UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITES - ART AND CULTURE
News: Vadnagar
town, Modhera Sun Temple, Unakoti sculptures added to UNESCO’s tentative list
of World Heritage Sites
What's in the news?
● Gujarat’s Vadnagar town,
the iconic Sun Temple at Modhera, and the rock cut sculptures of Unakoti in
Tripura have been added to the tentative list of UNCESO World Heritage Sites.
● The
UNESCO tentative list is an “inventory of those properties which each State
Party intends to consider for nomination”.
Key takeaways:
● With
the above three, India now has 52 sites
on UNESCO Tentative List.
● The
list indicates rich cultural and natural wealth of India and shows huge
diversity of our heritage.
Sun temple:
● The
Sun Temple, Modhera dedicated to
Surya Dev, is the earliest of such temples which set trends in architectural
and decorative details, representing the Solanki style at its best.
Vadnagar:
● Vadnagar
is a municipality under Mehsana district of Gujarat.
● A
multi-layered historic town, the history of Vadnagar stretches back to nearly
8th century BCE.
● The
town still retains a large number of historic buildings that are primarily
religious and residential in nature.
Unakoti:
● Unakoti,
located in the northeastern region of Tripura,
is known as an ancient holy place associated with Shaiva worship.
● The
site is a massive gallery set in a forested area displaying a number of
towering low relief images in a unique style, making it a masterpiece of human
creative genius.
Go back to basics:
World Heritage Site:
● A
World Heritage site is classified as a natural
or man-made area or a structure that is of international importance, and a
space which requires special protection.
● These
sites are officially recognised by the
UN and the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation,
also known as UNESCO.
● UNESCO
believes that the sites classified as World Heritage are important for
humanity, and they hold cultural and physical significance.