Shared Heritage Of Kerala And Netherlands - Dutch Culture

March 17, 2019, 6:30:00 PM

Millennia of cultural exchange, colonial history, and a mysterious sunken city provide a fertile basis for India’s largest-ever heritage conservation plan: the Muziris Heritage Project. What does it entail and what is the Dutch connection to it, both in the past and in the future? In recent years, the Kerala government has established an ambitious and comprehensive approach to not only explore and recover evidence of the lost port of Muziris, but also to portray the rich cultural past of the coastal region.

Simon de Leeuw, Researcher & Programme Maker of Dutch Culture magazine, interviews Benny Kuriakose on the Muziris Heritage Project and its heritage conservation plan, the latter of which connects the vast, shared heritage of the southern land to that of old Dutch trade culture and routes. This research-based article gives insight into the global outlook of the historic, ancient port city. Ultimately, the Muziris Heritage Project will be India’s biggest ever heritage conservation project, comprising close to thirty separate sites and museums and spanning a timeline of three thousand years of commercial activity.