Stones That Whisper Of Lost Heritage

By Akshara Pandey

What do those old monuments whisper to you as you pass by? What do they say when you

run your fingers along their walls, or walk through the quiet grandeur of timeless

architecture?

When I pass by fading havelis and forgotten bawdies, I feel their silence speak. They whisper

to me of a vibrant history, of memories etched into their very walls.

The vacant buildings, breathing their last in crumbling stillness, tell me of a time when they

were alive filled with people, rituals, voices, and purpose.

Now, they are slowly being forgotten. Abandoned.

Disappearing into time.

And sometimes, in that silence, I hear them ask;

Is this the end?

To be built with passion, to serve a purpose, and then... simply decay and fade?

As an architecture student I feel it is my responsibility to answer.

I like to soak in the silence, the stillness of ruins, the empty halls and verandas, the fading

dull walls and frescoes. Makes me realize that;

these buildings don’t simply mourn their abandonment, they are also waiting for their silence

to be understood,

They wait to be heard patiently staying still as the time passes by.

We have failed to understand; but this silence and unmatchable patience is the loudest

language of our heritage.

As Architecture students, Architects, our responsibility is not solely to create and design; but

also to preserve. Architects are time keepers. By which I mean, we are not just story tellers,

we are also the ones that remember and carry forward, preserving pieces of past for

generations to witness...

We are sensitive to our surroundings. We hear the whispers of stones that go unnoticed by

most.

When we run our fingers along crumbling walls, or pause to study a façade, we feel the

fading breath of structures; their silent cries to be saved and preserved.

This power we hold is not ordinary.

It comes from our innate desire to build a better world.

A world where our heritage is not forgotten.

A world where heritage structures find a way to blend into our evolving landscape and

continue to flourish in the present.

The stories of our cultural landmarks must be told. And we must lend our voices to them.

Heritage is not only what we inherit, it is what we choose to carry forward.

Through our hands, our minds, our drawings. We have the power to ensure that the whispers

of stones never fall silent again.

By Akshara Pandey