Ministry of Culture operates Museum Grant Scheme (MGS) & SPoCS for modification and modernization

Ministry of Culture operates two schemes namely Museum Grant Scheme (MGS) and Scheme for Promotion of Culture of Science (SPoCS), one of the components of which is development/modification of existing museums and modernization/upgradation of existing Science Cities/Science Centers/Innovation Hubs respectively.

These schemes aim to provide financial assistance to modernize/upgrade and create a congenial spatial setting for diverse exhibitions, galleries and visitors amenities in the existing Museums and Science Cities/Science Centers/Innovation Hubs. One of the components under Museum Grant Scheme is Digitization of Museum Collections which primarily focuses on digitization of museum collection.

During the last two years (2020-21 and 2021-22), 8 museums have been funded under Museum Grant Scheme for development/modernization of existing museums. Similarly, 13 Science Cities/Science Centers/Innovation Hubs have been funded under Scheme for Promotion of Culture of Science for modernization, renovation and improvement of existing facilities.

This reply was given by Minister of Culture, Tourism and Development of North Eastern Region Shri G. Kishan Reddy in Rajya Sabha today.

#thecommunique #tc #tcn #culture #ministryofculture #art #museum #lifestyle

Sanjay Leela Bhansali's music album: Know everything about director's masterpiece 'Sukoon'

Get ready to dive into the musical world of filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali. Bhansali's first-ever original music album 'Sukoon' is all set to be out on December 7.

Swati Bhat

Speaking about the same, Bhansali, who has composed music for his directorials such as Guzaarish, Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela and Gangubai Kathiawadi, said, "Two years in the making amidst the difficult times of covid, I found peace, quiet, and love while creating 'SUKOON' I hope you find the same while listening." This album brings together some of the phenomenal singers of the Industry and brings back the originals in the time of remakes. The album includes nine different songs which are sung by Rashid Khan, Shreya Ghoshal, Armaan Malik, Papon, Pratibha Baghel, Shail Hada, and Madhubanti Bagchi with the amalgamation of various music instruments from tablas, flute, guitars to sarangi, sitars and harmonium.

Vikram Mehra, managing director of music label Saregama India Ltd, said the company is not only excited but also proud for the association with Bhansali that undoubtedly surpasses any other."If perfection had a face, then it must be Sanjay Leela Bhansali, and once again it's evident through his labour of love 'SUKOON', a collection of 9 pieces of art in collaboration with the best of the singers from the industry," added Mehra. Meanwhile, on the directorial front, Bhansali will come up with 'Heera Mandi'.

The show will explore stories of courtesans and the hidden cultural reality of Heera Mandi, a dazzling district, during pre-independent India. It's a series about love, betrayal, succession and politics in the kothas and it promises Bhansali's trademark larger-than-life sets, multi-faceted characters and soulful compositions.

#thecommunique #tc #tcn #sanjayleelabhansali #art #music #entertainment #sukoon

Mummies with solid gold tongues discovered in Egypt!

Archaeologists in Egypt have found many ancient mummies with solid-gold tongues in their mouths.

The strange discovery was made when preserved corpses from 300 and 640 BCE were discovered at the Quweisna necropolis in the central Nile Delta, roughly 40 miles north of Cairo, as per the New York Post.

Experts investigating tombs at the site found several mummies with gold chips shaped like human tongues in their mouths, said Dr Mustafa Waziri, secretary-general of the Supreme Council for Archeology, in a press release, as quoted by New York Post. Experts say that during the embalming process, the deceased's real tongues were removed and replaced with a piece of gold mimicking the organ so that the deceased might communicate with Osiris, the ancient Egyptian "Lord of the Underworld."

Several mummies were discovered with gold on the bone immediately beneath the linen wraps used during the mummification process, according to Waziri. According to the New York Post, the mummies were in bad condition. At the ancient cemetery, gold chips fashioned into scarab beetles and lotus flowers were discovered, as well as funerary amulets, earthenware, glues and tar used in the embalming process, the remains of human-shaped wooden coffins, and several copper nails. The Quweisna necropolis was discovered in 1989, prompting multiple rounds of excavations over the next three decades, as per The Post. The golden-tongued mummies were uncovered in a freshly discovered extension of the cemetery, which housed cadavers from three separate historical periods. According to Dr Ayman Ashmawi, chairman of the Egyptian archaeology sector at the Supreme Council of Archeology, each burial level revealed evidence of different rites and methods of burying the mummies.

This is not the first time that expensive metal-encrusted mummies have been uncovered in Egypt.

According to a New York Post report, in 2021, archaeologists discovered a 2,000-year-old skull with a tongue-shaped gold chip in its gaping mouth at Taposiris Magna, a site near Alexandria known as the "Great Tomb of Osiris."

#thecommunique #tc #tcn #mummies #art #lifestyle #tomb