Heritage experts called for greater public involvement and collaboration with museums for heritage conservation.
At a round table event conducted at the Mysuru Rail Museum by the Mysuru Division of the South Western Railway to mark World Heritage Day 2024, it was suggested that citizens involvement through various activities be conducted through the concept of friends of museum which is prevalent in the west.
T.R. Raghunandan, a rail enthusiast and conservation expert of rail heritage and advisor for the National Rail Museum, New Delhi, said there was no dearth of well-meaning people who cherish heritage and it should be harnessed to the fullest and give the public a sense of ownership about heritage. Every successful museum in the world has strong linkages with public and there was no reason why it cannot be done at the Mysuru Rail Museum, he added.
Delving into the railway heritage and conservation efforts, Mr. Raghunandan reiterated the importance of retaining the originality of the rail artefacts during restoration. He pointed out that some of the liveries or colours of the steam locomotives on display were not original at all and said that attention to such minute details should adhere to make the rail museum truly world class.
N.S. Rangaraju of INTACH Mysuru called upon the railways to revive the project to conserve the old railway bridge across the Kabini near Nanjangud and promote it as a tourist attraction.
He said that a few members of the INTACH led by him had studied the structure and submitted a detailed project report including development of the Sujathapuram station given its historicity. Such an effort would boost heritage tourism of Mysuru, said Mr. Rangaraju.
He also dwelt on the different types of heritage including their classification as tangible and intangible and said that Mysuru was endowed with all of them. This included natural heritage and live heritage, cultural heritage, historical, archaeological, and built heritage, said Mr. Rangaraju. He also decried the tendency in India to scribble graffiti on heritage structures and said it was a violation of the conservation laws and punishable.
The theme of World Heritage Day 2024 was “Disasters and Conflicts through the Lens of the Venice Charter’’ and experts emphasised the importance of documenting heritage assets for preservation.
Shilpi Agarwal, Divisional Railway Manager, gave away the prizes to the winners of the drawing, painting, and quiz competition held to mark the occasion and underscored the museum’s commitment to promoting awareness and understanding of the importance of conserving heritage assets for future generations.
Architect D.S. Ramakrishna Rao, Dean, Mysore School of Architecture, E. Vijaya, Additional Divisional Railway Manager, and others were present.
