Spice route countries to meet in Delhi

Kochi, Sep 29 (IANS) Ambassadors of 31 countries will now attend a second round of meeting in Delhi in November to discuss the sharing of knowledge on ancient trade with Kerala for the Muziris Heritage Project, an official said on Thursday.

The ambassadors come from Asian, the Far East and European countries that once fell on the ancient spice route to India.

Benny Kuriakose, the architect behind the project, said that a lot of the materials related to this trade, such as maps, ancient accounts, paintings and artefacts were in other countries.

Speaking at the signature event of Kerala Tourism-the 9th edition of the KTM, Kuriakose said that the ambassadors would also discuss the sharing of knowledge they have with the Muziris initiative.

"We are already in agreement with three among the top world universities to share their digital knowledge," Kuriakose said.

The Muziris Heritage Project is the largest heritage conservation project in India, done solely as a state government initiative which involves the renovation of ancient places of worship, old markets and buildings and the construction of museums, while preserving and resuscitating community life and livelihoods.

Situated where ancient trading port called Muziris on Periyar river once stood in present day Kodungallur is a region that traded pepper and other goods and has been mentioned in the accounts of ancient Greece and Rome.

It was also the earliest site of Judaism, Christianity and Islam in the country. The ongoing project is scheduled for completion in ten years.

"Seven of the 27 museums approved in the master plan for the project are now open to the public. These are community museums set in old homes. This project, on which the Kerala government has now spent Rs 200 crore, aims to sustain the 30,000 traditional craftsmen of the region and promote water transport, added Kuriakose.

Art writer Aditi Anand spoke about how the preservation of history plays a very important role in promoting respect for our ancestors and also teaches us about who we were and our role in the world.

"The Muziris Heritage Project transports us back to 3,000 years of our lost history. This project, apart from tourism, tells us of a lost time when this land was cosmopolitan and how it contributed to the present cultural diversity of the city," said the Delhi-based writer.