About Coastal Heritage Collective
The Coastal Heritage Collective(formerly known as Mangalore Heritage Group) began in early 2024 when a group of like-minded historians, architects, journalists, and educators met and decided to work together to raise awareness about the rich history of this city among its inhabitants and visitors. The group is best known for its public heritage walks conducted monthly since March 2024, through which we showcase various aspects related to architecture, art, places of worship, trade, nature, geology, food, and so on. CHC/MHG also organises talks, workshops, and other events related to the heritage of the Canara region and its settlers.
Who we are
Caroline Dsouza
Conservation Architect
Caroline D’Souza is a conservation architect, who graduated from School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi, and works at Srinivas Institute of Technology, Mangaluru. Her research interests lie in the trading networks and cross-cultural influences along India’s west coast, the cultural landscape of Tulunadu, as well as the evolution patterns of the port towns in the subcontinent. Her mentorship has won her department multiple heritage documentation awards.
Mervin Rosario
Coordination
Mervin Rosario is an engineer by qualification, a teacher by profession, a natural builder by interest, and a heritage enthusiast. He has been researching the archives for material about the history of Mangalore and is passionate about bringing that knowledge to the public. Mervin has a deep appreciation for traditional knowledge. Through his work, he aims to see how it could be applied in the modern context.
Deekshith Pai
Documentary Photographer
Deekshith R. Pai is a freelance documentary photographer, researcher, writer and designer with a primary interest in the development sector. Deekshith focuses on stories around communities, gender, livelihoods, and ecology. A film enthusiast, he also writes about films through various social lenses. Deekshith's current research project revolves around the bakeries of Mangalore region.
Nandita Jayaraj
Communications
Nandita Jayaraj is an independent journalist, primarily of science. She is interested in people, places and pasts. In 2016, she co-founded the feminist science multimedia platform TheLifeofScience.com which covers the research and journeys of underrepresented groups in Indian science. She is also an author of books such as Lab Hopping (2023) and The World That Mai Built (2021).
Deepika Upadhyaya
Research and Artwork
Deepika is a believer and practitioner of visual storytelling. Her spatial design studio Pinwheel Projects focuses on projects that delve into the relationship of spaces with people, memories and their cultural heritage. While studying Architecture and Historic Urban Environments from University College London, she critically examined the historic archives of the south-western coast of India to respond to the problems of the present, for a more equitable future.
Collaborators
Alan Machado (Prabhu)
Historian and Author
Alan Machado (Prabhu) is an engineer by profession, who has worked in Australia and the UK. An interest in the traumatic history of his family, most of it forgotten, led Alan onward through a long journey. In this time, he published books like Sarasvati’s Children and Slaves of Sultans. Alan’s work is the first serious attempt to explore the history of Mangalore’s Catholic community. Through his books, Alan explores the community’s life in Tulunadu.
Partha Rai
Architect
Partha is an architect by profession. He has travelled across the districts of Dakshina Kannada and Udupi to different Guthu houses, photo documented them and noted down oral stories of the houses. He has worked with Dutch researcher on his field visits to Guthu visits.