In the 2nd quarter of #projectinterpret, apart from the guided tours some new initiatives have taken root. These are:
Knowyourcity challenge: photographs are regularly uploaded on the VarnikaDesigns Instagram and Facebook accounts to quiz on some historical monuments/sites/buildings to help people connect to the architectural landmarks of a city. Most of us have passed these sites in our cities but not bothered to take a second look or maybe we just do not know much about them. This challenge attempts to orient people to observe more, pause, stare, look around, document and share their findings, making far flung destinations more Accessible. Isn’t that fun?
Connecting to the Youth: through classroom teaching, tours and workshops, pushing boundaries that limit ones thought and imagination – the key to Access – is crucial to this venture. Why deprive the young of the joys of discovery and imagination when we live integrated within our environment? Posts on these classes and workshops are now uploaded. Your comments and suggestions are invited to make them even more Accessible and enjoyable.
Guided Tours: the Museum visits were to the Reserve Bank of India’s Monetary Museum, Fort, Mumbai, and to the Discovery of India (DOI) exposition, Nehru Centre, Worli. Both were designed by the National Institute of Design (NID), Ahmedabad. I was fortunate to be the Researcher & Content Editor for the former and it had been a very rich, learning experience. This project had opened up the world of Design, Interpretation & Access in Museums to me.
After the RBI’s Monetary Museum visit, Suhani, 11.5 years, designed her own coin and Parth, 10 years, has an elaborate plan for his coin, hence it is WIP…
Jabarati Chandra, Corporate Lawyer, felt she was back in school at the Monetary Museum and, “…thoroughly enjoyed the morning tour of the monetary museum. Before this, i had no idea that there was such a museum in the city. The museum may be small but two hours well spent for a history buff…”
Vishal Shastri, Designer, Lord Cultural Resources, is ecstatic with the DOI:
“Drive an hour down town from Central Mumbai and you will reach an exclusive exposition, Discovery of India, nestled in a fancy beehive shaped building in Worli. Housing permanent display exhibits, it seeks to establish the triumphant identity of India. It traces the Indian civilisation and concurs of the nation right from the pre-historic times to the era of India’s post-independence, chronologically and creatively. Each section tells a story with static and dynamic exhibits, such as stills, thematic environmental recreations, dioramas, audio-visual exhibits, and immersive interactives.
My erstwhile colleague at Lord Cultural Resources and a good friend, Poulomi (a history buff at heart), took me on this flashback tour and it was truly thrilling to walk through a book with her.
What will you take away from the tour?
Did the textbooks in school teach you what the texture of a pre-historic cave look like? The exposition lets you rub your finger over the recreated cave while sifting through the information on hunter gatherers. Did you learn what the Vedic chants sound like, or how to decipher the Ashokan Brahmi script found on Ashokan edicts? Did you discover how the trades were practiced in medieval India, or you hummed and hawed in all-encompassing history classes and wrote a doo-doo about them in your school exams? If so, VarnikaDesign is the right match of the needles and yarn to knit the history of anything!” Thanks Vishal 😉
International Museum Day was celebrated with a special post on 3 enthusiastic Museum fans with their special insight into their favourite Museums.
The site visits were to Bandra Fort and the Amer Precinct at Jaipur.
In the next quarter, plans are on for Culinary Heritage workshops in Ahmedabad and Jaipur, several guided tours and continuation with the Museum Journey Map… watch this space!
VarnikaDesigns 
Leave a Reply