Did you know India’s first-ever food museum has come up in Tamil Nadu?
Who developed it?
The Food Corporation of India, in association with the Visvesvaraya Industrial and Technological Museum, Bengaluru, has set up the digital food museum in Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu, across an area of 1,860 sq ft and at a cost of about Rs 1.1 crore. Thanjavur, known as the rice bowl of the State, is also the birth place of the FCI, whose first office was inaugurated in the district in January 1965. The museum, located on the ground floor of the FCI’s regional office, also commemorates the FCI’s role in the production, preservation and distribution of food grains in the country. Union Minister Piyush Goyal virtually launched the museum on November 15, 2021.
Food for thought
The first food museum is a one-of-its-kind effort to depict India’s journey in food production from the beginning to the country becoming one of the dominant food producers in the world. The museum boasts state-of the-art exhibits which can be operated by visitors using projectors, touch screens, sensors, etc.
The museum showcases the history of farming and food storage within and outside the country. It traces the evolution of the early man from being hunter-gatherers foraging for food to establishing permanent settlements to cultivate food grains, marking the beginning of civilisation. The story of the first harvest, the rise of the villages, the evolution of granaries, and the perils posed by pests during storage, among other things, are covered.
The museum has on display the major grains, fruits, and vegetables grown in India, information on ancient grain storage methods and challenges, and sheds light on the food cultures existing in different parts of the world.
Picture Credit : Google
