Put On Those Walking Shoes

As the concept of niche walks picks up in various cities,participants get acquainted with art,culture,history and nature in an unconventional way.

At the Tiretta Bazaar in the narrow lanes of Kolkata,the aroma of the popular Chinese breakfast – green broth,scrambled eggs and sausages,invites one. Ahead,huddled around the Bentinck Street is a small Chinese community,which has been a part of the city,since the 17th century. Iftakhar Ahsan,Calcutta Walks,leads a group of 10 onto the Pollock Street and talks about the Jews that lived in the city. For the next two hours,the group is introduced to myriad cultures from the Bow Barracks of the Anglo-Indians to the Canning Street of Portuguese,Armenian Street of the Armenians and Zakaria Street of the Muslims. Welcome to the world of niche walks. As a successor to Heritage Walks,niche walks across the country have made a star appearance. The promise of a discovery and the hope of finding something new that the city holds add to their popularity. One can sign up for an Art Walk in Mumbai or learn about nature at the Tree Walk in Pune or chase Mysore’s growth story at the Growth Story Walk in Mysore.

Ahsan designates himself as an explorer. Kolkata,according to popular belief,is a dirty,filthy city. I wanted to change that impression. There is so much in the city that one needs to explore. That is when we introduced the Confluence of Culture Walk,three years ago. Today,the Confluence of Culture walk has become one of the most popular walks that Ahsan’s company offers to tourists and locals. For Ahsan,the walk is a story. It introduces one to cultures,their sustainability and their problems. When we look at the Armenians and the oldest surviving Church it gave to the city or pass through areas inhabited by Muslims,Marwaris and Biharis,one understands how cosmopolitan Kolkata truly is, he says.

A similar wave has hit Delhi. But there,the walk starts only at night. The Jamghat Night Walk is conducted once every month. For Amit Sinha,founder-director of the NGO Jamghat,the night walk was born out of the need to spread awareness about the cause that they were working for. Jamghat runs a home for boys in Lado Sarai and a day care shelter for street children in Jama Masjid. Conducted in the Jama Masjid area,the walk takes one around old Delhi – right from Meena Bazaar to Dariya Gunj. Usually,we have an activity planned. In winter,we ask the people who come for the walk to help us distribute blankets. This way they have a point of interaction, Sinha says. Jamghat does not charge for the walk and hopes to inspire participants to either help them in the future or get sensitised about the issue. We start by 8.30 pm and continue till midnight, he adds. The popularity of the night walk has soared. “We get over 50 people at times. But it is difficult to manage such a big group. I like to take a maximum of 25 people, he says.

At Kala Ghoda,Mumbai,the crescent-shaped precinct in South Mumbai has a walk dedicated to its corners. Mumbai Magic’s Deepa Krishnan explains the concept behind the Art Walk: I wanted to showcase the different faces of the city. The Art Walk looks at the vibrant world of contemporary Indian art. The walk attempts to give you a first hand understanding of modern Indian art and its evolution from the early 1900s to the present day. This year,Mumbai Magic conducted over 500 walks for 3000 tourists who visited Mumbai. Our Bazaar Walk too found many takers. The Bazaar walk in Bhuleshwar and Kalbadevi explores traditional Hindu and Jain areas of the city; the Chor Bazaar and Null Bazaar walk takes a look at the world of recycling as well as several Muslim communities who live in that area.

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