Ayodhya: The Imageability and Perceptions of Cultural Landscapes

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.

Students’ spatial thinking toward the school environment in Indonesia

“…This mirrors the opinion of Bell et al (2001), saying that the cognitive map is a sketch of the individual environment through a series of experiences. In addition, cognitive maps are the main component in humans to be able to adapt to their environment and become the basis for determining and implementing various plans on individual spatial behaviour (Quintana & Holahan, 1992;Singh & Kumar, 2018) and spatial thinking knowledge (Wakabayashi & Ishikawa, 2011).…”

WhatsApp and Cell Phones Among Sex Workers in India: The Impact of ICT in the Banaras Red-Light District

“…In fact, against this background of religious architecture and “sacred scapes” (Singh & Kumar, 2018), the dancers, wearing makeup and dressed up for the occasion, use video calling as self-representation of an ideal self and a dazzling identity, from both the aesthetic and environmental points of view. Positioned within the sacred geography of the city and temples of Shiva at Manikarnika Ghat and Kajjat Pura, the girls self-direct and dramatize their identity against the background of popular music and seem to be finally rehabilitated thanks to the religious context, the spectacular choreographic, and scenographic effects.…”

Citra Ubud Bali Berdasarkan Peta Kognisi Masyarakat

“…Landmark-landmark wisata yang tersimpan dalam kognisi responden menunjukkan bagaimana Ubud telah dipandang sebagai kawasan wisata, dan sesuai dengan yang dikatakan oleh Nurjaya (2013) bahwa Ubud telah semakin berkembang menjadi kawasan wisata. Landmark yang menunjukkan citra lingkungannya sebagai kawasan wisata juga dapat ditemui pada kota-kota lain seperti Ayodhya (Singh & Kumar, 2018) dan Banaras (Rana & Singh, 2011) di India, sehingga landmark yang berkaitan dengan pariwisata menjadi salah satu elemen spasial yang mudah disimpan dalam kognisi masyarakat.…”

“…Konsep catuspatha, yang telah menjadi kepercayaan atau kearifan lokal, dapat menjadi salah satu topik yang diangkat untuk menjelaskan alasan mengapa perempatan Ubud dapat menghasilkan citra Ubud yang tertanam kuat di kognisi spasial responden. Seperti halnya pada kota Ayodhya (Singh & Kumar, 2018) dan Banaras (Rana & Singh, 2011) di India, sungai menjadi elemen spasial yang menjadi citra kota sekaligus menunjukkan kepercayaan masyarakat setempat, yaitu sungai sebagai elemen kota yang suci dan tempat untuk beribadah.…”

“…Oleh karena itu, Ubud pun memiliki dua citra yang kontras, yaitu kawasan yang masih memegang kuat budaya, yang banyak tergambar melalui perempatan dan Puri Ubud, serta citra sebagai kawasan wisata. Dua citra ini juga tergambar pada kota-kota seperti Ayodhya (Singh & Kumar, 2018) dan Banaras (Rana & Singh, 2011) di India, Jaipur (Jawaid dkk.,…”