As we see Manglauru creep towards modernization and technology, it looks like this historic city is leaving behind its culture and authenticity. The city is rich in historic values. There are many places which are considered to be treasures of the city. There are beautiful churches, temples, mosques, monuments and museums… but none seem to care about it anymore. These old beauties revealing the stories from our history are being somewhere being ignored.
One among those story teller buildings is the Bejai museum. The museum is an old bungalow which was converted to be a museum when it was handed over to the Government. It was built by Colonel V R Mirajkar for his beloved mother when he retired as a doctor from the army.
The museum has a stunning collection of the olden days of Indian history. There are coins, painting, statues, weapons and many more. The museum is a showcase of the Indian art, culture and traditions. Thus it adds up a lot to the touristic values of Mangaluru. Sadly, the museum seems so isolated. There are Mangalureans themselves who do not know about the existence of such a museum in Bejai. It is shameful, the way localities are unknown about it.
Apparently now a days people have limited the aspect of tourism to merely having fun. It no longer relates to any learning or knowledge about a particular place. May it's not just the fault of the people but also the style of living of today which is stressful and mechanical.
What we must concentrate on, is the fact that Mangaluru is a developing city and with projects likesmart city' the place seems to see a change within no time. But what matters is whether the smart city will make the people smart enough to realize the cultural heritage of our city or will it remain only the technology and luxury which will be considered important?
I fear, there will be a time when people will visit Mangaluru but for a reason that the city will be called theSmart city'. The technology and advancement might take over the historical prominence of the city.
The government must make enough efforts to not let the city ignore the beauty of tourist destinations which carry a lot from the history of our nation and culture. Along with the maintenance of the buildings the govt should also promote tourism of museums and monuments. The cultural heritage of the cities lies in them.
Just not the govt but the citizens of Mangaluru should also do their best of ability to preserve and encourage the youth to promote such elements which depict the value of art and culture in India. Mangaluru is our city and so are those building which have been side lined, but they do deserve better.
Besides making the city smart, let us all become smart and see towards the betterment of the city in all aspects. The city has done its bit by making us proud Mangalureans; now let's do our bit to keep it up.
Madhulika Karanth is pursuing post graduation in mass communication and journalism at Nitte Institute of Communication.
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