Conservation of Architectural Funerary Objects in Nagapatnam, India

Conservation of Architectural Funerary Objects in Nagapatnam, India

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India
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From May 12-21st 2017, a delegation from the Cultural Heritage Agency and Dodenakkers.nl went to India following a mission to Suriname in February. The focus of this mission was the former VOC cemetery Karikop Nagapattinam, Tamil Nadu. The mission is intended both to determine the state of the respective monuments and to cooperate with the Indian Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) on a workshop in order to develop a conservation plan for the cemetery.

On the first day, a visit was paid to Pulicat, fifty kilometers north of Chennai (formerly Madras). Accompanied by Xavier Benedict, an expert dedicated to the promotion and preservation of the natural and built heritage in Pulicat, a visit was paid to the outside Graveyard and the (inside Graveyard near the former VOC Fort Geldria. The outside Graveyard was restored in 2001 by the Foundation Thomas Construction Projects and has been used until recently. The inside Graveyard is classified as an ASI monument.

On the second day, a visit was paid to St. Mary's Cemetery in Chennai. This cemetery was in use since the second half of the 18th century, and there are several monuments similar to the monuments in Pulicat and Nagapattinam. The rest of the day consisted of a nine-hour car trip to Nagapattinam accompanied by Dr. S. Suresh, the representative from INTACH Tamil Nadu.

The third day started with a warm and welcoming ceremony at the Prime College of Architecture & Planning in Nagapattinam, which had compiled a list at an earlier stage of all historic objects and buildings in Nagapattinam, including the cemetery.

The mission ended with a three-day workshop organized together with INTACH. In consultation with a group of passionate restoration architects, a plan was drawn up for the restoration of monuments in Karikop cemetery in Nagapattinam.