This has been made possible by the inauguration of a food gallery at the Museum on Saturday. The gallery was inaugurated by Chief Secretary, PBO Warjri in the presence of Principal Secretary in charge of Forest and Environment department, MS Rao and Don Bosco Centre for Indigenous Culture (DBIC) director Fr Joseph Putherpuraka.
Speaking at the inaugural function, Fr Joseph said that the idea of opening the food gallery emerged after many of the foreign and domestic tourists who visited the museum inquired about the place where they could taste local cuisine.
“There is no eatery here which offers the various indigenous cuisines of the States of the region. So finally, we decided to come up with the proposal of setting up of a food gallery in the museum,” the DBIC director said adding that people can have better understanding of any culture through its food habits.
Fr Joseph informed that coming up with the food gallery was by no means an easy task since it required a new structure and substantial amount of funds.
The Rs 38 lakh project was completed with assistance from the Tourist department and Christ International School (CIS), Nongsder (Umiam).
“From the pork chops to bamboo shoot, the world-renowned raja mirchi – the hottest chilli ever from Nagaland, the less spicy cuisine of Mizoram, the fragrant wild rice or the zesty fish dishes of Manipur, the momos and noodles of Sikkim or Arunachal Pradesh, the masala fare of Tripura, the tangy flavours of Assamese cuisine, the tasty Jadoh and the famous tungrymbai of the Khasis, the wakpura of the Garos, all will be available in the food gallery,” Fr Joseph informed.
The museum authorities are hopeful that the new addition would increase the number of visitors to the museum.
Meanwhile, local entrepreneur Evan Embhahlang Sunn who will run the food gallery said that the aim of the eatery would be to provide people the feel of the various States of the region through the different cuisines.
Acclaimed as the finest museum in Asia on indigenous and tribal cultures, Don Bosco Museum is a must-visit tourist destination as it provides a snapshot glimpse of the rich and multi-coloured cultures, lifestyles, history and traditions of the indigenous peoples of the North East India.
Source: The Shillong Times
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