Story of Human Civilizations through Heritage Stone unfolds at One Day Seminar on Heritage Stones at Panjab University

Chandigarh, November 5, 2024: Narrating the story of human civilisations through heritage stones, the one day seminar at Panjab University brought together academicians and industry experts from diverse fields in a discourse that connected society with geosciences.
 
The seminar titled ‘IUGS Heritage Stones: Indian Contributions’ organised under the aegis of the Subcommission on Heritage Stones (HSS) of the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS) and International Geoscience Program-UNESCO, was a unique endeavour in creating awareness about Geoheritage with special focus on Heritage Stones. The seminar was partially funded by IGCP-UNESCO and supported by Institutions Innovation Council of Panjab University.
 
Weaving a beautiful link between literature and stones, Prof. Rumina Sethi, DUI, Panjab University and chief guest of the seminar said that discoloration and cracking of the stones tell stories of human civilisation and looking at stones in a philosophical way is essential to connect with the idea of historical consciousness. Citing a number of works of literature Prof Sethi said that stones are both a symbol of permanence and mortality.
 
Bringing another dimension to the stone science, Prof. Mahesh Thakkar, Director , BSIP, Lucknow and guest of honour at the seminar spoke about the significance of stones in our life and how the history of earth is intertwined with the stones. The inaugural session of the seminar also saw release of the book, ‘First 55 IUGS Heritage Stones’ that documents the work of the Heritage Stones group during the last 16 years.
 
Prof. Gurmeet Kaur, Dept of Geology, Panjab University who is currently the Chair-Subcommission on Heritage Stones (HSS) and convener of the seminar presented a visually enthralling presentation on making of the book and Prof. Raymond A. Duraiswami, head, Department of Environmental Sciences, Savitribai Phule Pune University, Pune introduced the theme of the seminar. Prof. Ganga Ram Chaudhary, Director SAIF, CIL, UCIM and President IIC, PU also spoke about the connect between innovation and earth sciences.
 
Expert speakers represented diverse fields of academia and industry during the seminar's technical session. Noor Dasmesh Singh, founder of NOOR Architect Consultants, shared the story behind the architectural brilliance of the Complexe du Capitole, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Prof. Mahesh Thakkar took the audience through a unique journey of heritage stones. Prof. Yojna Rawat, CDOE, PU, made a unique presentation on the Rock Garden.

Prof. Raymond Duraiswami mesmerised the audience with the stones of the western Ghats, Prof. Manoj Pandit gave an account of the heritage stones of Rajasthan, and Prof. R Baskar presented insightful lectures on the multiple dimensions of geocollections.
 
Prof. Simrit Kahlon, a cultural geographer, presented a perspective on stones through the lens of a cultural geographer. Prof. Akshaya Kumar from the Dept. of English and Cultural Studies joined the dots between literature and stone science. Prof. Jayanti Dutta, Director MM Teacher Training Centre, PU, shared a comprehensive review of the book, ‘First 55 IUGS Heritage Stones’.
 
The seminar saw the presence of faculties and students from diverse fields. The presence of special guests Kireet Acharya and Pradeep Aggarwal from Jaipur, who have been associated with many heritage stone proposals, was beneficial for the audience during the discussions on heritage stones.
 
The organising secretary, Dr. Bhavneet Bhatti, handled the stage very well with her excellent brief narration of the topics on which the speakers shared their experiences. The seminar concluded with Dr. Mahesh Thakur, co-convener of the program, presenting a vote of thanks and a group photograph.