PROTECTING THE LEGACY OF UNBUILT HERITAGE – A CASE OF 84 KOS BRAJ PARIKRAMA

PROTECTING THE LEGACY OF UNBUILT HERITAGE – A CASE OF 84 KOS BRAJ PARIKRAMA

Gaurav Khandelwal, Suman Sharma

ABSTRACT

Parikrama is a religious ceremony which involves route of travel to many destinations including pilgrimages like temple or any structure of religious feelings. In previous times, parikrama was done by people to coagulate the religious sentiment and cultural views. There is noticeable change in the spirit of parikrama in India at present time, with the shifting inclinations and needs of the culture. The main purpose of this tour apart from religious views has further been extended value to other social principled and tourism characteristic which in turn is playing significant role in driving the economy and other dominant factors in progress of the city. Braj or Mathura is situated on the right bank of river Yamuna, has been recognized as the oldest living city after Varanasi (Kashi) and Rome in the world. The city has been combined in one of the 12 cities which have been recognized under HRIDAY to have strategic development due to its rich and assorted historical context which, in the fast development of the city, needs to be considered and analysed so that the exclusivity of the city is handled rationally as responsible designers. (HRIDAY rejuvenating the soul of India). The approach of the study is to develop a deep understanding parikrama route respecting the uniqueness of the city. Main objective of the study is to understand the importance of parikrama in the city with giving thought for solutions to the existing urban infrastructure, conserve the heritage and strengthen the local economy and social aspects of the city.

Key words: Brij, Heritage, Tourism, Economy, Parikrama, Culture, Ancient city.