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Students take teachers on tour of Bhau Daji Lad museum
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Sheriff Indu Shahani organises programme to encourage academicians to get their students to visit 150-year-old museum
……EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
IT was history class at the Bhau Daji Lad museum on Wednesday. Only this time, it was the students who taught the teachers.
Thirty young amateur curators’ of HR College took a group of around 6070 teachers and principals of schools and colleges on a guided tour of the museum. Indu Shahani, sheriff of Mumbai, had organised the tour to “acquaint the academicians with the museum to enable them to share their experiences with their students and also to encourage them to get their students to visit” the 150-year-old museum. “When I first visited the museum, I was enamoured by the art and culture. I am also very happy with the restoration work. It was then that I decided to approach Minal and Niraj Bajaj (of the Jamnalal Bajaj Foundation which supported the restoration project along with Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai) with the idea of arranging visits for students. Students can do history projects on the museum or the history of Mumbai,” Shahani said. Tasneem Mehta, managing trustee of the museum and convener of Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) which undertook the restoration work, said, “There is no course that teaches young students about the art history and culture of the city. There are a few courses that are taught in abstraction and rely heavily on bookish knowledge. But to see the historical monuments, the objects is an experience that can be passed on to others.” Mehta added that it was important to impart pro fessional training to teachers who could then guide the students accordingly. Schools and colleges can send batches of 50 students at a time. Mehta plans to organise a few activities and interactive programmes for the students in the coming months. Seema Lendge, principal, Terana School, Navi Mumbai, said, “We can get students interested in learning about art, history and culture by getting them here. It will be beneficial for the students.” Shahani also elaborated on a heritage management course that she suggested Mehta to structure. “It will be a ten session-long certificate course that students can take up in their vacation.” Mehta also plans to start a programme for volunteers who can work as guides. Zaver Mistry of HR college said, “We were given one-day training by Tasneem Mehta who explained to us about the artefacts in the museum.We also had meetings following the training session.There are many who do not know about this museum. Through programmes like the one today, we are hopeful that more and more people will get interested.” URL: http://epaper.indianexpress.com/artMailDisp.aspx?article=13_03_2008_525_008&typ=1&pub=320 |