The Four Pillars of Delhi's Heritage

Four teenagers are mapping Indian history using technology to make it accessible to all

- By TEJ PRAKASH BHARDWAJ

When Arnav Vij, Aryan Bardeja, Vihaan Tampi and Karissa Gupta discovered that their school stood right next to a historic gurudwara-home to a large rock where Bhagat Singh once tested bombs ahead of the famous Central Legislative Assembly bombing in 1929-they were stunned. The realisation that they passed daily by a site of such historical importance moved the young history enthusiasts to do something about it. "It made us realise that in a culturally rich city like Delhi, there are countless lesser-known or hidden places with deep historical and cultural significance," says Vihaan. Thus was born WaPas or Walking Past-an app that guides users through historical monuments across Delhi-NCR. Developed by the four Class XII students of Noida's Shiv Nadar School, WaPas uses GPS and geotagging to help users rediscover the history they walk past every day, one notification at a time.