A rafter shoe depicting Hindu deities that will be on display at an exhibition at Napier Museum organised in connection with World Heritage Week from Saturday.
The Museums and Zoos department will observe World Heritage Week from November 19 to 25.
Aimed at creating awareness of culture and tradition, the week will be observed by the department with an array of programmes, including seminars and quiz for students, and a demonstration of the art of ‘kalamezhuthu’ and its songs.
On Saturday, S. Uma Maheswari will speak on ‘Heritage structures in Thiruvananthapuram’ at the Museum auditorium. On November 22, Preetha Nair, head of the Archaeology department, University of Kerala, will lead a seminar on ‘Kerala temples: a unification of simplicity and complexity.’
The next day, a quiz will be held for higher secondary and college students. On November 24, Keezhillam Unnikrishnan will give a demonstration on kalamezhuthu and song.
An exhibition of rafter shoes, preserved at the Napier Museum and belonging to the Ponmana temple in the erstwhile south Travancore, will be a highlight of the observance. These rafter shoes are examples of 13th and 14th century bronze and depict figures of Hindu gods and goddesses. The shoes are richly engraved with floral designs and each has a Vattezhuthu inscription.
For details of the week-long programmes, call 9495534375, 9496816672.