Heritage walk to explore Fort tales

Thiruvananthapuram: Most people in the capital may have heard the story of Sundara Lakshmi Bai, the dancer from Thanjavur for whom Swathi Tirunal built the Thanajvur Ammaveedu. But there are more stories from the Fort area which many have never heard of. It is such stories that Heritage Walk, a group of history enthusiasts, offers to unveil through a series of walks in the area starting on August 28. Says group’s founder archaeologist Bina Thomas Tarakan, “It is important for people to know that heritage is not just something grand or spectacular or kept in the museum. It is in every nook and corner.”

The group has conducted 25 walks from the northernmost Anchengo Fort to southernmost Pandavan Para over two-and-a-half years to make people aware of the city’s micro-history. Fort, the obvious heritage zone, was kept for later as the group explored locations which looked commonplace but had contributed to the history of the capital city. “The organic growth of the city has happened in phases,” says Ms Tarakan. “An area must have remnants that highlight that phase even if it may not necessarily have huge structures.”

Ms Tarakan says it could take eight or more walks, one every month, to cover the Fort area in full. The walk will be led by Sharath Sunder Rajeev, a conservation architect. “We then focused on the landmark structures which had architectural importance,” says Mr Rajeev, who was part of the walks the architecture alumni of College of Engineering conducted in Fort area. “We will be looking at residences, sacred groves and people which are of historic importance this time around. One can even call it hidden history.”