Attempts being made by Kerala to rekindle interest in the Spice Route project involving 31 countries come at a time when most countries are focussed only on their ancient history, conservation architect Benny Kuriakose, who played a key role in heritage conservation at Muziris, has said.
Speaking at a seminar organised here in connection with the ninth edition of the Kerala Travel Mart (KTM) on Thursday, he said that a meeting is expected to be convened in New Delhi in November where ambassadors of these 31 countries, which traded spices and other commodities with Kerala, will discuss the sharing of knowledge on their ancient trade with Kerala through the Muziris port, said to have been located near Kodungalloor.
“A lot of the materials related to this trade such as maps, ancient accounts, paintings and artefacts are in other countries, and this knowledge has to be shared. We have already got agreement with three top global universities to share their digital knowledge.”
Muziris is the largest heritage conservation project in India and is a State government initiative involving renovation of ancient places of worship, old markets, forts and the construction of museums.
Respect for ancestors
Art writer Aditi Anand spoke of how the preservation of history plays a very important role in promoting respect for our ancestors.
“It also teaches us about who we are and our role in the world. Muziris project speaks of how cosmopolitan the land was and how it contributed to the present cultural diversity of the region,” he said.
Hotelier Ajith Kumar made a presentation on the upcoming Jatayu Earth’s Centre project in Kollam, which bears the world’s largest bird sculpture. It is also an adventure spot.
Open to people
The three-day mart will conclude on Friday and members of the public will be allowed entry on the day.
As many as 265 stalls are featuring an array of products, packages and services offered by tourism entrepreneurs of Kerala.
They will discuss sharing of knowledge on their ancient trade with Kerala through Muziris port
Published - September 30, 2016 12:00 am IST
