India, Jan. 3 -- How does one protect and preserve heritage, in a country where the local temple idol likely predates Ancient Rome, churches still stand that are older than the United States, and people - everyday people - casually hold on to ancient heirlooms, artefacts, jewellery and more?

Websites and museums, memory projects and coffee-table books have helped.

Then, in May, the union ministry of culture launched the Har Ghar (Every Home) Museum initiative, in an attempt to document the artefacts preserved in homes across the country, and in the troves painstakingly put together by India's many collectors.

The programme was rolled out via the National Council of Science Museums (NCSM) in Kolkata. They have scanned hundreds of submit...