Under President Droupadi Murmu, Rashtrapati Bhavan to Get ‘Tribal Gallery’ | Exclusive

India got its first tribal president in Droupadi Murmu last year.

Now, under Murmu, the Rashtrapati Bhavan will develop a ‘tribal gallery’ spread over 2200 sq feet to showcase tribal art and culture.

News18 has accessed a document related to the plan which envisages the ‘tribal gallery’ on the basement of the Marble Museum.

“The tribal gallery can give the message of environment friendly and sustainable lifestyle practices of tribal communities. Rashtrapati Bhavan, which is the home of the President of the world’s largest democracy, is the apt place to showcase the contemporary narrative of the diverse tribal communities of India,” the document mentions.

Murmu took over as the 15th President of the country last July and is the first President of the country from the tribal community. She hails from a small village, Uparbeda in Odisha, and worked as a teacher before joining politics.

THE DESIGN

The proposed gallery will showcase rich diversity of tribal heritage, culture and lifestyle along with the role of Murmu in uplifting it. It will also focus on the various achievements attained over the year (in Murmu’s tenure so far) in the field of tribal life and culture and reflect the cultural identity, aspiration and struggle for proper representation by the tribal people of the country.

“Ideally, the gallery should also showcase the contribution of tribal people to freedom movement and post-independence development activities undertaken for tribal people,” the document says.

The conceptualization of the gallery and the research would be done over the next couple of months and a space layout plan will be drawn up. There will be exhibition areas, galleries, interactive zones, information desks, seating areas and other facilities. Visually captivating and informative displays will be created along with placements of artifacts, art work and interactive exhibits.

Audio-visual and multimedia elements will also be used to enhance the visitor experience, including touch screens, audio guides, video presentations and immersive audio-visual installations. Natural and artificial lighting will be used to enhance the visual impact of the displays while preserving the integrity and longevity of sensitive artefacts.