Revitalizing the cultural landscapes of Alandi

Abstract

Alandi is a small pilgrim town in Pune district, Maharashtra. It is known for the Sanjeevan Samadhi of the famous saint of Bhakti movement- Sant Dyaneshwar. Alandi has a very strong cultural heritage and would lie under the category of associative cultural landscape as per UNESCO. The intangible heritage has played an important role in the evolution of the landscapes of Alandi. These intangibles are related to the life story of Dyaneshwar, his family and the literature works he has written. Today the intangible heritage is in a way well conserved by the devotees as they are in the form of oral traditions which are carried from generations to generations but the tangible heritage of the town is under threat due to the poorly regulated development, encroachments and ever increasing pilgrimage. The historic character of the town has been obscured. The historic structures are getting hidden in the surrounding dense development. Though some of these are significant in the urban fabric, they are not visible in the landscape of Alandi. This thesis thus aims at revitalizing the town’s identity through revitalization of its cultural landscapes.In order to revitalize the cultural landscapes it is necessary to know about the intangible heritage which created them. The objectives thus are (to study) the life stories of Dyaneshwar, mythologies, associations of the saint w.r.t. the landscapes of town, associations of stakeholders etc. The research methodology was mainly qualitative which is done through literature reviews and interviews. The revitalization proposals include an open space network for the entire town with a view to facilitate pilgrims during peak pilgrimage and a detailed design proposal for the old town where the entire cultural heritage is located