His childhood experiences of travelling across India with his father left an impact so deep on Vaibhav Chauhan’s mind that after graduating in chemical engineering, he went on to study heritage management and conservation. He finally ended up organising and becoming the director of India Heritage Walks in his capacity as Sahapedia’s secretary.
Now that the Delhi-based Sahapedia is being felicitated with the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Grand Award 2019 for its India Heritage Walks Project, Chauhan is brimming with happiness. The award will be presented during the PATA Travel Mart 2019 at Nur-Sultan (Astana) in Kazakhstan on September 19. This year’s awards attracted 197 entries from 78 organisations and individuals the world over.
Delighted with this achievement, Chauhan says, “The heritage walks have been a part of our attempts to democratise access to local history and culture, giving people the opportunities to discover the hidden gems linked to the cultural heritage of a place, town or city.”Since its inception in 2016, India Heritage Walks has organised over 1,000 events and walks, and has had over 20,000 people participate.
On asked, what’s unique about India Heritage Walks, the 40-year-old says, “We organise walks under two experience verticals, general and Anubhuti – for underprivileged kids and children with disabilities. The best part, both walks are free of cost.”Their ever-growing network has 225 people working in 60 cities. “We offer diversity in subjects such as environment, food, history, and heritage. We also explore markets, monuments, museums and even natural landscapes. Most of our walks are funded by Corporate Social Responsibility,” informs Chauhan.
Appreciating their initiative, PATA, in a press release, said, “The India Heritage Walks project aims at making culture tourism more holistic and inclusive. Its purpose is to generate interest among travellers and local population in discovering India’s cities, its people and the stories of their colonies, ruins, mainstays and migrants.” In the near future, Chauhan wants to add more Tier II and III cities to the network. “Industrial heritage of India is one such subject we want to explore.”
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In 2018, Sahapedia won the PATA Gold Award for its maiden edition of the India Heritage Walk Festival (IHWF). It’s the only organisation to have won this award in the ‘heritage and culture’ category.