Heritage Inspired – Connecting the Dots through Time Travel

Anand Rajarathinam’s thirst to understand Thanjavur temple history started as a simple quest and resulted in him curating historical, cultural and ecological tours with his team, through Heritage Inspired. These tours give us a glimpse of ancient kingdoms, practices and insights into age-old wisdom. Their academy, Sangakoodam offers Deep Immersion sessions by scholars in epigraphy, iconography and related topics. Heritage Essentials sells organically-grown natural farm produce of local agricultural communities that connect with them on their tours.

Anand Rajarathinam, Founder of Heritage Inspired

On every visit to Thanjavur to see his grandparents, Anand Rajarathinam spent hours at the big temple, looking up at it with awe and wonder. Eager to learn more about the history of this architectural marvel built by Raja Raja Chola, he realized how tough it was for a layperson to access historical facts. “As I sat watching the temple, I’d see groups of school children being led in to perform a darshan and leave to have lunch at the park outside without understanding the significance of what they had just seen! There was no easy way to get more information about the temple’s history or architecture. The only thing people seemed to know about this temple was that it didn’t cast a shadow! So I decided to gather the details myself,” says Anand. 

Deep Diving into the Past

Dedicating himself to the task, he spent months looking for the right sources, leading him to the Tamil University in Thanjavur. “The professors there opened my eyes to the world I was so hungry to see. I was amazed at their dedication to research but was also sad to see the lack of career opportunities for scholars with such deep knowledge.” From 2015 to 2016 Anand made over 15 trips to Thanjavur spending time learning to read inscriptions and copperplates with academicians. It became addictive and he was so excited by the knowledge he gained that he wanted to share it with others. And that became the inspiration for Heritage Inspired. 

Ponniyin Selvan – The Bait

Using the hugely popular novel Ponniyin Selvan by Amarar Kalki set in the Chola period around the Thanjavur region as a hook, Heritage Inspired plotted the route its protagonist takes and launched the Spy’s Trail, but with a difference! They focused purely on historical facts. “Everyone insisted we stick to the Ponniyin Selvan narrative. But I was keen on sharing history and connecting people to their roots, rather than entertaining them with fiction. I’m glad I stuck to my beliefs because our Chola deep immersion package is popular even after 65 successful tours with participants across age groups and geographies The Spy’s Trail continues to enchant and enrich,” says Anand. 

Recognizing Scholars and Involving the Rural Community

During his exploratory research, Anand witnessed the hardships of scholars and archaeologists who toiled under harsh conditions and had to submit reports at the end of each gruelling day. To get the world to benefit from their knowledge, Heritage Inspired brought them into the tours, providing them with a platform they richly deserved. This is a major differentiator for Heritage Inspired, and it has motivated many participant travellers to sign up for Pandya and Pallava tours that take them on a historical time travel to these ancient kingdoms of South India. These immersive experiences are possible with the cooperation and goodwill of the villages in and around the tour routes. In return, Heritage Inspired integrates the lively performances of local troupes into their program, thus supporting their livelihood and keeping their art alive. 

An expert describing the features of the temple

Creating a Market for Agricultural Products

Working closely with the villages, Heritage Inspired understood their strengths and challenges. They could see that the villagers lacked the skills to market their quality organic produce.  They needed help with professional packaging and connecting with the right target audience. Realizing they were qualified to fill this gap, Heritage Inspired started Heritage Essentials, a new entity offering market linkage. The company procures organically grown produce from farmers and other local businesses, packages and sells them through the Heritage Essentials portal, thus opening up growth opportunities for these communities. 

Reclaiming Ancestorial Wisdom

Why is it important to understand our history and how we’ve evolved to where we are now? “The Sangam period dating back to over 2500 years ago is known for advanced thinking and knowledge. We are losing this wisdom through unplanned growth. By connecting with our past we will be able to reclaim some of this knowledge and use it to create awareness about our ecosystems and geography to better navigate through current challenges,” says Anand. He explains that to procure the right rocks to build a temple, the sculptures from ancient times needed to understand geology. Even a fine crack inside the rock could ruin the structure. They had a refined science to identify flawless rocks and to capture and pass on this knowledge Heritage Inspired started deep immersion sessions on the subject. “Experts give in-depth lectures on geology, epigraphy and iconography to understand our past better. These classes have been hugely popular.”

The Ladies Special

Learning From Our Environment to Shape Our Future

“Caring for the environment was ingrained in us. New mothers were blessed to care for their babies the way the community cared for the local ponds and water bodies. Civic sense was at the centre of life and routine. Things are different now, but instead of complaining about it, we wanted to create awareness about the environment in which we live and how it connects back to our history. We’ve already launched the Neithal Trail to explore Chennai’s coastal landscape and history. It helps people understand the delicate balance of Nature and why losing local trees, dunes and mangroves provokes floods and other natural disasters. The death of olive ridley turtles when they come ashore attracted by city lights, allows the population of the jellyfish they feed on to go unchecked, leading to an imbalance in the ecosystem,” explains Anand. 

Heritage Essentials – Natural Farm Produce

Picking up Steam

Through continuous planned effort, Heritage Inspired has built a platform that connects scholars, local communities and their organic produce with urbanites interested in our ancient history and ecology. Their field trips to uncover fresh locations far beyond the beaten track are a study in themselves. Moving beyond South India, they have started tours exploring other parts of the country. The Secrets of Goa package takes travellers beyond its much-touted sunny beaches to trace the influence of the Kadambas, Marathas and the Portuguese while revealing other less explored natural spots. It’s common to find Heritage Inspired travellers looking out for the next tour even before they’ve completed one. That’s how addictive these unique and interesting tours can be. 

To stay informed of their upcoming tours visit heritageinspired.in.

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What is

GOTN is a platform that aims to bring together entrepreneurs from around Tamil Nadu to form a creative community by offering inspiration, information and facilitating connects.