CM to open Telugu Heritage Museum

The heritage museum captures in 42 episodes the heights of Telugu culture, the contribution of great poets, saint-composers, folk arts and the creations.

A view of the Telugu Samskrutika Niketanam atop Kailasagiri in Visakhapatnam. —PHOTO: K.R. DEEPAK

Ten years after being conceptualised, Telugu Samskrutika Niketanam, showcasing the glory of Telugu culture and heritage right from the time of Satavahanas, has become a reality.

The niketanam, atop Kailasagiri amid picturesque surroundings and developed by World Telugu Federation and Visakhapatnam Urban Development Authority, will be inaugurated by Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on Thursday.

The heritage museum captures in 42 episodes the heights of Telugu culture, the contribution of great poets, saint-composers, folk arts and the creations of its famed artisans and weavers.

Noted film art director Thota Tarani created the episodes in Plaster of Paris. The episodes will be narrated in a sound-and-light show with the audience in a revolving seating arrangement.

WTF describes the niketanam as a treasure trove of beauty making real every Telugu person’s dream.

Located on five acres of land, the cost of the project was estimated at Rs. 5 crore in 2005 with WTF contributing Rs.3.8 lakh and VUDA Rs.1.2 lakh.

However, the cost was later revised to Rs.12.75 crore excluding the land cost of Rs.48.4 crore.

VUDA has spent Rs.4.43 crore and WTF Rs.6.27 crore, with contributions amounting to Rs.4.25 crore and Rs.2 crore as advance from VUDA.