When I was in school, summer equated to vacations. I continue to be amused by how minutes into touching base at our destination, we’d begin the scramble to locate the best (and nearest) museum. Apparently, the best way to gauge a city was to befriend its history.
That lesson still holds me in good stead. History gives you the cultural liberty to draw links between the past and the present. This summer, here’s your chance to gift your child the same through these activities.
1. Museum on Wheels, Maharashtra, Goa, Gujarat, Karnataka and Telangana
“If you cannot come to the museum, the museum will come to you,” promises the Citi-CSMVS Museum on Wheels website. Two large, air-conditioned, state-of-the-art buses have been transformed into ‘travelling exhibitions’, taking the magic of museums to the interiors of Maharashtra, and its neighbouring states.
Children at the destination institution are taught about heritage, arts and sciences through the artefacts, replicas, models and dioramas in the buses. The audio-visual material is a window into the country’s chequered past, while interactive demo kits and arts and crafts activities ensure all learning is hands-on.
Book your experience here.
2. Jail Heritage Tour, Goa
During Goa’s freedom struggle, anyone subverting the Portuguese rule was sentenced to a part of the Fort Aguada, which essayed the role of a prison complex following an order by former Portuguese dictator Antonio Salazar. In 1961, after ‘Operation Vijay’, Goa was freed from Portuguese dominion and in 2015, Fort Aguada stopped being a jail.
Now people flock to it for its history. The 400-year-old structure is home to an interactive museum. Learning about the Portuguese rule doesn’t need to be confined to a textbook anymore, let your child witness it in the flesh at Fort Aguada. The heritage tour includes a walk through the former kitchens and prison cells.
Book your experience here.
3. Bicycle tour, Kolkata
What’s more enjoyable than cycling? When cycling becomes a history lesson. Kolkata, like many cities, continues to be monogrammed with imprints of its colonial past. Calcutta Walks conducts bicycle tours, covering areas of Chowringhee, Dalhousie Square and the bazaars (markets). They even make their way through White Town and Black Town, names borrowed from the racial composition of the city during the time of British rule.
The Indians lived in Black Town, while the British administrators lived in White Town. Make your way through the riverside, and even feast on some fun foods, while you listen to their cultural history.
Book your experience here.
4. Nandi Durg, Bengaluru
The children of the Sparkling Mindz Global School look forward to Sundays. It means they get to conduct heritage walks across the city. Their principal Sreeja Iyer says the idea stemmed from her wanting them to discover the city beyond their present notions of it. “Football ground, apartment park, apartment friends, and school — this was all they could imagine when they thought about Bengaluru,” she mentions.
The weekly heritage walks are held on the third Sunday of every month and are open to everyone. “These walks offer a chance to rediscover Bengaluru’s hidden heritage through landmarks like Ulsoor Lake, Cubbon Park, Nandi Durg, Someshwara Temple, and Malleshwaram area. They have even prepared treasure cues to make the experience more engaging, and taken the lead in getting all this done,” Sreeja explains. A closer look at the school’s curriculum suggests that impact forms its nucleus. The students are encouraged to ideate possible solutions to Bengaluru’s water crises and discuss better urban planning.
Book your experience here.
5. Understanding the Nizams, Hyderabad
The British Residency in Hyderabad was the seat of the colonial power in the city. This summer, take your child on a heritage walk that backtracks into the Nizam era. Visit the Nizams for tea at the Palladian-style kothi (bungalow) which dates back to the 19th century. In its heyday, it stood witness to important events during the freedom struggle.
The heritage walk takes you through the Begum’s gardens, the courtyards and the rooms, allowing you to admire the artefacts. The most famous story revolves around British soldier Kirkpatrick and Nizam’s niece Khair-un-Nissa. In 1800, James Achilles Kirkpatrick fell in love with her and married her, going on to adopt Mughal clothes and ways of living. Eventually, he became a double agent working against the East India Company.
Book your experience here.
6. Visit Ghalib’s residence in Delhi
You can sing the wonders of Mirza Ghalib all you want, but your children need to experience his legacy for themselves. They can do this at his residence, gifted to Ghalib by a physician admirer. It has become a pilgrimage site for his fans. The tour then heads to the National Museum in New Delhi — one of the most iconic institutions of Modern India, established in 1949, followed by Dariba Kalan (known as the ‘Street of the Incomparable Pearl’), a 17th-century market famous for its jewellery and perfumes. Discover the secrets of Ballimaran Street, once home to boatmen and hakims (traditional physicians).
Book your experience here.
7. Explore the mysteries of Fort, Mumbai
Before the dreamers gave way to developers, Churchgate in Mumbai had a very different facade. The Fort area borrows its name from being an actual fort with a moat around it. This customised tour for children explains the story. “We cross the moat to enter inside the Fort of Bombay and wander around its streets, understanding how the city began, ending at the spot that’s the birthplace of the city,” the tour promises.
Also included is a visit to iconic spots in South Bombay and a detailed explanation of how the city was conceived into its present form by the architects of fate.
Book your experience here.
Edited by Megha Chowdhury
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