col Duggal, Director, Kala Kendra, Aloke Lal, former DGP, Uttarakhand, shared their experiences of working with him. Also present was SK Das’ wife Vibha Puri Das, who retired as Additional Chief Secretary of Uttarakhand. She too joined the session and shared her thoughts as the wife and colleague of Das.
A heartfelt memorial to SK Das, “The Man, The Legend”, featured touching insights by Vibha Puri Das, who shared touching insights that his fervour for reading and writing originated during his time at St Stephen’s. Dr BK Joshi reminisced about their joint initiation of Doon Library, highlighting Das’s constant encouragement for the library’s growth. Col. Duggal remembered his vibrant enthusiasm towards the Arts and Kalakendra. Together, these heartfelt reflections painted a rich and diverse portrait of the legacies of these Legends of Doon in the hearts of those who knew and admired him.
Dr BK Joshi shared how Das as a patron of the Doon Library & Research Centre enriched the library by gifting his personal collection of global postal stamps and cartoons on Mahatma Gandhi.
Images of his contribution to Uttarakhand as District Magistrate, (Dehradun 1983) and during appointments as Secretary, Health, Forest, Home & Revenue were also screened. Books edited by him on Dr RS Tolia, Nalin D Jayal as well as ‘Footprints of Bengal in the Himalayas’ were on display. Video messages from his friends and colleagues were a part of the remembrance. It was an apt tribute to a person who was very well read, had a huge collection of books, was an author of two books, and a poet, at a literature festival held in the Doon Valley, which he very much loved and where he chose to settle.
Exhibition on 40 years of INTACH held at VoW
By OUR STAFF REPORTER
DEHRADUN, 18 Dec: Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) held an exhibition on ‘40 years of INTACH’ at the Valley of Words Literature and Arts festival (VoW) held in Dehradun on Saturday. It may be recalled that since 1984, INTACH has pioneered the conservation and protection of India’s natural and cultural heritage and is today the organisation with the largest membership in the country dedicated to conservation.
The exhibition took the various visitors across the journey of INTACH, showcasing its achievements in architectural, natural and intangible heritage areas. The exhibits of Heritage Craft and Community were of special interest to people working in the field of craft promotion. It also gave an insight on the working of INTACH through the Listing Cell which carries out listing of heritage structures in towns and cities done by over 200 chapters of INTACH across the country. Students and teachers of various institutions showed interest in the courses conducted by the INTACH Heritage Academy.
The State Convenor of INTACH, S Ramaswamy, former Chief Secretary, was hopeful of initiating such courses with the colleges and schools of Dehradun to increase awareness on conservation of built and cultural heritage.
