Satyam Shukla

UD4002-2

The traditional and cultural heritage of the sacred Mathura city in is assessed within the framework of the phenomenology of place experience in ritual enactments involving tangible and intangible engagement with the streets and Ghats. The imagined urban theatre of Vishram bazaar and Vishram Ghat consists of visualization at the site of imagery centred on the tangible and intangible aspects, influenced by representations of the deity in space, play of characters, and impact of culture. The experience is enacted via circumambulation wherein places are inscribed in the characters in movement and at rest. Two sacred sites within Mathura are in the scope of the project, consist of a significant role in Heritage and spiritual aspect— Vishram bazaar and Vishram Ghat—are studied as imagined and enacted urban theatre. The heritage degradation caused by disappearing old structures, neglected infrastructure and denuded public spaces are leading to a physical, mental, and spiritual disengagement with the cultural transformation and loss of place-based collective memories. The proposed theatre approach seeks to promote public values through the restoration of the urban theatre of Vishram Bazaar Street and Vishram Ghat on the Yamuna banks.