Singh and Kumar. Space and Culture, India 2018, 5:3 Page | 13 https://doi.org/10.20896/saci.v5i3.305 SPECIAL ARTICLE OPEN ACCESS Ayodhya: The Imageability and Perceptions of Cultural Landscapes Professor Rana P.B. Singh†* and Mr Sarvesh KumarῙ Abstract Most of the visitors (pilgrims in the majority) and the dwellers (mostly Hindus) perform some sorts of rituals at varying degrees and become involved in the religious activities to gain solace or soul healing. Of course, as sidetrack visitors also perform other activities of recreation and side-show. However, these are the marginal activities. It is obviously noted that personality of pilgrims and dwellers in the context of economic, social, cultural, job status, and perspective of life, has a direct effect on the nature of environmental sensitivity to its sacred landscapes and mythologies that support and make them alive. Ongoing rituals, continuous performances of Ramalila in the evening, pilgrimages and auspicious glimpses to the divine images, and associated happenings together make the whole are a part of the sacred environment. These are categorised within the frame of responsive perception, testing Kevin Lynch’s scale of imageability represented with the five elements, viz. path, edge, node, district, and landmark. The perceptual survey of dwellers and pilgrims are codified into a composite cognitive map that reflects the generalised images of various behavioural attributes that fit the cultural and natural landscapes of the city; this is similar to other holy cities of north India like Varanasi, Mathura, and Chitrakut. Keywords: Ayodhya, cognitive map, dwellers, imageability, perception, pilgrims, the Sarayu river, symbols. † Ex Professor & Head, Department of Geography, Institute of Science, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, UP 221005, India, Email: [email protected] * Corresponding Author Ῑ UGC Senior Research Fellow, Department of Geography, Institute of Science, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, UP 221005, India, Email: [email protected] © 2018 Singh and Kumar. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Singh and Kumar. Space and Culture, India 2018, 5:3 Page | 14 Introduction: The Imageability and Cultural various behavioural attributes that fit into the Perception cultural and natural landscapes of the city. In The behavioural perspective of human his assessment, Lynch (1984) provoked that his personality is a subjective quality mostly original theoretical construct is proved valid by reflected regarding the spatial interaction of the later contributors that culture and man and image formation and its exposition. familiarity much modify images. I. He realised Every view of spatial vision has a that map drawing is a misleading index for most connectedness with the visual landscape, of the people. He also felt that exposition of generally perceived and expressed in the form satisfaction and identification emotionally of an image that develops in the mind of certainly gives a distorted viewpoint. settlers, visitors and tourists. The formation of Nevertheless, in a culturally rich and an image is associated with the issues of time, traditionally variant society like India, the culture, society, education, and mental set-up, modified version of Lynch has worked that is, altogether it portrays the overall satisfactorily. Lynch’s advocacy that his personality of people and place. The first idea approach and study to be taken as a hammer to of cognitive mapping has been initiated by hit the policy planning in making the city more Trowbridge (1913) who has emphasised the liveable for the dwellers has not yet taken due role of orientation. His ideas were further consideration. However, cognitive data of elaborated by Tolman (1932) with addition of tourists indicates its validity in promoting the concept of spatial behaviour and related better structure of tourism. cognitions. The first pioneering work has been In India, the imagery theory of Lynch was established by an American architect Kevin introduced and tested by Singh and Singh Lynch (1918-1984) by his classic, The Image of (1980); this study is further elaborated on the the City (1960) in which he has explained the line of imagery questionnaire used for imageability and legibility through the cognitive interviewing tourists and visitors to Banaras behaviour of visitors and tourists. After a (Singh 1988). He further tested the same frame quarter of a century after Kevin Lynch’s work, in his follow up study taking fifty respondents his contributions are further elaborated in an from Deoria town (cf. Singh and Shahi 1988). It international seminar and its proceedings, has been observed that personality of ‘Reconsidering the Image of the City’ (Rodwin tourists/visitors in the context of economic, and Hollister, 1984). In the field of social, cultural, job status, and perspective of environmental psychology and behavioural life, has a direct effect on the nature of geography the study of cognition and spatial environmental sensitivity to its cultural behaviour received special attention, including landscapes and heritagescapes that result to taking tourists as samples (cf. Golledge, 1987; form cognitive maps. for recent reviews see Gobster, et al., 2003, and The research begins with a geographical Eisler, et al., 2003). description of Ayodhya. This is followed by The key purpose of this research is to examine discussions of how Ayodhya is perceived within as to how the visitors perceive and imagine the collective imaginations of the visitors and Ayodhya. Is it simply a cultural landscape or the locals. The concluding remarks are outlined birthplace of Lord Rama or both. The research in the final section. is built on the frame of responsive perception Ayodhya: The Geographical Personality via testing of Kevin Lynch’s scale of imageability represented with the five elements — path, Ayodhya, being one of the most sacred places is edge, node, district, and landmark. The known as the legendary capital of Rama; and perceptual survey of the dwellers and the nowadays one of the most important places of pilgrims are codified into a composite cognitive pilgrimage in India with special reference to its map that reflects the generalised images of sacred cultural landscapes. Ayodhya, situated on the right bank of Ghaghara River (Sarayu) Singh and Kumar. Space and Culture, India 2018, 5:3 Page | 15 (Fig.1), is primarily an ancient tirtha (riverfront The riverfront banks of the Sarayu at Ayodhya sacredscape) and salvific place that records consists of a number of bathing places (ghats), settlement continuity since at least ca 800 BCE. and are counted as sacred places for Hindu Ayodhya is assumed to be the birthplace of adherents. Some of them are Pakka, having Lord Rama, a mythological seventh incarnation flights of stone steps leading down to the river, of the God Vishnu, a major deity of Vaishnavite while others are called Kaccha, just mud bank. group who established the order of ‘continuity Svaragadvara Ghat is the most famous ghat, and existence of organism’. Ayodhya was one where the pilgrims come for pilgrimage and of the famous cities and the first capital of the holy dip and perform other rituals. Other powerful Koshala among the 16 important ghats are situated on the eastern Mahajanapadas of ancient India (Kumar and and the western side of the bank. Every ghat Singh 2013: 7). possesses individual historical, mythological, The waterfront city of Ayodhya means that religious folk tales and spiritual importance. “which cannot be subdued by war” counted The riverfront also consists of sacred places like among the seven most sacred and abodes for monastic temples, ashrams, and chhavani salvation (Puris), and place of pilgrimage of the (encampment of monks). Every year on the India, is situated on 26º 46’ north to 26 º 49’ special occasion of Parikrama, pilgrims perform north latitude and 82 º 10’ east to 82º 16’ east the first ritual of sacred bathing (snana), longitude in the Faizabad district (state of Uttar followed by pilgrimage (yatra) to the Pradesh) on the right bank of the river Sarayu Panchakroshi and Chaudahakroshi yatras from (Ghaghara) (Figure 1). various ghats of the Sarayu river. Figure 1: Location of Ayodhya-Faizabad Ayodhya: First/Overall Impression places for Hindus. According to both At the first impression, the city is most respondent dwellers and pilgrims, Ayodhya is frequently accepted as one of the most sacred the birthplace of Rama and also Hindu known Singh and Kumar. Space and Culture, India 2018, 5:3 Page | 16 as the city of Ramajanmabhumi (Table 1). The style mood and dealing of the priests there, a city consists of a great mass of sacredscapes continuous chain of people for taking holy dip, (sacred spots, sites and artefacts), the majority gurgle of the river and murmur of recitation of of which are linked to the riverfront. Such sacred mantras by devotees after taking holy unique places have become essential to the dip, the rituals at the ghats and in nearby lives of devout Hindus because of the temples, devotees’ facial expression of faith ‒ community use or symbolism associated with altogether make the riverfront landscape an their faith in the deep attachment. The overall unique scene in the ‘world of faith and rituals’ first impression of the dwellers and pilgrims is (cf. Kumar and Singh 2017). In other words, associated with the religious notion (sacred this whole arena may be called a distinct place of the pilgrimages) together with serene- faithscape, which has only to be understood scenic lofty ghats making the riverfront along with personal experience and faith because this the Sarayu River, and the conception of is not only scenic or traditional way, but also a sacredness (Rana and Singh 2011: 182). way for making themselves a connected to the The walk along the ghats, followed steps, sound spirit of ultimate reality.