On the occasion of 40th Foundation Day, the 12th Annual IGRMS Lecture was organised where renowned Prof. (Dr.) Amareswar Galla spoke on “Rethinking Museums and Indigenous Peoples” at Veethi Sankul Auditorium of Manav Sanmgrahalaya. The lecture was chaired by Prof. Jayanta Sengupta, Secretary, Victoria Memorial Hall, Kolkata. In his lecture, Prof Galla with the help of pictures explained the new museum movement and said “Museums across the world have been undergoing major transformations endeavouring to become more relevant, reflexive and engaged beyond the repositories and exhibitions”. Talking about the indigenous people he said “In search for relevance indigenous/ aboriginal are playing a major role in challenging the authority of the museum as the custodian of their voice and promoting through meaningful engagement to enable multiple voices”.
Museums all over the world are undergoing transformations to situate the Fist Voice of Indigenous Peoples. Some have succeeded to do so within the complexity of multiple voice and others continue to struggle with the legacies of colonial discourses.  This keynote address is a comparative study of musicological contexts from the Anglophone Commonwealth to the BRICS countries based on the speaker’s first hand work experiences.
Professor Amarewar Galla, Ph.D.: An alumnus of the Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, Amar is currently a Visiting Professor and International Curator at the Don Bosco Museum and University, Shillong, India; an Honorary Professor in the prestigious Global Change Institute at the University pf Queensland, Australia; and Founding Executive Director  of the International Institute for Inclusive Museum. His extensive publication record ranges from World Heritage: Benefits Beyond Borders, Cambridge University Press & UNESCO Publishing, 2012, to Heritage Curricula And Cultural Diversity, Prime Minister & Cabinet, Australia, 1993.
The evening’s cultural performance began with performance of renowned fusion band, ‘Tetseo Sisters’. They commenced their performance with a love songs lyrics ‘Aho Aa’. Next performance was a prayer song for all, where they prayed to child to lose his parents and no parents should lose their young children. Followed by a Hindi song ‘Jahaan pyaar ka ho mausam, jahaan  dilon ka ho sangam’. Later they performed songs like ‘ Ezhalilu’ and English number ‘What it feels like a girl. Tetseo sisters said goodbye to Bhopal with a dance number ‘O Rhosi’ and invited all to visit Nagaland. After the performance of Tetseo Sisters the artisans from various tribes performed traditional songs and dances, beginning with Sumi tribal dance. Followed by Warrior dance – Ao  tribe, Chakhesang tribe a song about girl who became a bird by magic, Horn bill dance and finally ‘Maku he Nangichi’  a Sangtam tribe folk dance.
The programme was coordinated by Shri Sandeep Sharma. On this occasion, Chief Secretary, Govt of Madhya Pradesh, Shri Anthony De Sa was also present.

Date: March 23, 2016