Azerbaijan: India set to open permanent exhibition on its world heritage sites
Baku, July 16
The Indian Embassy in Azerbaijan is set to open in Baku a permanent exhibition on the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation World Heritage Sites of India.
The Embassy shared an invitation for the event with a video message from India's Ambassador to Azerbaijan, Abhay Kumar.
"Ambassador Abhay Kumar's message inviting you to the Opening of Permanent Exhibition on UNESCO World Heritage Sites of India and Indian Street Food Festival on 18th of July, 6 PM at Embassy of India, Baku," the Embassy wrote on X.
"We are delighted to present a permanent exhibition on UNESCO World Heritage Sites of India in Baku this Saturday evening. This exhibition showcases India's great monuments and World Heritage Sites. At the same time, we will also be offering you the great Indian street food like chai, samosa and various other chats made from various ingredients from North India, from South India," the Ambassador said in his video message.
"So please do join us this Saturday evening to experience India. There will be music, there will be a fashion show where local Azerbaijani participants will be in Indian attire, and there will be very interesting music and dance," he added.
According to UNESCO, there are 44 properties in India that are inscribed on the World Heritage List. Out of the 44 properties, 36 come under cultural world heritage, seven are natural world heritage, and one is a mixed world heritage property.
A World Heritage site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by UNESCO. World Heritage sites are designated by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, scientific or other forms of significance. The sites are judged to contain cultural and natural heritage around the world considered to be of outstanding value to humanity (OUV).
The first site listed as a World Heritage site in India was Agra Fort (1983). The same year, Taj Mahal (1983), Ellora Caves (1983) and Ajanta Caves (1983) were inscribed on the list by the World Heritage Committee.
— IANS
Reader Comments
Love this initiative! But I hope the exhibition goes beyond just the famous sites like Taj Mahal and includes lesser-known gems like Khajuraho and Konark Sun Temple. Also, great to see Indian street food being showcased - nothing beats a good plate of pani puri! 🍛
Nice move by our embassy. With India's growing ties in Central Asia and the Caucasus, this is perfect timing. Azerbaijan is a beautiful country with its own rich heritage in places like Baku's Old City and Gobustan. Maybe we can collaborate on joint heritage preservation projects too? 🤝
Honestly, while this is lovely PR, I hope we're also investing in actual conservation back home. So many of our heritage sites are poorly maintained - look at the pollution damage at Taj Mahal or the chaos at Hampi. We need to protect what we have before showcasing it abroad. Still, chai and samosa diplomacy does sound appealing! 🇮🇳
As someone who's been to Baku for work, I can tell you Azerbaijanis are very curious about India. This exhibition + food festival combo is genius - nothing brings people together like good food! I'm sure the local models in Indian attire at the fashion show will be a hit. 🇮🇳❤️🇦🇿
Wait, we have 44 UNESCO sites? I thought it was less. That's impressive! But why only focus on world heritage sites? We could also showcase our intangible heritage - yoga, Ayurveda, classical dances. Still, a permanent exhibition
We welcome thoughtful discussions from our readers. Please keep comments respectful and on-topic.