Emphasising the role of women in preserving the Punjabi language, regional dialects and folk traditions, the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH), Amritsar Chapter, organised a Heritage and Citizens Training Workshop at the General Manekshaw Conference Hall of Baba Aya Singh Riarki Public School, Amritsar. Around 60 women participated in the workshop, pledging to preserve vanishing Punjabi words, forgotten folk tales and oral traditions passed down through generations.Organised under the aegis of INTACH’s Heritage Education and Communication Service (HECS), New Delhi, and INTACH Punjab, the workshop focused on reconnecting communities with their cultural roots and encouraging citizens to become custodians of their heritage.The school’s Director of Education, Prof Manpreet Kaur, highlighted the mother’s role as a child’s first language teacher. She stressed lullabies, folk songs and stories shared at home lay the foundation for preserving the mother tongue.“We urge students to collect old words and folk tales from their grandmothers, strengthening the bond between homes and educational institutions. This basic, simple exercise is significant in fostering a curiosity towards learning mother tongue among young,” she said.The keynote speaker, Prof Naresh Kumar, Head of the Department of Punjabi and Dogri at Himachal Pradesh University, discussed the evolution of languages and regional dialects. He urged participants to document lesser-recorded linguistic traditions, particularly Dogri and Pothohari, warning that many expressions used by older generations could disappear without timely documentation. He also highlighted Punjabi’s rich literary heritage, including the verses of Baba Sheikh Farid.Historian Mintu Kumar revisited the fading tradition of storytelling by grandmothers, explaining how folk tales once helped children learn moral values, courage, patience and vocabulary. He suggested setting aside one evening each week for family storytelling and organising storytelling competitions in schools.Prof Gagandeep Kaur Nagra, a linguistic expert, traced the historical development of Majhi and standard Punjabi, emphasising the importance of regional accents and dialects. She said variations in pronunciation, vocabulary and everyday expressions — from the speech of Amritsar to that of Ludhiana and Jalandhar — were not signs of linguistic inferiority but reflected the region’s rich cultural history.Gagandeep Singh Virk, Convener of INTACH Amritsar Chapter, outlined ongoing efforts to document disappearing Punjabi words associated with agriculture, household objects, kinship, customs and food, alongside a historical compilation of forgotten folk tales. He stressed that language and oral traditions were as important to heritage conservation as historic buildings and monuments.