Experiential museum to show Vadnagar’s cultural depth

GANDHINAGAR: Over the next four years, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s hometown of Vadnagar will get a new attraction — an experiential museum to give tourists a richer impression of the town’s 2,200-year heritage.
A site in the town will be exposed in multiple layers to display the accumulation of its cultural wealth.An elevator will take visitors on a glide across the strata of various eras: British/ Gaekwad, Mughal, Sultanate, Solanki, Post-Kshatrapa, Pre-Kshatrapa and pre-rampart.The pre-rampart period is believed to date back to 2nd century BC.
An artist’s impression of a part of the museum
The project is being rolled out by the Centre and the state government. The directorate of archaeology and museums, the Government of Gujarat, issued a request earlier this week for a proposal to design, develop, operate and transfer an ‘Archaeological Experiential Museum’ at Vadnagar.
R C Meena, the secretary of Gujarat’s youth, sports and cultural affairs department, confirmed the plan. “A global tender for the museum was issued recently,” he said. “We are hopeful of appointing a consultant for the project by Septemberend. The project is likely to start early next year.” He said the cost of the project will be calculated after the appointment of consultants and the completion of the project report. “The tender is only for the project report,” Meena said.
The remains of a Buddhist monastery
Senior state government officials said that the site is likely to draw inspiration from the Acropolis Museum in Athens, Greece, where visitors are able to see the exposed archaeological site through a glass barrier. A senior Gujarat official said that the site will be excavated by experts of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). The site selected for the project lies near Amba Ghat on the banks of Sharmistha Lake.
An open gallery will take visitors through various layers of excavation — throwing light on building materials, artefacts, and the history of the town. An adjoining site will house material excavated from the spot and an audio-visual gallery.
During his tenure as the chief minister of Gujarat, Modi had initiated excavations in the town, which resulted in the discovery of a Buddhist monastery. After he became the Prime Minister in 2014, the ASI’s excavations unearthed several built structures and artefacts.
Dr Y S Rawat, a former director of the state archaeology department, who had uncovered the monastery during excavations from 2005 to 2012, said: “Budding archaeologists will be inspired to see how the work is done, how history unfolds layer after layer.” Rawat said Vadnagar is one of the few towns in India that has remained at the same spot over two millennia.