Kolkata: The historic Belvedere House at the National Library is set to open a new chapter in India’s cultural landscape with the inauguration of the first-of-its kind museum on Indian languages — Museum of Word — also known as Shabdalok, on July 19. Home minister Amit Shah is scheduled to inaugurate the museum as the chief guest along with Union culture minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat.Conceived as a space dedicated to India’s multilingual heritage after the announcement by PM Narendra Modi in 2020, the museum will chronicle the oral and written diversity of Indian languages, scripts and literature. Spread across the first floor and part of second floor of Belvedere House, the first phase of Shabdalok has been developed by the National Library under the aegis of culture ministry at a cost of Rs 14 crore. The total cost of the project is nearly Rs 41 crores, which includes extension of the museum to the ground floor, light and sound show on the facades.The Museum of Word will have nine galleries, each exploring specific facets of the history of languages and their cultural impact. More than a mere repository, the museum aims to be an immersive experience, engaging visitors in the multifaceted world of languages—from oral traditions and manuscripts to print and electronic texts and aspires to depict language as a living organism, shaping and being shaped by society.Out of the nine galleries, the first two galleries will focus on visitor’s experience on mother tongue and other languages and move towards exploring languages through interactive modules. The biggest gallery – Bhasha ki Samayrekha – will look into the growth of languages, scripts, language families and linguistic traditions. The other galleries seek to place language at the centre of India’s civilisational journey, presenting not only scripts and texts but also the many ways communities have preserved memory, knowledge and identity through sound, speech, performative cultures, symbols, inscriptions, paintings, printed works and holographic projection of navrasa. The museum will also chronicle the history of printing, the library movement in the country, with emphasis on the National Library and honour the legends of each language.“Original artefacts such as copper plates with inscriptions belonging from the 11th century and 14th century, Ragini Asavari painting (18th century) from Indian Museum, manuscripts of Hitopadeśa, Inshā-i-Ghālib, Prithviraja Rasau from the Asiatic Society and stamps and books from the Victoria Memorial will be displayed at the museum along with rare publications and manuscripts belonging to the National Library, like Samachar Darpan, Arunodoi, Khawarnamah and Tibetan Xylograph,” said an official, adding, “Other exhibits will include replicas of Harappan seals, old coins, manuscripts, masks, puppets, old letterhead printing machine along with interactive games,” said a source.While the National Council for Science Museums (NCSM) has helped to make the museum digitally more interactive with the help of augmented and virtual reality tools, graphic walls, audio and visuals, the Development and Research Organisation for Nature, Arts and Heritage (DRONAH) did the planning, designing and curation of galleries.NCSM, which operates major public institutions in Kolkata, including Science City and the Birla Industrial & Technological Museum, will look after facility management and operations. NCSM acting director general K S Murali said the council would take forward the second and third phases of the project. “Phase 2 will consist of introducing a light and sound show to be projected on the building and development of a cafeteria. Phase 3 will be extending the museum to the basement,” he said.The planned light and sound show is expected to use Belvedere House itself as a projection surface, adding an evening attraction to the museum experience. The cafeteria will be developed as part of the visitor facilities in the next phase. Tickets will be introduced for entry to the museum as well as for the light and sound show. Students will be able to enter at a concessional rate.
