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MUMBAI
IN HOLLAND
The“Tropenmuseum -Amsterdam” has tied up with Producer/Director
,Nameeta Premkumar Nair of Imagik Media Pvt.Ltd. from Mumbai
for a unique and innovative exhibition to be showcased for 2.5
years in Amsterdam on the city of Mumbai.
This museum is a children’s museum open even to visitors
throughout the world. But what makes this museum unique are
its exhibitions which showcase a country every 2.5 years through
its interactive style and authentic exhibits.
The museum is very famous for its unique exhibitions that
cover a cross section of cultures through their innovative
and interactive methods. Intensive research and thought goes
behind the exhibition. They try to recreate the flavour and
essence of the country/city thereby making the experience
for the visitors very real and truly unforgettable.
This year they have chosen the city of Mumbai and will bring
the city to life for 2.5 years in the museum. The exhibition
that will showcase all aspects of Mumbai will begin in September
2006.
The team from Holland was here for a period of 8 months working
with us on every minute detail from imagery to texture to
flavour of the city.
In order to understand the people of the city better we prepared
a questionnaire and asked all the people we met from the rich,
the famous, the street vendors to rag pickers,the zari makers
and leather craftsmen in dharavi,the agarbatti makers, the
rich businessmen.. everyone the same questions and formed
personal stories that will be narrated and shown in the museum.
Where do you come from? How long in
Bombay? How did you find your current work? Former work? How
much you earn? Description of a normal day. Travel hours.
Dreams and hope. Favourite God. Do you get protection of people?
Who is helping you and who do you help? If you have some extra
money, what will you do with it? What future job do you want
for your children. And for your self in a new life? What is
the status of your work, according to others and yourself?
Personal stories lead to detailed research and collection
of items that belonged to these people . From all over the
city things were collected and stored in godowns to be shipped
at a later date.From plastic buckets to steel trays , from
idols to taxis , from bindis to hoardings all these were carefully
picked and stored.
The museum now shipped back containers full of material which
are collectibles at the museum that are from original owners..like
scales from a raddiwaala shop, tyres from a bicycle shop,
wooden stalls from street vendors. In trying to create an
essence of the city we observed that hoardings form an integral
part of the cityscape and have added this element in the exhibition.
They have transported autorickshaws, taxis
bhel puri stalls, different material that will make up a train
compartment in the museum,idols of different Gods including
a huge 7 foot Ganesha idol specially made in Lalbaug.
They ate the food on streets and restaurants so they can teach
visitors there how to make bhelpuri or paani puri.They recorded
street sounds, sounds on a railway platform,sounds of cars
, sounds of street sellers so that they could sample them
and recreate the environment at the exhibition.
The kind of exhibitions they are known for are very physically
interactive. Guided by the staff, the children bring the exhibition
alive by activities, stories, role-playing, music, making
food, making things with their hands etc. With those objects
in a special setting (everything hands on) they bring personal
stories in the exhibition.
The museum has also released a book called “Star in
the City” that will soon be translated in English. As
a part of this project Imagik Media Pvt.Ltd. also recorded
a song with Asha Bhosle and shot a music video in order to
involve the aspect of Bollywood and recreate that in the exhibition.The
song is all about dreaming big and making it in the city of
Mumbai.In the exhibition the children become a part of this
music video clip and perform to the song “Thoomka Laga”
that has been sung by Asha Bhosle. As they perform it is captured
by cameras in the museum and edited on line at the same time
thus allowing the children to take back a piece of themselves
performing to the song in the music video clip.
Imagik Media is also working closely with the Netherlands
Consul General Hans Ramaker in making this exhibition a success.Mr.
Ramaker and Nameeta Nair were both present for the opening
of the exhibition which was held on a large scale and attended
by almost 900 people from Holland, the Surinam community in
Holland and press and news.
H.R.H Princess Maxima of Holland opened
the exhibition in the morning on on the 28th of September.
Exhibition opened on the 28th September
2006 in Amsterdam at the Tropenmuseum Junior and will run
for 2.5 years.
www.sterindestad.nl
www.sterindestad.nl/page
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