Cultural Documentation of River Ganga from Gaumukh to Ganga Sagar – Farukkhabad District

This Namami Gange project is being undertaken for the Jal Shakti Ministry, Government of India, under the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) scheme. INTACH is assisting the Ministry in the capacity of a knowledge partner. Three divisions of INTACH namely; Natural Heritage (NH), Architectural Heritage (AH) and Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) divisions have been engaged in the cultural mapping project, of three aspects natural, tangible and intangible assets along Ganga.
The objective of the project is to conduct field investigation and document existing cultural assets on either side of the river Ganga (within a radius of 5Kms, starting from its source, i.e. Gangotri, down to its point of dispersal at Ganga Sagar) and to produce for the ministry a detailed, illustrated report based on the primary and secondary resources available.

Farukkhabad District

The report covers several intangible assets (which includes history, ancient Kampilya/Panchal kingdom along Ganga at Farukkhabad district. The report writing is still in progress.  This district, known as the present Farrukhabad, was well known for its very ancient Vedic, mythological and historical significance and related places. In 1714, Nawab Mohammad Khan Bangash unified 52 villages of Bisen Kshatriyas (Bumtelas) and named them Farrukhabad, In ancient times Farukkhabad was known as Kampilya. Like Kashi (Benaras), the river Ganga flows in Farrukhabad and Fatehgarh in a half-moon shape. The present-day Farrukhabad is known for its Vedic, Pauranik and historical influence on the Indian Subcontinent. This fact and the presence of numerous Shivalayas, has given it another exalted religious status- Aparakashi. The flowing Kali and Ramganga rivers seem to bind Farrukhabad’s northern & southern boundaries. The freedom movement and local freedom fighters of Farukkhabad have also been mentioned in the report. Farukkhabad was also active in India’s independence movement with several freedom fighters fighting for the cause.

The report also mentions foodways. Kapurkand (कपूरकंद) is another very famous traditional sweet of Farukkhabad. It’s generally made during festivals and other occasions and is a democratic sweet as it’s prepared both during Deepavali and Ramzaan.

Images by: Shri. Narayan Chauhan

Check out more on the INTACH ICH Archive:
https://icharchive.intach.org/Detail/collections/81