Proposal for Gorakhpur and Ramgarh-Tal

(An Eco-Heritage Project)

Physically, the town of

Gorakhpur is at the junction of
the Nepalese and Indian
Gorakhpur constituents of the Buddhist
circuit (between Lumbini and
Kushinagar), and is en-route to
Kushinagar from Lumbini via
one of the routes.

Culturally, Gorakhpur is well-

known for being the site of the
Gorakhnath temple and
monastery, the seat of the
ancient Nath sect, that has had profound influence in yogic thought in India.

Ecologically, the development of Gorakhpur is centered on the Ramgarh Tal, a lake which is
also the first declared wetland of Uttar Pradesh. The development of Ramgarh Tal has been
proposed to include various tourist attraction sites like a light and sound show, museum etc.

However, certain unexplored cultural links remain forgotten. The Nath sampradaya had
been historically closely linked with the historical development of Buddhism, and Chaurangi,
Matsyendranath and Gorakshanath feature in the list of 84 Mahasiddhas of Vajrayana
Buddhism. The Nath sect also has one temple in the Gorkha district of Nepal, and thus, a
close link with Nepalese culture, where Shaktiism, Shaivism, Yoga and Buddhism co-exist
with significant overlaps, exists. Apart from the classical Buddhist circuit of Kapilavastu-
Lumbini-Bodhgaya-Rajgir-Vaishali-Sarnath-Kushinagar, the development of Buddhism (and
Hinduism) displays multiple layers over the course of almost 1700 years of Indian Buddhism,
that is unique to India’s dialectical way of thinking.

Aim:

The present proposal aims at the development of Gorakhpur from the point of view of such
unexplored and almost-forgotten cultural links, with a special focus on Ramgarh Tal. The
development of the city has to combine state-of-the-art infrastructure, heritage and
sensitivity to the taste of cultural tourists. Cultural programmes and events could focus on
the development of this unique yogic traditions in India, including yoga-courses, programs
including pan-Asian Buddhist and Hindu (and other Asian contemplative traditions) ways of
rituals, chanting and meditation. Thus, architectural interventions at the Ramgarh-Tal
should be from this cultural perspective.
The developments also have to take into account the state of the Ramgarh lake as a
wetland, preserving (and possibly bolstering) the local ecosystem, marking out suitable
places in the city towards this end. Gorakhpur is also a flood-prone district and thus this
approach is of particular value.

We are of the opinion that Sandhi, IIT Kharagpur’s science-heritage lab will be able to
contribute to the development of Gorakhpur in unique ways. This can be accompanied by
development of detailed planning and design guidelines, maps and layouts.

Objectives:

In greater detail, the activities undertaken under this project will be:

1. Heritage-ecological-tourism assessment of Gorakhpur and development of

planning and design guidelines.
2. Integrated ecological-tourism-heritage planning and design of Ramgarh-Tal
precinct, taking into account regulations for its wetland status and avoiding
undesired encroachments.
3. Assessment of connectivity of Ramgarh-Tal and different heritage/tourism-nodes
of Gorakhpur city and design of required connection routes.
4. Assessment of solid-waste situation, of collection, transportation, disposal of solid
waste from Ramgarh-Tal lake and other heritage points.
5. Assessment of storm-water drainage, including drains leading to Ramgarh-Tal, to
make Gorakhpur a flood-resilient city.