Hyderabad: Having completed the long-awaited renovation works, the Nehru Centenary Tribal Museum, which showcases the rich culture and heritage of different tribal groups under one roof, is now sporting fresh look. The renovation works of the museum at Masab Tank in the city have been completed at an estimated budget of Rs 1.50 crore.

The one-of-its-kind museum in the State offers a sneak peek into the lives of Gond, Koya, Yerukala, Lambaba, Andh, Kolam, Chenchus, Konda Reddis and Thoti tribes and brings together their culture, food, lifestyle and beliefs and provides detailed information about the tribes in Telangana.

Marking the World Tribal Day on Sunday, Nehru Centenary Tribal Museum was formally inaugurated by Tribal Welfare Minister Satyavathi Rathod, Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar and TSWREIS Secretary RS Praveen Kumar.

Established in 2003, the tribal museum for long was in a neglected state with little prominence given to the tribal culture of Telangana. After the State bifurcation, officials realised that the museum hosted 70 per cent of the presentations from the AP with Telangana tribal traditions and heritage getting just about 30 per cent of space.

This prompted Tribal Welfare Department to write a letter to the Centre to release funds for revamping the museum. Sprawling in three floors over 20,000 sft, the revamp works began in 2017.

Museum Curator Dyavanapalli Satyanarayana said their objective was to preserve the art and culture of various tribes. The folklore, lifestyle, rituals and social customs of all indigenous tribes of the State have come under one roof, he said. “Lot of care was taken to retain the authenticity and richness of the tribal culture and traditions while carrying out the renovation works. We will display the content in the form of photo slides, audio and visual on particularly vulnerable tribal group in the ground floor,” he said.

Apart from huts, handicrafts, artefacts and 3D sculptures, the museum houses various galleries made of mud, bamboo, grass, and also portrays essentials such as agricultural tools and earthenware used by different tribal communities.

The walls are adorned with murals to resemble tribal ambience while an 80-seat amphitheater plays short films and videos on tribes to those visit the museum.

Now you can get handpicked stories from Telangana Today on Telegram everyday. Click the link to subscribe.

Click to follow Telangana Today Facebook page and Twitter .