When Punjab Finance Minister committed himself to the proposal of formalising the collaboration with Smithsonian Institution (SI) US today, the backdrop of his affirmation was crystal clear.

For two days, top conservationists and ethnomusicologists from the USA have been analysing the challenges faced by Punjabi culture more comprehensively than one has seen before. Today — on the concluding day of the Indo-US conference on developing a cultural preservation initiative for Punjab — they proved how well they understood what ailed the process of cultural preservation in Punjab and what is the way forward for it. The conference was organised by the Anandpur Sahib Foundation and Smithsonian Institution US.

So you had an ethnomusicologist from the University of California telling Punjab Government about its endangered musical heritage and reasons behind the rot. Gibb Schreffler, a research scholar, has been in Punjab for five years, researching the trend before finally sharing his findings today. He conclusively mentioned that the cultural heritage institutions in Punjab needed to reorient their approach, away from culture promotion and towards documentation and research.

“Punjabis of India are already proud of their heritage. If we compare the situation to the Pakistani Punjab, we find that, over there, interest in Punjabi heritage has been downplayed in favour of Urduisation. But with such healthy interest in India, promotion of Punjabi culture by government institutions is not really necessary. The long term archiving and preservation of materials is first and foremost a financial issue, and at the time the most crucial issue for Punjab," Schreffler told The Tribune today.

Where Schreffler put the musical heritage in perspective, Dr Robert Koestler, Director, Museum Conservation Institute, SI, showed ways of controlling bio-deterioration — a big challenge for Punjab. Priceless limestone paintings at Quila Mubarak, Patiala are withering on account of bio deterioration, and Dr Koestler knows how to use new technologies to save this visual art heritage.

In regards conservation, analysis and education value of Sikh heritage artifacts, Prof Hanna Szczepanowska, Conservator, National Air and Space Museum, SI, spoke with unchallenged authority today. As conservator for the Smithsonian exhibition on “Sikhs: Legacy of the Punjab”, Prof Szczepanowska knows exactly how to go about making exhibits of Sikh artifacts across Punjab's museums relevant to indigenous landscape as well as the visitors.

Finally, Dr Bruno Frohlich, Senior Statistician and Director of Computed Tomography at the Smithsonian Institution showed how non-destructive and non-evasive new techniques could be applied for the preservation of museum objects in Punjab.