JOIN USCM to lay foundation stone for Konkani museum on April 21
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah will lay the foundation stone for the construction of Konkani Museum at Kalaangann in Shaktinagar on April 21.
Briefing mediapersons here, Mandd Sobhann Gurkar Eric Ozario said the world-class anthropological Konkani museum is promoted by Mandd Sobhann.
The museum will showcase the unique, rare, rich and diverse culture of Konkani-speaking people belonging to all religions, regions, communities and dialects of the world. The museum will come up on an one acre land adjacent to Kalaangann. The state government has allocated Rs 2.50 crore for the museum in its 2016-17 budget. The government has also promised to allocate Rs 2.50 crore for the museum in the next budget, he added.
Ozario said the project was started three years ago. With the help of donors, a sum of Rs 4 crore was raised for the museum. The money has been used for the purchase of a plot for the purpose. The project had received a fillip with 37 philanthropists donating money for buying the land. Those who donated Rs 3.5 lakh for a cent have been made the founder members of the museum. Those, who contributed money for purchasing three cents of land, have been made the founder directors of the museum.The total estimated cost of the project is Rs 30 crore, he stated.
About the museum
The foundation stone laying ceremony for the museum is an important milestone in the history of Konkani-speaking community.
Konkani is spoken by 42 different communities, including Catholics and Navayat Muslims. The culture, tradition, lifestyle, folklore of all the Konkani-speaking communities will be highlitghted in the museum in the form of paintings, statues, documentation, digital documentation, audio-visual format, he added.
Ozario said Mandd Sobhann received inspiration on the museum after looking at the Shillong Museum for North-eastern state tribes. The museum will be both educative and informative establishment, he added.
To raise Rs 30 crore for the project, Mandd Sobhann is planning to approach the Union government which has a provision for the setting up of museums, Unesco, Goa government and other funding agencies. The organisers want to complete the project in three years. The museum will not be just a house of artefacts highlighting culture and tradition, but will also be a research and documentation centre where research will be carried out, he said.
He said the museum will be set up under the expert guidance of museologist and anthropologist S R Sarkar of Kolkata.
The proposed museum will have galleries displaying Konkani artefacts, implements, instruments, costumes, ornaments, architecture, occupation and the like. It will have an exhibition hall, a Konkani bazar, a cafeteria, a conference hall, a library, an administrative and research wing, an audio visual theatre and other facilities, he added.