Flashcards, Schools, and Architecture

A Journey into Heritage Education

A city is a living, breathing piece of history: a result of the seemingly-mundane activities of its inhabitants, decisions made by countless people of bygone eras, and decades, if not centuries of development. However, caught up in the fast-paced routines of modern life, we seldom find ourselves appreciating our cities and towns for the centuries of history they represent.

The Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) seeks to bridge this gap by protecting, conserving, and raising public awareness about the natural, cultural, living, tangible and intangible heritage of Indian cities, towns, and villages. Through their tourism, heritage education, and outreach programs, INTACH makes history, crafts, architecture, intangible heritage, and natural history accessible to the common citizen.

For my first-year community project at BITSDES, I had the privilege of working with INTACH Bengaluru Chapter on their heritage education program, Nammoora Kathe (or “Our City’s Story”). This is an educational initiative targeted at students of classes VI-VIII in government or government-aided schools in the low-income communities of Bangalore. Nammoora Kathe helps these children see Bengaluru through a historic lens, highlighting the origins of the city and its other dimensions such as city planning, natural heritage, cultural heritage and local traditions. This helps instil in them a sense of belonging, identity, curiosity, civic responsibility, and pride in shared public life.

We were first introduced to the sessions already being conducted by INTACH Bengaluru in these schools. A wide variety of topics such as the history and origins of Bangalore, its natural heritage as a “garden city”, its ruling dynasties over the centuries, and its colonial-era developments were introduced to the students through interactive lessons and games. From storytelling and role play, to jigsaw puzzles and Chinese whispers, it was really interesting to see the innovative methods used to keep children engaged and interested in topics usually considered “dry” or “boring”.

Students on an educational visit to Tipu Sultan’s Summer Palace with INTACH

Another thing that caught my attention was the emphasis placed on communicating a theoretical idea through eye-catching visuals and interactive exercises, and on making a complex topic as straightforward and easy to comprehend as possible. Since most of these students weren’t very fluent in English, this was essential to the success of the program, and in ensuring that the children learnt something valuable from it.

Armed with this information and some secondary research, my task now was to prepare additional learning material for the Nammoora Kathe program that could be directly incorporated into the existing teaching curriculum. I had the freedom to explore any topics related to Bangalore’s history, culture and development that I found interesting, as well as innovative approaches to teaching those concepts.

I looked into various topics, such as natural heritage, culinary history, traditional fabrics and garments, historical dams and water systems, and architectural history, that were closely related to the themes covered by the existing curriculum, but didn’t have a session or syllabus dedicated to them yet. I finally chose to go with architectural history, because of my personal interest in the subject, and also because INTACH’s experience and researched knowledge in this field would be really valuable to the project.

A physical or tactile learning tool visually explaining the evolution of Bangalore through the development of various buildings and different architecture styles — a concise description of the educational tool I had set out to design. I initially thought of designing a pictorial handbook or infographic chart to illustrate architectural development in Bangalore, and to make the topic simple and engaging for the students. However, my team at INTACH Bengaluru suggested that I should gamify the learning experience for better communication and retention. That got me thinking about my experiences with using flashcards to learn challenging concepts at school.

Breaking down complicated concepts into digestible chunks is a well-documented method of increasing learning capacity, engagement, and retention, especially among young students. And what better way to gamify the learning experience than by using the age-old deck of cards?!

With guidance and inputs from INTACH Bengaluru, I compiled a list (link here) of public buildings, monuments, and buildings of religious and educational institutions in Bangalore, which have impressive architectural features and represent the architectural styles of different eras of the city’s development. We then decided on the gameplay framework for the cards, with three separate decks; one each for the buildings, the architectural elements featured in them, and the year/era they were built in. Students would be introduced to these buildings and structures, and asked to match the cards from the first deck to their corresponding cards in the other two decks. We hoped that through such visual mapping and identification, they would eventually gain a basic understanding and appreciation of Bengaluru’s rich heritage and history, and the architectural beauty of the buildings they often see.

A mockup of the game cards I designed with INTACH

Through the three weeks of this community project, I learnt much about Bangalore’s unique cultural heritage and historical architecture that I hadn’t even known about despite having lived here my entire life. This project really opened my eyes to the many historical gems that surround us, awaiting our attention, but sadly, are often forgotten or overlooked.

In the process of designing the cards and the game, I learnt about simplifying complex concepts using neat visuals and minimal text. I had the wonderful opportunity of getting young students interested in theoretical concepts through gamification and by drawing connections to their lived experiences.

Connecting this experience to my learnings in our first year at BITSDES, I found that the foundational skills we have learnt and developed are invaluable to any project or task we undertake as designers. This obviously includes technical skills like field research and graphic design, but more importantly, also includes interpersonal skills such as empathy, communication, and team work.

On the whole, this project at INTACH Bengaluru Chapter left me with many important learnings that I hope to carry forward as a designer, and delightful experiences that I will cherish and look back on with gratitude and joy.

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