Parampara

A community-driven digital archive for preserving rural cultural heritage. Parampara connects traditions with the world through interactive maps, audio stories, visual galleries, and responsible tourism.

🌟 Features

Core Features

Cultural Mapping: Interactive map-based exploration of rural villages and their unique traditions
Audio Stories: Record and preserve oral histories from village elders
Visual Archive: Gallery of traditional crafts (Kantha, Madhubani, Dokra) with detailed descriptions
Heritage Paths: Curated guided journeys that connect stories and traditions across villages
Discovery Quest: Gamified learning with scavenger hunts and digital badges
AI Chat Interface: Talk to an AI curator about rural traditions and stories
Heritage Trails: Plan responsible visits, connect with local hosts, and support artisans
GPS Check-in: Physical-to-digital badges for village visits
Live Updates: Real-time posts from villages about festivals and events

Key Highlights

Heatmap Visualization: See cultural activity intensity across regions
Ambient Sounds: Immersive audio experience when exploring villages
Digital Passports: Track your cultural exploration journey
Responsible Travel Guide: Dos and Don'ts for respectful cultural visits

🚀 Getting Started

Prerequisites

Node.js (v14 or higher)
npm (Node Package Manager)

Installation

Clone or navigate to the project directory
```
cd Parampara
```
Install dependencies
```
npm install
```
Configure environment variables

Copy .env.example to .env and add your MapTiler API key (free at maptiler.com):
```
cp .env.example .env
```
```
PORT=3000
MAPTILER_KEY=your_key
```
The map page loads without a key and shows setup instructions. Add a MapTiler key to enable interactive map tiles, village markers, and heatmap overlays.
Start the server
```
npm start
```
For development with auto-reload:
```
npm run dev
```
Open your browser Navigate to http://localhost:3000

📁 Project Structure

Parampara/
├── server.js              # Express server and API routes
├── package.json           # Dependencies and scripts
├── README.md             # This file
└── public/               # Frontend files
    ├── index.html        # Home page
    ├── map.html          # Interactive map page
    ├── gallery.html      # Visual archive gallery
    ├── paths.html        # Heritage paths
    ├── quest.html        # Discovery quest
    ├── trails.html       # Heritage trails & local hosts
    ├── chat.html         # AI chat interface
    ├── styles/          # CSS stylesheets
    │   ├── main.css     # Main styles
    │   ├── map.css      # Map page styles
    │   ├── gallery.css  # Gallery styles
    │   ├── paths.css    # Paths styles
    │   ├── quest.css    # Quest styles
    │   ├── trails.css   # Trails styles
    │   └── chat.css     # Chat styles
    └── scripts/         # JavaScript files
        ├── main.js      # Home page logic
        ├── map.js       # Map functionality
        ├── gallery.js   # Gallery functionality
        ├── paths.js     # Paths functionality
        ├── quest.js     # Quest functionality
        ├── trails.js    # Trails functionality
        └── chat.js      # Chat functionality

🛠️ Tech Stack

Frontend: HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript (ES6+)
Backend: Node.js, Express.js
Mapping: MapLibre GL JS, MapTiler
Styling: Custom CSS with modern design principles

🎨 Features in Detail

1. Cultural Mapping

Explore villages on an interactive map. Click on markers to learn about traditions, festivals, and crafts. Toggle heatmap view to see cultural activity intensity.

2. Visual Archive

Browse and contribute to a gallery of traditional crafts. Each item includes descriptions, locations, and tags for easy discovery.

3. Heritage Paths

Follow curated journeys that tell a story. Paths connect multiple cultural items in a narrative sequence, complete with audio and images.

4. Discovery Quest

Engage in scavenger hunts to unlock digital badges. Complete objectives by exploring the archive and visiting villages.

5. Heritage Trails

Plan responsible visits to villages. Get contact information for local hosts, learn dos and don'ts, and find route information.

6. AI Chat

Ask questions about rural traditions, crafts, festivals, and stories. The AI curator draws from the archive to provide answers.

💡 How You Can Contribute?

Category	Description
✏️ Fix Typos	Improve writing and fix documentation errors
🎨 Design	Make it look better and prettier
📝 Content	Add new guides and tutorials
🐛 Bugs	Find and fix bugs in the code
💡 Ideas	Share awesome ideas for new features

🌐 Gallery API Reference

The visual gallery API retrieves cultural heritage items from the archive. It supports pagination, search, sorting, filtering, and request validation.

Endpoints

`GET /api/gallery`

Retrieves a paginated list of gallery items matching search and filter criteria.

Query Parameters

Parameter	Type	Required	Description	Validation
`page`	Integer	No	The page index to fetch (default: `1`).	Must be `> 0`.
`limit`	Integer	No	Number of items per page (default: `12`).	Must be `> 0` and `<= 100`.
`search`	String	No	Search term matching craft title, description, location, or tags.	Must be a string.
`craft`	String	No	Filter items matching the craft name.	Must be a string.
`state`	String	No	Filter items matching the state name (e.g. `Bihar`, `West Bengal`).	Must be a string.
`tag`	String	No	Filter items matching a specific tag (e.g. `embroidery`, `metalwork`).	Must be a string.
`sort`	String	No	Order of returned items.	One of: `latest` (newest first), `oldest`, `name` (A-Z), `name_desc` (Z-A).

Sample Request

GET /api/gallery?search=kantha&state=West Bengal&sort=latest&page=1&limit=2

Sample Success Response (200 OK)

{
  "success": true,
  "data": [
    {
      "id": "1",
      "title": "Kantha Embroidery Patterns",
      "type": "visual",
      "location": "Kantha Village, Bengal",
      "coordinates": [22.5726, 88.3639],
      "description": "Traditional Kantha embroidery using running stitch on layered vintage saris.",
      "tags": ["embroidery", "textile"],
      "year": 1950,
      "timestamp": "2026-07-05T11:23:20.000Z"
    }
  ],
  "pagination": {
    "page": 1,
    "limit": 2,
    "totalItems": 1,
    "totalPages": 1
  }
}

Sample Validation Error Response (400 Bad Request)

{
  "success": false,
  "message": "Page must be greater than 0"
}

📋 Submitting Your Changes

Step 1: Fork the repo

Step 2: Create a New Branch

git checkout -b feature/your-feature-name

Step 3: Make Your Changes

Implement your updates following project guidelines.

Step 4: Test Locally

Ensure everything works correctly before committing.

Step 5: Commit Your Work

git add .
git commit -m "Brief description of your changes"

Step 6: Push to GitHub

git push origin feature/your-feature-name

Step 7: Create a Pull Request

Go to GitHub and click "Create Pull Request". Done! 🚀

Read the Contributors Guide for detailed instructions.

⭐ Star the Repo!

If this project inspired you or helped in any way — do leave a ⭐
It keeps us going and growing!

📝 License

MIT License - feel free to use this project for learning and development.

🙏 Acknowledgments

Parampara is designed to preserve the rich cultural heritage of rural communities. Special thanks to all the communities and artisans who keep these traditions alive.

Preserving rural heritage, one story at a time.

Pri-21-coder/Parampara

README