Four museums have been
opened for public around Paravur and Chennamangalam
People can now learn about
the history and culture of a part of Kerala with the government opening four
museums on Sunday around Paravur and Chennamangalam.
The Kerala History Museum,
Lifestyle Museum, Kerala Jewish History Museum, and Jewish Lifestyle Museum
were opened under the Muziris Heritage Project.
The history museum has
been set up at the Paliam Kovilakam at Chennamangalam, about 30 km to the north
of Kochi, the lifestyle museum at the adjacent Paliam Nalukettu, Jewish history
museum at Paravur synagogue, and Jewish lifestyle museum at Chennamangalam
synagogue.
The four museums together
will present a comprehensive picture of the political and cultural history and
lifestyle of the region.
The Heritage Project would
be inaugurated after other facilities such as visitors’ centre, research
centres, and a boat service were put in place, said Tourism director S.
Harikishore, who inaugurated the museums.
The Muziris Heritage
Project, spearheaded by the Tourism Department, envisaged a group of heritage
and tourism plans around key historical monuments in North Paravur,
Kodungalloor, Chennamangalam, Pallippuram, Mala and other areas. A group of 25
museums proposed under the project would be strung together to give visitors a
tour of the history and lifestyle of the entire region. The project had also
proposed a boat service linking these sites to provide easy access to tourists.
The four museums opened on
Sunday are part of the larger plan put forward by the Heritage Project.
The Paliam Kovilakam was
the seat of the line of Paliath Achans, who were prime ministers of the
Maharajah of Cochin and wielded great power in the region from the 16 to the 19
centuries. The Paliath Achan once sheltered the Raja of Cochin, who fled to
Chennamangalam to escape the Portuguese atrocities, thus earning the home of
the Achan the title ‘Kovilakam.’ The two structures have been converted to
history and lifestyle museums with exhibits from the Paliam families and video
and touchscreen facilities to tell their story.
The Paravur and
Chennamangalam synagogues, which testify to the presence of Jews in Kerala
centuries ago, were both restored and fitted with new exhibits as part of the
Heritage Project.
Tourism Minister A.P.
Anilkumar said the State and Central governments had come together to protect
and showcase the culture of the region. Tourism secretary Suman Billa said the
project was following the standards for conservation set by UNESCO.
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