CyArk Heritage Amplified Grant

The Center for Heritage Conservation (CHC) secured the CyArk Heritage Amplified Grant 2024. The grant involved the development of a virtual Tapestry experience of the historic water system of Jaigarh Fort with its intricately planned network of water collection channels, capacious storage tanks, and well-engineered internal distribution. The Tapestry experience integrates spatial narratives around its daily operation to bring out valuable insights into sustainable water management practices. The project seeks to engage broader audiences with a narrative centered on water, showcasing the site's meticulously engineered, self-sustaining system.

The initial phase, involving storyboarding workshops, began in the first week of September 2024. During this phase, key narratives, vision, and goals will be established through brainstorming sessions with team members from CHC, JPCT, and CyArk, along with invited experts, including Dr Rima Hooja and Dr Giles Tillotson. 

The next phase, conducted in October 2024, involved fieldwork at Jaigarh Fort focusing on key aspects of Jaigarh Fort's water management and distribution system, along with oral narratives exploring its formation, historical use, and present-day significance. Using LiDAR scanning and terrestrial and aerial photogrammetry, the CHC-CRDF team documented water collection channels, storage tanks, and related components. The documentation process was guided by Mrudula Mane alongside field experts from CyArk, and supported by Zeus Pithawalla. A series of expert interviews was conducted on-site to explore the nuances of the water system. 

The final phase involved post-processing by the CyArk team alongside periodic review meetings to develop the Tapestry narrative and 3D experience.

The project was supported by Iron Mountain and the Jaigarh Public Charitable Trust (JPCT), and is undertaken by CHC-CRDF as part of its wider collaboration with JPCT to conserve the Jaigarh Fort Precinct.

CHC team: Dr Jigna Desai (Principal Investigator), Ashna Patel (Project Lead), Jigar Rathod and Ishani Pradhan (Research Associates), Ayushi Roy and Nishra Shah (Research Assistants), Hiten Ashara (Drone Pilot).

JPCT team: Dr Chandni Chowdhary (Site Manager, Assistant Director at JPCT)

Stay tuned as we document the site and develop its virtual experience.

Water Systems of Jaigarh [English]

Water Systems of Jaigarh [Hindi]