Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur

1 Assessing traditional river-based heritage tourism networks in Bengal and conducting an environmental cost-benefit impact assessment of such riparian networks and possibilities of its recovery in the future for promoting eco and heritage tourism based creative economy of Bengal associated with river

Bengal’s rich riparian tract and a cross-sectional providence of snow-laded Himalayas in the North and the deltaic estuarine tracts in the south is the basis of the river-based eco-tourism and eco-environmental studies also bordering on the foundations of farmstead, cottage-stead and home-stead culture and economy of the region. The history, the myths, the folk and the culture that has grown in the region is the function of the rivers in the region.
The study will explore, econometrically and geo-spatially the role of multitude of rivers in the region to arrive at the pilot project modules of eco-tourism, culture-tourism, heritage-tourism, and creative-economic tourism based on the river. Key objectives are:

1. Historical and mythical investigation of the riparian tracks backed by geo-explorative studies

2. Detailed remote sensing approaches along the belt based on regional econometric analyses for project piloting feasibility

3. Identification of a network planning and facility management inventory to establish the goals: modules of eco-tourism, culture-tourism, heritage-tourism, and creative-economic tourism based on the river.



Principal Investigator (s) Joy Sen, Saikat K. Paul

Co-PIs Somnath Sen, Bhargab Maitra, Haimanti Banerjee, Pulak Mishra

4 An immediate pilot project in the heart of Kolkata (Gariahat area) to re-design and re-resuscitate the livelihood of hawkers + allied informal sectors keeping in mind 'creative economy' and the overall 'Future of our city'. The concern is to boost the background technology of different home-stead, cottage-industrial products to which the Hawkers represent a retail end.

Principal Investigator (s) Joy Sen; Koumudi Patil (IITK)

Co-PIs
Bhargab Maitra, Haimanti Banerjee, Pulak Mishra

3 A second pilot project on 'Heritage tourism' considering the 'creative economy' of Kumartuli area - a) Terracotta and b) adobe related / reed plastered handicraft and image making. The concern is to re-explore the application and range of Terracotta technology as a building material (club with other regions).

Principal Investigator (s)
Joy Sen, Koumudi Patil (IITK)

Co-PIs N. C. Nayak, Priyadarshi Patnaik, Mainak Ghosh, Pulak Mishra

2 A documentation work, urban cell by cell, of the shopping precincts, and spots of heritage tourism and Creative Economic regeneration (CER), Technology de-construction and re-casting, IPR Making, Business and Management Model forecasting based on CER of College Street, Boipara belt of Kolkata

Principal Investigator (s)
Joy Sen, Koumudi Patil (IITK)

Co-PIs Sunando Dasgupta, Mainak Ghosh, Jaideep Barman, Haimanti Banerjee

To explore the area of design knowledge in the grassroots in general and craft in particular for:

a) Understanding measuring systems of low literate designers - How do low to illiterate craftsmen handle measurements related to proportions, sizes and balance in the absence of explicit understanding of mathematics and geometry and access to precision tools? The question may result into interesting insights especially in the area of complex designs of boat-makers or metal casting craftsmen who measure furnace temperature by visual means alone.

b) Pedagogy of the Karkhanas: Mainstream curriculum often lacks a studio based practice. Tacit learning is limited to assignments that mimic principles into practice. But practice has a pedagogy of its own, which craft Karkhanas excel in. In the absence of formal education, learning here is limited to the tacit exchange of knowledge during production itself. Thinking and Production run parallel in the Karkhanas. Can we get a handle on the methods and tools of this tacit pedagogy?

The basic objectives are:

• To work out IPR related issues of community owned traditional design products and technologies

• To work out an IPR that is shared between similar communities but not manifested in mainstream/ organized/ formal sectors

• To work out a legal framework of sustainable IPR systems for these communities, in case IPR is flouted, who writes complain and based on what files in the past?

• To work out action plans for working of logos / identity marks based on trades and exchanges

• To work out strategies of making the community aware and conscious of the trademark if not the IPR while they do not believe in such a system

• To outline fair-trade strategies for the creative communities based on repercussions