INTACH plans museums to showcase rural India

New Delhi: With a view to enabling tourists to get a glimpse of life in rural India, heritage body INTACH is planning to set up `village museums` in the country. For outsiders who have had no interface with rural India, the project, if implemented, will be a novel way of experiencing the "real India".

The Indian National Trust for Art, Culture and Heritage (INTACH) is working on the concept of `village museums` and is looking for suitable areas to set up such centres. "Such centres will depict the life in Indian villages and will be a showcase not only for foreign visitors but also for the urban Indians," S K Mishra, Chairman of INTACH, told reporters. Mishra said his organisation is in touch with an expert from the Philippines who has worked on such projects in many parts of the world, and has asked her to visit India to help the body on the project. "We have approached a Philippines-based expert who has worked in the area, not only in her own country but also in other parts of the world," he said. Mishra said INTACH has also tied up with international organisations for funding the projects. "We are keen on inviting here for some months the expert we have identified, to guide us and we have also tied up for funding for the projects," Mishra said. Yogendra Narain, Member Secretary, INTACH, said the body has already identified a site near Mathura, where they intend to set up the first such `village museum`. "As far as acquiring of the land, getting clearance and other issue are concerned, we are setting in motion the process. But, for now, this is really a pilot project," he said, adding the inspiration was drawn from a similar centre in Assam. As it turned 25, the heritage body is also aiming at expanding its presence to rural areas of the country and to double the number of its chapters to cover villages. INTACH currently has as many as 155 chapters but all are concentrated in urban areas. "We want to enrol members from villages for conservation work, and for this we are aiming at doubling the number of our chapters to at least 300 to 350 and establishing the fresh ones in villages," Mishra said. PTI