Address at the Inauguration of the Purkhauti Muktangan Complex, Raipur, Chhattisgarh

Past meets the present and creates the future

I am happy to participate in the inauguration of Purkhauti Muktangan (Open Museum) which is being developed to present the close linkage between cultural and development strategies, forms and functions, life and the arts of the communities. This will enable demonstration of the contribution of communities in proper perspective of bio-cultural, bio-friendly history and natural wealth of the region.

Learning laboratory

This museum has a unique capability to bring the history of the people of Chhattisgarh in relation to nature and bio-diversity, and the homogenous way they lived with nature and with their tradition and traditional knowledge. In short any visitor or researcher can have a walk through in the museum and feel the dynamics of the people in relation to the bio-diversity and their traditions.

I find that the complex will also have a science park and a children?s park. This is an innovative concept and I would suggest both the parks be planned in such a way that the children can self learn many aspects through interactive exhibits. This will enable promotion of creativity among the children. The science park apart from depicting the story of the milky way, the solar system, earth, the geological time scale, life through ages, evolution of man should also have provision for multimedia walk through in which the students and teachers coming to the park can also create content and also suggest modification to the existing content.

Our Heritage

The museums are the mirrors that show our proud heritage. They reflect the way our ancestors lived, what they cherished and often what we miss. The museums remind us of what was erased from our life by newer technologies, newer languages and newer way of life. They are reminders of where we came from. They give us a great pleasure by satisfying our inner urge to see what we are missing in this ?modern world?. I understand that 90% of all of what we use in our daily life would have been invented only in the last 100 years. Those that have been invented several centuries ago and had formed the most cherished invention and have been extensively used by mankind in those days become the exhibits in the museum today. The intricate artwork, the painting, bronze statues, sculptures and many other expressions of the great talent of the man of yester years, the talents that were erased by the Industrialization are the ones that adorn the museum of today.

Lively Museum

When one enters the museum, a sense of inquisitiveness has to be created by the environment, which will make the visitor comfortable and feel great, enthusiastic and create a sense of pride, about the regional culture and it?s past. The exhibits must induce a sense of multifaceted personalities the way in which they view. The goodness of the museum must make the visitor to linger on the thoughts, which will ignite them, which will give them solace and peace in many directions and also spread it. It should be a serene, calm and clean atmosphere which will promote a feeling of divinity.

The visitor should be in a position to guide himself or herself to the specific area of his interest, rather than being driven by the predefined path. Present day technology can provide solution to this issue. Each and every gallery should equip with LCD Displays and multimedia presentations ? giving the salient features of that gallery, cultural impact, historical facts behind exhibits ? so that the message reaches the minds of the people and be a source of inspiration. The optimum mix of Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, Virtual Reality and Multimedia will provide dynamism and real time visualization. For example, a virtual walk through about Rashtrapati Bhavan, Moghul Garden, Herbal Garden, Bio-diversity is available in website. RB library has been digitized and the 9 million pages available in RB digital library (www.dli.ernet.in). We have a children art gallery and Kitchen museum established recently.

Remote viewing

We can even make it more interactive by customizing it in real time for any user who is willing to pay. For example, we can give the camera to a human guide at the museum the pictures will be relayed to a viewer?s home through the Internet. Looking at the picture, the user will direct the Guide to go closer to some pictures or objects that he likes to see more or ask questions which the guide will answer. We need such innovative techniques to make our museums reach every one, just in time in any place. Then we will have our culture and heritage sharable and make them bring joy to every one. The museum should leave permanent imprint in the minds of the visitors.

Transformation

Museum should provide life to the old culture. Museum should transform itself from the role of custodianship to entrepreneurship. This in turn will make the museum self sustained as well as help to propagate our cultural values to the world.

Purkhauti Muktangan should have joint collaboration with tribal studies departments of all the Chhattisgarh universities, industry as well as with the international marketing agencies. They should carry out research in specific areas and promote new products from the cultural heritage and traditional value systems. This effort in turn will promote cost effective production of these items. We should convert the tourism industry into a business proposition, for creating employment opportunities and national wealth generation.

In the past, we have been using the mud pots for cooking, drinking, storage etc., were widely used. Nowadays it has become an exhibit component of museums. With the advent of modern cooking vessels and utensils and methods, these items are lost its significance. Purkhauti Muktangan can propagate the thoughts of using the ancient utility value items like pots and revive the work for the artisans. When you display these kinds of olden utility items which were used in ancient days, we should bring out the goodness, benefits and the values of its usages, both from cost effectiveness; health considerations and pollution free bio degradable. I have seen in a village environment on how to treat water to make it potable using multiple earthen pots.

The tribal sculptures have beauty and significance. This phenomenon can be made use of by the Purkhauti Muktangan authorities by specially organizing the training programmes for artisans in the stone carving; bronze, metallic, terracotta sculpture making with the help of state and central governments, industries and academic institutions. This action will result in substantial business and employment opportunities for entrepreneurs and artisans of Chhattisgarh. The government must encourage export of these items. Also the government should establish Chhattisgarh Heritage centers in a number of towns to market the products of artisans and craftsmen of Chhattisgarh.

Conclusion

Purkhauti Muktangan is an integrated dynamic museum which will give the historical and advances continuously made by Chhattisgarh in culture, tradition and way of life. It should provide a platform for innovation, creativity, and propagate cultural values, and promote research and development towards enriching our ancient technologies blended with modern techniques. It should graduate from the custodian of ancient culture into a platform for disseminating cultural values across the world. This museum should also have exhibits envisioning an economically developed by 2015. In essence Purkhauti Muktangan should be a place where the past meets the present and creates the future.

With these words, I inaugurate Phase-I of the Purkhauti Muktangan and wish all the participants success in their mission of spreading the cultural traditions of Chhattisgarh to different parts of the state and the country.

May God Bless you.