When the California based Global Heritage Fund wanted to set up a 100,000 museum to show case the treasures of Indus Valley they asked Jonathan Mark Kenoyer to suggest a good location for it. Dr. Kenoyer told it had to be in Gujarat. This is because Gujarat has the largest number of Indus sites and Maharaja Sayajirao University in Baroda has the second largest collection of Indus artifacts in India.
The Indus Heritage Center will be established as a museum and research center and will take people back in time to experience the cities of Dholavira, Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro. Their goal is to build a Smithsonian style museum which will educate people about India’s cultural heritage and teach them more about Indus valley which was contemporaneous with the civilizations of Mesopotamia, Egypt, and early China.
Much
of this initial knowledge-exchange has been made possible by seed
funding given by Silicon Valley Indian Americans, Desai said. “There is
exciting, groundbreaking research going on, except, in the case of the
Indus Civilization, there hasn’t been enough attention to the subject
nationally or even in the subcontinent. Unlike Ancient Egypt, there is
a paucity of material on Indus for the common man. This idea aroused
the passion and sparked the interest of our founding sponsors.”The
time is ripe, Desai believes, for a museum such as the one planned.
“The Indus Civilization had an innovative, entrepreneurial,
international character,” she pointed out. “There are many unique
features to marvel at in the culture, and with the help of today’s
technology, it will be brought into the limelight.” Extensive media
coverage of India in recent years has also heightened public interest
in the subcontinent and its history, she added. “There’s a lot of
curiosity right now — it’s time to capture that momentum.” [Indian Americans Spearhead $15M Indus Valley Museum]
How much do they charge for a month’s stay there? Any season tickets? Discount on long-term tickets?