Time travel in your itinerary? Head to Kochi’s Muziris Heritage Project

In a few days from now, your travel itinerary to Kerala would have a destination that promises to transport you to around 3000 years back in history.  Nothing short of time travel, you will get to back-pack through the lanes of yore.

Muziris, for those came in late, is an ancient seaport in south-western India and is believed to have existed during the 1st century BC. The region in the modern day map is Kochi and its neughbourhood. So, if you have travelled to Kochi for the seas, synagogue, backwaters and pearl spot earlier, the next time you would book your tickets to travel through the hearty bylanes of history.

The Kerala government’s ambitious Muziris Heritage Project has already taken off, and at the centre of it all is architect Benny Kuriakose, who has been roped in by the state administration as conservation consultant. Actively Involved in the creation of the project master plan and its implementation, Kuriakose was recently quoted in an interview to The Hindu as saying that what his team intends to create is “a cultural pilgrimage through 3,000 years of Kerala’s history.”  Get set to be flabbergasted!

A massive initiative on 150 sq. km of space, the project would spend close to Rs 200 crore towards completion.  The Kerala Tourism department has termed the project as one that intends to conserve and to showcase the culture of 3000 years or more for posterity. Going by what the Kerala Tourism website says, “Muziris welcomes you to the cape of trade culture left behind by our ancestors from around the world. Reputed to be the ancient world’s greatest trading centre in the East this legendary seaport traded in everything from spices to precious stones with the Greeks, Romans and the rest of the world”.

That explains what is in store. A time travel back to the annals of history, the project would open before travelers from around the globe a large slice of Kerala’s history to taste and  digest. With an army of architects, engineers, historians, archaeologists, and bureaucrats fully dedicating their time and d intelligence so as to gift posterity with something grand, Benny Kuriakose leads the implementation of the plan by reconstructing, restoring and rebuilding the ancient port and the town around it.

The results are showing every passing day. As many as seven museums including the Paliyam Dutch Palace, Paliyam Nalukettu, Kottayil Kovilakom Jewish Synagogue, Paravur Jewish Synagogue, Kesari Balakrishna Pillai Memorial Museum, Cherai Sahodaran Ayyappan Memorial Museum and Kunjikuttan Thamburan Convention Centre, have already been restored and rejuvenated.

These apart, forts, arts centres, boat jetties, shrines, markets and many more are now heading towards full restoration and beautification.  Kuriakose and his team have also roped in the collaboration of the US, French, the Dutch and the Danish so as to build Asia’s biggest maritime museum in Chitatukara on fifty acres of land. Another important initiative connected with the project is the launch of the Global Spice Route, which will get underway after ambassadors of 31 countries sit together and devise a global tour strategy.

The grand project owes its birth to Dr Thomas Isaac, former Minister for Finance. He mooted the idea of such an initiative in 2006, and the next year onwards efforts were on to make it a reality. Thus got rolling the project that would soon roll out the red carpet for travelers from around the globe to tread along the path of ancient history!

The Muziris Heritage Project will, in fact, witness the coming together of architecture and archeology to join hands with history. And when the three merge, Kerala’s own Kochi will open the doors to an experience hitherto unheard of.  The tale that will get narrated through the initiative will rekindle memories that embed in themselves a unique phenomenon that had coexistence and sharing as the main theme.

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