INTACH being the primary institute for heritage conservation and awareness always felt the need
to work towards connecting the underprivileged with the city and one of the most important step is to create sense of place to make city’s culture accessible to them. So the UNESCO’s call to popularise heritage through ‘make heritage fun’ had given a right opportunity to reach one step ahead towards this objective. INTACH extended their helping hand to a NGO named Maya foundation who are working mostly for the women folk in various economically backward areas of Kolkata. In today’s programme around thirty plus girls under the age group of ten to fifteen were joined.
On arrival around 10.30 am they were assembled in the garden of the central courtyard of the Museum and briefly explained about this huge building and the fun they are going to enjoy shortly. To make them familiarise , they were allowed for an unrestricted move in the corridors of the ground floor where there numerous mediaeval period Indian art are displayed.�Now they came closer to museum objects and prompted with numerous questions. These were�nicely replied by Swata Mukherjee , the tour guide provided by the Museum authority. Keeping the natural interest of the kids in view they were next brought to Zoological section. The huge room with equally massive specimens made them spellbound. The hot spot became the crocodile who ate number of women folk and their ornaments were recovered from his stomach!!
To give a brief idea about human evolution , they were now brought to Evolution gallery where pre-historic men prepared tools, controlled fire and adapt to hunting and agriculture. Thereafter, the guide moved them to the Gallery of vertebrate fossils called as ‘Siwalik time. Then their guide Swata took them to the first-floor corridor to get a feel of the sculptures of three great religions to explain ‘ unity under diversity’. The huge staircase made them just awestruck.
Now they are brought near the Egyptian antiquity . The star attraction of the room is mummy.
Initially there were some mixed feeling to go close to the glass box and the nearness to the skeleton!! All these visits took more than two hours and clock struck around 1pm. Now it is the time for back home. Our guide Swata handed over pamphlet to all of them to carry home and read during their leisure time. It was now time for return.
Again they all fall in line to board on the bus . A group of minds bubbling with questions which
We will have to answer not only for their benefit but also to protect our glorious past in the safe hands of the future.
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