Sahapedia is a website which seeks to make the culture and history of India accessible to all. Sahapedia is a

portmanteau A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of wordsencyclopedia An encyclopedia (American English) or encyclopædia (British English) is a reference work or compendium providing summaries of knowledge either general or special to a particular field or discipline. Encyclopedias are divided into articles ...

. Saha is

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

for "together with". It uses a method of collaboration between scholars and lay people contributing content to the portal. Once lay people register they are able to contribute to the portal once approved by editors. The site seeks to take the middle path between scholarly contribution and the open contribution system seen on

Wikipedia Wikipedia is a multilingual free online encyclopedia written and maintained by a community of volunteers, known as Wikipedians, through open collaboration and using a wiki-based editing system. Wikipedia is the largest and most-read refer ...

. It serves as a portal with content in the form of articles, videos, image galleries, interviews and events listing.

History

Sahapedia was founded in New Delhi in 2010. It was registered as a not-for-profit Society in June 2011 under the Societies Act of 1860 and has offices in New Delhi and Kochi.

S. Ramadorai Subramanian Ramadorai, Commander of the Order of the British Empire, CBE (born 6 October 1945) was the adviser to the Prime Minister of India in the national council on skill development, Government of India. He held the rank equivalent to an In ...

, who was the Former Vice Chairman, Tata Consultancy Services, and Chairman, National Skills Development Agency is the President and mentor of Sahapedia. Sudha Gopalakrishnan, who was the Founder Director of the National Mission for Manuscripts, Government of India and an

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

-empanelled expert on intangible cultural heritage is the Vice President and Executive Director of Sahapedia. Sahapedia's technology platform, which was launched on 23 April 2016.

Work

The core of Sahapedia is the encyclopedia that addresses ten domains: the areas covered come under the categories of Knowledge Traditions, Visual and Material Arts, Performing Arts, Literature and Languages, Practices and Rituals, Histories, Institutions, People, and Natural Environment. The research and editorial team identify subjects for the encyclopedia, visit libraries and consult experts to arrive at an outline for its treatment, write to scholars for articles or request them for interviews, go on field visits for documentation and compile links to online resources and suggestions for further reading. Sahapedia also works with affiliates who are experts in their field and can curate modules that cover various aspects of a particular subject.

Ongoing projects

Oral history Oral history is the collection and study of historical information about individuals, families, important events, or everyday life using audiotapes, videotapes, or transcriptions of planned interviews. These interviews are conducted with people wh ...

: Documents interactions with artists, scholars and practitioners. The project also records performances, events, activities, lectures, demonstrations and seminars. *Library: Makes available archival material relating to history, literature, music and the performing arts under the Creative Share-alike License. *Built heritage: Documents heritage sites and spaces in India with a view to covering both academic studies and experiential accounts. India Heritage Walks seeks to enable access to local history and heritage. *Maps project: Encourages people to participate in the cultural mapping of India and South Asia by marking cultural sites, forms, practices and events in their areas. *Heritage education: It has partnered in the Heritage Education efforts of the Central Board of Secondary Education involving 12,900 schools, by creating an interactive web resource for children on the CBSE website Besides, the collaboratively-created encyclopedia database will be available as an offline tool for distance and rural education. *Institutional collaborations: Sahapedia is in partnership with the Indian Ministry of Culture,

Rashtrapati Bhavan The Rashtrapati Bhavan (, rāsh-truh-puh-ti bha-vun; ; originally Viceroy's House and later Government House) is the official residence of the President of India at the western end of Rajpath, Raisina Hill, New Delhi, India. Rashtrapati Bh ...

Archaeological Survey of India The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is an Indian government agency that is responsible for archaeological research and the conservation and preservation of cultural historical monuments in the country. It was founded in 1861 by Alexande ...

, the

Indian Institute of Advanced Studies The Indian Institute of Advanced Study (IIAS) is a research institute located in Shimla, India. It was set up by the Ministry of Education, Government of India in 1964 and started functioning from 20 October 1965. History and establishment The ...

National School of Drama National School of Drama (NSD) is a theatre training institute situated at New Delhi, India. It is an autonomous organization under Ministry of Culture, Government of India. It was set up in 1959 by the Sangeet Natak Akademi and became an indepe ...

, the National Centre for the Performing Arts and the International Information Networking Centre for Intangible Cultural Heritage in the Asia-Pacific Region, UNESCO. *India Heritage Walks: An initiative that hosts immersive and diverse experiences that bring people closer to their local heritage and culture. *Museums of India: Designed to bring together museums, heritage and communities to create a participatory eco-system of museum exploration, enrichment and education. It is an expanding digital listing of the museums in India, with the realization that there is no single in-depth online resource that showcases the diversity of Indian museums.

Recognition

* India Heritage Walks won the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Grand Award 2019.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Official website
Online encyclopedias Collaborative projects Indian online encyclopedias Arts organisations based in India Culture of Indian diaspora