Delhi’s National Museum to start free guided tours

IANS/New Delhi

The pioneering voluntary guide programme will take visitors across the museum during the scheduled timings to not just highlight antiquities, but also kindle interest in knowing one’s heritage and understand one of the most ancient civilisations of the world.

“We have been doing a training module. It includes dry runs with a pool of 30 volunteers since late January. They have been gaining grip over subjects, improving communications skills over the past three months,” said Venu Vasudevan, director-general of the museum.

“It’s not the public’s fault if are generally apathetic to visiting museums. They should have a sense of ownership. This effort is designed to inculcate a feeling of ownership,” Venu said.

“The visitor can choose one’s timing by the guide’s language. Many of our volunteers are bilingual. More volunteers would be brought in on days of bulk bookings. We will later draft a smaller package with simpler script for schoolchildren,” he said.

“Catch them young is our motto as well.”

The museum website nationalmuseumindia.gov.in will publish details of the programme.

The “Path Pradarshak” programme will offer services in both English and Hindi. It would be inaugurated tomorrow 22 by Culture Minister Chandresh Kumari Katoch. From the next day, the tours will start at 10.30am and 2.30pm from Tuesdays to Fridays.

On Saturdays and Sundays, there will be four rounds: 10.30am, 11.30am, 2.30pm and 3.30pm, said V K Mathur, curator-education, who also heads a team tasked with running the programme without a break.