Maroof Umar, better known as Maroof Culmen, calls himself a “heritage storyteller. “”I feel that the identity of a position is explained through a few carefully selected monuments and heritage sites, which overshadow smaller positions. Examples are Bara Imambara and Rumi Darwaza in Lucknow, Hawa Mahal and City Palace in Jaipur, etc.
Sitting on 230,000 Instagram followers, Umar, through stunning photographs and videos, introduces other “hidden gems” like Bilehra in Malihabad, UP, known for her handles; kothis of Barabanki, also in UP; the culture of Purani Dilli, and the other people and heritage of Lucknow. Visually pleasing and brightly colored images, slow-motion shots that slow you down, and a taste for private storytelling can seamlessly inspire you to pack your bags, explore those sites, and fully immerse yourself in the culture. While Umar has captured several states through his lens, the focus remains on Uttar Pradesh as “there are so many things in the state that have not been presented enough. “
Over time and across India, several such projects have sprung up on Instagram, breathing new life into the Indian heritage experience.
“I started the page simply out of love for the city and its monuments,” says Mohammad Anas, who runs the popular Instagram page Unzip Delhi. Through engaging visuals and a private storytelling style, he takes his fans through the “ruins and alleys” of the Old City. Dilli, but not the other way around,” he says. And it shows. Far from the noise and chaos related to the village that has been permanently inhabited for many years, Anas gives an immaculate and romantic look to the village, breaking with the stereotypes whipped up through stories, people and pop culture.
Haryana Junction, which delves into “the history, heritage and unexplored cultural relics of Haryana”, shows the state heritage beyond the ruins of the Indus Valley civilization and takes you to places like mosques, havelis, forts, etc. of the pre-partition.
While northeast India is well known for its abundant herbal beauty, the Where Is Northeast Instagram page travels in the direction of nature while immersing yourself in the heritage of the place. Writer Sam Dalrymple’s Insta page also serves as documentation of some of India’s ignored and lesser-known heritage sites.
Breaking stereotypes
“Previously, when I traveled outdoors and wore a suit, there was a very bad symbol related to the Dilliwalas. Through my work, I try to show some other aspect of the city,” says Anas.
While Purani Dilli Walo Ki Baatein began as a nostalgic project, while its author Abu Sufiyan was away from home while studying engineering at a school in Punjab, a turning point came when he took part in a guided tour of the city. a lot of research, talks and long hours in the library reading books,” Sufiyan said.
Similarly, Umar, who is in Lucknow, receives at least 20 to 30 text messages a day from other people telling him they are visiting the city and asking about places to explore. “It’s smart for other people to come here and their point of view changes. The way other people look at monuments has also changed in the last decade,” he says.
Similarly, for Johann Kuruvilla and Amrita Gangatirkar, who run The Kochi Heritage Project and Nashik Heritage Trails pages, respectively, to tell the cultural and heritage stories of their respective peoples that served as motivation.
Passing the word
While Instagram is helping to improve India’s heritage game, it’s getting bigger and branching out into new spaces. While Unzip Delhi started as a page to document heritage, history, and culture, lately it’s best known for its heritage tours, which take you through the history and histories of Old City places.
“During the first few months of the covid lockdown, I had between 400 and 500 subscribers, which rose to about 10,000 by the end. The network has grown. So when the covid died down, some of us were going to take a walk around the Red Fort. It didn’t go through anyone and it was more about sharing our experiences. I posted this in my Insta story and there was no going back. . So, heritage walks have become paid, and I organized them each and every weekend, unless it’s a few,” Anas said.
For Kuruvilla, a heritage walk in Mumbai encouraged him to do the same in his hometown of Kochi. “It started in 2022 on April 18, which is World Heritage Day. While I had built a small network during the Covid lockdown, some of us made the decision to take a heritage walk that day. They were loose walks around Heritage Day. However, it ended up generating a lot of interest among other people. I started getting more requests and started organizing public and personal walks. I learned that it was a smart way for other people to stick to the inheritance,” he explains.
Similarly, Gangatirkar has sought someone to tell the heritage story of his city, Nashik. So when this documentary filmmaker and researcher made the decision to leave Pune in 2016, she had the idea to do it herself. He is visiting to explain why he would also explore this aspect of the city,” he explains.
Although these are carried out individually, Sufiyan on your walks much more. “When I design a walk, I make sure that there is not just one user leading the walk, but that there are also others, such as local artists. For example, if I organize a trek in the period before Shahjahanabad, there will be a narrator who will guide the trek. There would be local merchants. We would take them to a library and maybe end the hike in a haveli, where the owner would have private reports to share. calligrapher who would also help revive the art form,” he says. An intrinsic detail of these heritage walks is the taste for private storytelling. There’s a challenge “when everything becomes academic,” Anas says.
Not only in Delhi, Kochi and Nashik, other people organize heritage walks across the country in places like Agra, Ahmedabad, Kolkata, Pune, Diu, Shillong and Darjeeling, to name a few.
A privileged platform
While many of its legacy projects before Covid, the pandemic, which expanded people’s virtual lives, helped popularize this. Then came Insta Reels, following the TikTok ban in 2020, which further spurred many of those pages that continue to this day.
While social media platforms exist, Instagram remains the top pick for heritage storytellers.
“Although I started Instagram only as a contact page and a position where I could put the thousands of photos I took of heritage sites, like a chronicle of the city, my interest in the platform increased with the pandemic,” says Gangatirkar. They each and every day. Only recently have I returned to the photography format,” he adds.
While Instagram has provided fertile soil for several legacy content creators, some have blamed the conversion rule set for the reduced reach. However, Anas believes it depends on the content and how you interact with the audience. “Instagram has been smart for me because I’ve built a network here. My goal now is not to grow to interact with members,” he says.
At the same time, Umar, who first creates content for Instagram, believes the platform is increasingly moving away from imagery and aesthetics and turning to Facebook, where it focuses more on entertainment and mass content. However, he believes that Reels has replaced the game because “with visuals alone, you can’t give the feeling and expand people’s curiosity. However, with Reels and smart music, you can make it much more accessible,” he says.
Valuing your passion
While many of those creators have matching income resources, heritage storytelling, over time, has also become financially viable. “Content on Instagram is not monetizable. However, we make money through collaborations with brands and they rent us to film content for them,” says Umar. Others have monetized heritage walks.
“When I started, I only charged 200 to 300 rupees for a hike and even provided snacks from me. Now, a public march can generate between 800 and 2500 rupees,” says Sufiyan. Kuruvilla also organizes public and personal walks, the latter being more expensive than the former.
Ultimately, “our hereafter also desires a future,” as Kuruvilla’s slogan goes. And storytellers of Indian heritage do just that.
I feel that the identity of a position is through a few monuments and heritage sites, which overshadow smaller positions.
The concept of introducing other people to less explored places.
— Maroof Umar @maroof Culminmen
While Nashik is known for wine tourism and pilgrimage, I have tried to link the two to heritage so that other people visiting for whatever reason also explore this aspect of the city.
— Amrita Gangatirkar @Nashik Heritage Trails
I started the page simply out of a natural love of the city. My circle of relatives is from Purani Dilli (Old Delhi). Although we replaced in 2013, it may take a
Purani Dilliwala by Purani Dilli, but in reverse
— Mohammad Anas @Descomprimir Delhi