Living Heritage: Chanderi

The research studies the integral fabric of the town of Chanderi, centrally located in the state of Madhya Pradesh, famously known for its rich historical and cultural background. The town of Chanderi was once the focal point for powerful dynasties and empires being valued for its richness and position on the graph of development.

Today, with most of the structures being dilapidated, the town portrays a strong communal relationship with the remaining built heritage. The revival of these dilapidated structures and restoring its identity is evoked by the culturally rich communities.

The research explores the revival and conservation of heritage through mutual co-existence and interdependence of built and unbuilt heritage entities proving beneficial in initiating the town towards a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The town’s economy is largely dependent on the culturally and socially rich weaving community, the bunkars. The study started by analysing these weaving communities and how their workability is directly linked to the heritage of the town, stepwells. 

As weaving is largely dependent on water their interdependence on one another proves beneficial for reviving the heritage of the town, growth and development in the long run, thereby restoring the ‘Identity of Chanderi’.