A visit to a museum in the state will hereafter be an enlightening affair under well-trained guides who will take you back to the landmarks of history. Inspired by European models of museum tours, especially in Rome, the Museum of History and Heritage, an autonomous institution under the Department of Culture here, has trained a batch of guides, who will be drafted to the 11 archaeology museums in the state to begin with.
The professional guides in traditional attire will brief the visitors on the rare artefacts and documents in the state’s museums and explain their historical importance.
The concept is billed as the first of its kind in the country as only a licensing system for guides by ASI is in vogue.
The Museum of History and Heritage, which is also the nodal agency for all museums in the state, has trained the first batch consisting of 41 guides, including 21 women, under the museum guide training programme.
“The whole idea is to bring in a system wherein the value and heritage of innumerable collections treasured in various museums, including private ones, get a proper appraisal for the visitors. We have modelled it on the experience of Rome and other European nations,” said Dr S Raimon, director of Kerala Museum of History and Heritage.
The initiative is part of a programme with `75-lakh outlay sanctioned by the government a few months ago. It envisages a training costing `15-20,000 per person, plus a nine-month job on contract, with `12,000 monthly salary.
The project is the brainchild of Sajen Peter, Principal Secretary, Dept of Culture. “We’re trying to bring in some sort of professionalism in the area,” he said.
Among those who had undergone training were those with MBA ( Tourism Studies) and PG diploma in archaeology qualifications.
The classes were led by experts connected with archaeology and other related topics such as Dr M V Nair, Director of the National Museum Institute, who is heading the evaluation panel on the treasure trove of Sree Padmanabha temple, and Dr M G S Narayanan, noted historian.
A function will be held here on Wednesday to mark the successful conduct of the course and present the job offer letter.
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