Paleontology: Wakankaer Award for conservation of archaeological culture conferred on ASI’s Shivakant Bajpayi

NEW DELHI: The government of Madhya Pradesh has conferred the prestigious 2021-22 Vishnu Shridhar Wakankaer Rastriya Samman for conservation of archaeological heritage and archaeological culture on Shivkant Bajpayi, the superintending archaeologist of Archaelogocal Survey of India’s Jabalpur circle.
The Wakankaer award, instituted in the memory of noted Indian archeologist Wakankar who was credited with the discovery of the Bhimbetka rock caves in 1957 — now a UNESCO World Heritage site — is an annual national award for Indian archaeological studies and conservation of cultural heritage. The award carries a cash prize of Rs 2 lakh, a citation and a plaque of honour and is conferred on individuals or institutions to recognise their constructive contribution, creativity and outstanding achievements in the field of conservation of archaeological heritage and archaeological culture.
In a distinguished career spanning many decades, Bajpayi has, among other things, launched an effort to instill a greater appreciation for civilisational history and India’s rich cultural heritage this year, by taking the study of heritage to government school classrooms.
In his earlier stint at ASI Aurangabad, Bajpayi developed comic books in English, Hindi and Marathi to make the study of heritage accessible for school-going students. In his current role at Jabalpur, he has led the ‘Heritage Pathshala-Humara Desh, Humari Dharohar’ initiative through which Class VI-XII students of Central Schools are not only taught about civilisational histories and ASI’s heritage and conservation activities, but also about local sites of archaeological significance.
The award was conferred on Bajpayi by Madhya Pradesh culture minister Usha Babu Singh Thakur on September 9 this year.