A museum based in Amritsar, Punjab, that curates the stories around the Partition of India in 1947 has made a virtual connect with a worldwide audience at a time when the doors to museums remain physically shut during the coronavirus pandemic.
It organised a first-ever live poetry open mic on Instagram with five young poets from Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Patiala as well as Italy participating and sharing their poems and inspirations behind them.
Not only that, throughout May, our museum has been actively?participating in talks, social media campaigns and has also created new content that caters to?our virtual audience, the museum said in a statement.
In an effort to engage with a global audience, the museum has also started a #HistoryAtHome mini videos initiative, which explore lesser known facts about cities, markets, and other places from Pre-Partition India. In Amritsar,katras(small localities) make up an integral part of the city's history and came into existence in the 18th century during the reign of?Maharaja Ranjit Singh.
The Partition Museum is situated in Katra Ahluwalia, which has its own unique history and among the mini histories being brought alive.
The Partition of 1947 considerably impacted the food culture of the region. With the influx of refugees came new food traditions, flavours, and techniques.
The museum explains: A central example of this phenomenon was Delhi, whose Shahjahanabad-influenced Mughlai cuisine was replaced with the bolder flavours, gravies, and Tandoor from West Punjab.
In Maharashtra and Gujarat, Sindhi-Hindu refugees introduced lip-smacking papads (crispy flatbread), which have now become a household item. The influx of refugees also introduced a Dhaba (street food) culture in the subcontinent with many refugees setting up food establishments for survival.
The museum's new #PartitionFoodTales effort is aimed at exploring these and many other food memories to connect a new generation with their history.
The museum, a winner of the India Global Award for Media, Arts and Culture in the past, was created as the world's first memorial to the Partition one of the most defining events in the history of the Indian subcontinent. It was set up by the Arts and Cultural Heritage Trust with the primary goal to open and operate a world-class museum and memorial to what has been referred to as the largest mass migration in human history.
A country should never forget the lessons of the past. In forgetting lies the possibility of making the same mistakes again,'says Lady Kishwar Desai, UK-based author and Founder of the?Partition?Museum.