Free essays for Competitive Exams-Volunteer Guide Programme “Path Pradarshak” - An ambitious project of the national museum

Volunteer Guide Programme “Path Pradarshak” - An ambitious project of the national museum

The Indian art exhibition of 1947-48 in Burlington House, London, saw the largest ever collection of Indian relics put together from various museums of India. The success of this event paved the way for a second display of the same in the Rashtrapati Bhawan, New Delhi. And thus was born the National Museum, on August 15, 1949, inaugurated by Shri R.C. Rajagopalachari, the Governor-General of India.

On May 12, 1955, the foundation of the present building was laid by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, the Prime Minister of India. And in 1960, the first phase of the National Museum building was formally inaugurated.

Over the years, the museum has grown to include more exhibits, galleries and several self-sustaining and art-promoting resources including a conservation laboratory and a publication wing.

Furthering services to its over 2 lakh annual visitors, and in an effort to reach out and connect with the community, the National Museum has now embarked upon an ambitious new project – the Volunteer Guide Programme named “Path Pradarshak”. Its first batch of 30 guides has already started working as the official volunteer guides of the Museum after completing their training.

Broadly, the Programme aims at making the Museum visit more informative and transformational. Many of them look at a co-visitor with an enquiring face as if asking the other to explain an art-object. This programme has conceptualized to fulfill the requirement of the visitors. Many art lovers have a feeling to help others in appreciating this treasure and we encouraged them to participate in this programme.

“Path Pradarshak” is a highly ambitious as well as innovative initiative. It synthesizes two aspects. It first seeks to identify from amongst the art lovers such ones who are willing to devote some of their time to providing voluntary service and guide the Museum visitors. Secondly provides the selected ones with necessary understanding and training in various branches of art that would give them competence, as also due status to serve as such guides. In these duly trained art-lovers, the Museum visitors would find friendly guides serving the cause of art beyond money consideration.

The aim of the Volunteer Guide Programme (VGP) is to help the visitors to appreciate the treasures of the museum and to stimulate interest in them. The VGP is a general introductory tour, which will be of interest to the first time visitor to the Museum. The conducted tour will be of 90 minutes in duration, introducing the visitor to the highlights of the National Museum through a brief description of the galleries and 30 objects on display.

Some of the masterpieces included in the tour are Dancing Girl, Mohenjodaro Circa 2700 – 2000 B.C.; Asita visit to Suddhodana, Satavahana, Andhra Pradesh, 1^st – 2^ndcentury A.D., Standing Buddha, Gandhara, 2^nd century A.D.; Vishnu, Gupta, Mathura, 5^th century A.D.; Surya, Eastern Ganga, Konark Orissa, 13^th century, A.D.; MughalEmperor Shahjahan in the marriage procession of his eldest son Dara Shikoh, Awadh, Provincial Mughal, circa 1740 – 50 A.D.; Lamp, Ivory, Delhi, 20^th century A.D.; Buddha and the Six Monks, Wall Painting, Miran, 3^rd – 4^th century A.D., Cotton Coverlet, Golconda, Hyderabad, circa 1640 – 50 century; Shield of Maharana Sangram Singh – II, Udaipur, circa 1730 A.D. etc.

The National Museum has first time trained Volunteer Guides to guide the visitors at pre-fixed hours, with a specific tour route. On week days, there will be 2 tours - 10:30 am. to 12:00 noon; 2:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. and on Saturdays and Sundays there will be 4 tours 10:30 a.m. to 12:00 noon; 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.; 2:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. on week days (except Mondays).

The Programme has been enthusiastically received. In response to initial advertisement for the first batch of 30 trainees it had received 450 applications, most of them quite competent and each quite eager to serve the causes. The Museum plans to train in next few years voluntary guides in such number as would cover every visitor providing him with authentic information in regard to art-objects on display.

The training provided is partially academic and partially practical. The academic part was accomplished by the Curators of the Museum and for practical understanding of artifacts they were taken to galleries and reserve collections. Curators are also required to write appreciative notes for the script of the tour which were duly edited by the Director General, National Museum himself.

To the visitors and students in general, the scheme is bound to be a great boon and beneficial for them to enhance their knowledge of artifacts displayed in the Museum.