A Virtual Tour of the Amer fort and....

I caught the mythology and history bug while reading comics based on great Indian epics like the Mahabharata and Ramayana and loved visiting historic monuments since I was a small child. Whenever my family used to visit these monuments or landmarks we always used to hire a guide to show us around. I was always stunned to see the immense knowledge a guide had about that particular place, especially considering that most of these people could not read and write. Gradually, I developed a strong obsession with the history and heritage of my country and started associating myself further with it.

Recently, I read reports of monuments being reopened in India after a 2-month lockdown, but almost instantly realized that people won't visit these places until this crisis completely subsides and a vaccine for the virus is introduced. This thought led me to think about the tourist guides working in these monuments. It was pretty clear that the tourist guides were completely jobless amid this pandemic and had no other source of income. Moreover, there was no one reaching out to help tourism workers.

Considering this, I decided to help the tourism workers on a small scale and bring out their voices in front of the world. I further decided to focus exclusively on the tourism workers in the Amer fort as this monument was geographically the closest to where I live, also I had visited this monument so many times that I personally knew some of the guides here.

Hearing the stories of these guides were very emotional and heartfelt. The contribution of tourism workers to the heritage of India is invaluable. They have served as the unsung caretakers of our historic monuments for generations. They play an immensely significant role in India's tourism-based economy, but their contribution is greatly underrated.

Please watch this youtube video for the virtual tour more info:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-NWyWo5Dy0&feature=youtu.be

Link to support the campaign:

https://www.ketto.org/fundraiser/tourist-guides-amer-fort?payment=form

I know that this again isn't a usual world affairs blog, but I promise that a gripping and relevant blog is upcoming very soon.

Comments

The Bombay Stock Exchange: How was it formed?

Little would a stranger looking at the subtle Phiroze Jeejeebhoy tower in the old part of Bombay know that the building houses about US$2.87 trillion in public wealth! The Bombay Stock exchange is one of the most reputed and renowned stock exchanges in the world and the oldest stock exchange in Asia. It has delivered sizeable returns to the investors in its products and has directly, or indirectly, employed hundreds of thousands of people over the years. The Story: In the 1850s British India, five stockbrokers decided to conduct daily sale meetings under a banyan tree in front of the Bombay town hall. Over the years many people were attracted by the profitability of the business and started joining the stockbrokers' group. Due to its increasing size, the group had to constantly keep shifting venues. Stockbrokers in downtown Bombay, c.a. 1865 Finally, in 1874, the group relocated to the place presently known as Dalal (Hindi for broker) street in South Bombay. A year later, the g

The Story Of Hemu: A Grocer who became the King of India

Hem Chandra Vikramaditya, or Hemu, was born in 1501 in the Alwar province of Rajputana(now Rajasthan) in a family of Dhusar Brahmins. Soon after his birth, his family shifted to the small town of Rewari(in present-day Haryana) in search of better prospects. Being a grocer's son, he was brought up to be a shopkeeper; but, of course, Hemu wasn't any ordinary tradesman--from a relatively young age, Hemu displayed remarkable intelligence and a fiery sense of ambition. During this time, following the death of the Afghan ruler Sher Shah Suri (the founder of the Suri dynasty in India), his son Islam Shah Suri took over the empire. However, Islam Shah's brother Adil Khan resisted his rise to power and rebelled against the empire. In the battle that followed, Adil Khan's army was routed by Islam Shah and he had to flee for his life. Giving notice to this political development, Hemu realized that the Imperial Army chasing the rebels would soon pass through Rewari, and would sure

A Brief Summary of Portuguese attempts to find a Sea Route to India (1450-1609)

Background For centuries, goods from the east were brought in by Arab merchants at Constantinople (now Istanbul), where they were sold off to European traders at profitable amounts. These traders, in turn, transported the goods, mostly spices and fabrics, across Europe. But this well-established trading cycle collapsed in 1453 when the Turks captured Constantinople and stopped the free passage of goods from the Indian subcontinent and the Far East. The Turks demanded unreasonably high taxes and didn't guarantee safety against pirates, making it very difficult for the Europeans to trade peacefully. Out of desperation, the Europeans started to look for an alternate route to India and beyond. Map of Trade Routes around Turkey, ca.1028 European Merchants (15th Century AD) The Journey begins... During the 1450s, Prince Henry, "The Navigator" of Portugal was making significant attempts to find a different route to India. He believed that going southwards along the African coa

RethinKnoww

Search This Blog