New Delhi: Don Bosco Centre for Indigenous Cultures in Shillong has featured among the top 10 museums in India in a recent survey.
The museum situated in Mawlai near Shillong is aimed at preserving and promoting indigenous cultures in India as well as other parts of the world and is a favourite tourist spot.
The centre also organises study and research on indigenous people in the North East.
Established in 2001, the Don Bosco Museum of Indigenous Cultures at DBCIC (Don Bosco Centre for Indigenous Cultures) is Asia’s largest Museum of Indigenous Cultures of its kind. In it the visitor can have an overview of the whole of North East India.
Rising into Shillong’s skyline the Museum is a seven storey building with 17 well laid out galleries containing artefacts, paintings, fibreglass figures brilliantly executed by Church Art Kolkata – a subsidiary of Lokenath Industries Kolkata.
“I have travelled extensively in Europe and South America in 1990s with founder director of DBCIC Dr Sebastian Karotemprel to study anthropological as well as indigenous culture museums,” says Kolkata based Church Art Company CEO Mr Subrata Ganguly.
Apart from its amazing galleries – all a feast to the eyes and a source of knowledge – Don Bosco Museum welcomes its visitors to have a breathtaking view of Shillong City from the Museum’s skywalk.
“[The museum is] a fascinating and informative collection of cultural and historical treasure of North-East India,” says Go UNESCO heritage writer Gaurav Abnesh Kulshrestha.
Kulshrestha does not hesitate to add, “I think this is the richest such treasure-house of this type anywhere in the world, exclusively displaying the heritage of the North-East of India.”
“The museum has a perfect blend of information with technology, with information screens, automatic lighting systems, etc. added to augment the experience of the visitors,” says DBCIC Director Dr Joseph Puthenpura.
Five Indian museums have featured among the best 25 in Asia with Leh’s ‘Hall of Fame’ topping the India list as a “must-visit” place by travellers in a survey. Darshan Museum (Pune), Don Bosco Centre for Indigenous Cultures (Shillong), Heritage Transport Museum (Taoru), Siddhagiri Museum (Kolhapur) and Gandhi Smriti (New Delhi) figure in the top 10 list for India.
TripAdvisor will honour the ranked museums with its Travellers’ Choice awards.
“The list was determined using an algorithm that took into account the quantity and quality of reviews and ratings for museums worldwide, gathered over a 12-month period,” it said.
“Museums provide a passageway into the history and culture of a place and the Travellers’ Choice awards are a ready reckoner for travellers keen to enrich their knowledge about the cities they travel to,” said Nikhil Ganju, the company’s country manager in India.