Virtual museums of South Asia

An impressive and useful web site introducing the Indian film maestro Satyajit Ray's films has been launched by the Satyajit Ray Film and Study Collection (Ray FASC) in Santa Cruz, Caldfornia, USA. This is a non-profit educational organization dedicated to the preservation and dissemination of Ray's cinematic, literary and artistic oeuvre, and iis organized as a Focused Research Activity in the Humanities and Arts Divisions of the University of California, Santa Cruz. Beginning with 26 August 2006 (coinciding with 51st anniversary of release of his maiden filmPather Panchali) the web site also feature video and audio clips from the films. Go to the web site.

The Tibetan Museum Society is a recently established non-profit association, dedicated to advocate museum exhibitions of Asian, mainly Buddhist, art and culture from ancient Mongolia and the Greater Himalayan Region (including India, Nepal and Bhutan). Through a broad range of programs and projects, the Society's two primary focuses are: 1) to provide financial support to selected museums that enrich the arts with display of historically significant representations of Buddhist culture and 2) to protect sacred, religious shrines, from which Buddhist art is gathered for public sale or display against removal without consent, artifacts of any kind. Delgermaa Dagva-Hatchell is the Executive Director of the Tibetan Museum Society, based in Alexandra, Virginia, USA. The web site provides on-line access to photos of museum exhibition items around the World, books and articles on relevant issues, and even an Himalayan Internet shop. 
Go to the Tibetan Museum Society’s web site.

UNESCO’s list of World Heritage 
Sites in South Asia

– now including the Nilgiri Railway in Tamil Nadu, added to the list in 2005 (see photo).
Since 2001, the non-profit organization WHTour.org has documented in panographies – 360-degree imaging – sites registered on the World Heritage list by UNESCO. The six South Asian countries that have sites on the list have already been covered in part or in full. 
Go to WHTour.org web site.

National Mission for Manuscripts (Namami), India

The National Mission for Manuscripts was established in February 2003, by the Ministry of Tourism and Culture,Government of India. An ambitious project in its programme and mandate, the Mission seeks to unearth and preserve the vast manuscript wealth of India. India possesses an estimate of five million manuscripts, probably the largest collection in the world. These cover a variety of themes, textures and aesthetics, scripts, languages, calligraphies, illuminations and illustrations. Together, they constitute the 'memory' of India's history, heritage and thought. These manuscripts lie scattered across the country and beyond, in numerous institutions as well as private collections, often unattended and undocumented. The National Mission for Manuscripts aims to locate, document, preserve and render these accessible – to connect India's past with its future, its memory with its aspirations. 

Nehru Memorial Museum & Library (NMML), India

The Nehru Memorial Museum & Library (NMML) in New Delhi, was established in the memory of Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru (1889–1964). It is an autonomous institution under the Ministry of Culture of the Government of India, Located in the majestic Teen Murti House, the official residence of the first Prime Minister of India, it has four major constituents namely, a Memorial 
Museum, a Library on modern India, a Centre for Contemporary Studies and a Planetarium. 

Hindustan Times 
Photo Gallery

South Asian photos of superb quality are now presented by the Indian newspaper Hindustan Times. The Gallery consists of around 50 new press images from different agencies, like the enclosed AP photo showing an Afghan getting his moustache shaved at Jalalabad on December 20, 2006.

All Pakistan Music Conference

Organisation founded by Hayat Ahmad Khan in 1959 for the promotion of classical music in Pakistan. Ever since its inception, it has been a constant source of inspiration for thousands of music lovers nationwide. Organises the APMC Lahore Annual Festival and many other concerts throughout the year. (Photo of Roshana Ara Begum performing at the 2007 APMC Festival).

ITC Sangeet Research Academy (ITC-SRA)

Since 1978 the Indian Tobacco Corporation (ITC Limited) runs the prestigeous ITC Sangeet Research Academy, with the objective of preserving and promoting Hindustani Classical Music. ITC-SRA is now also represented on the Internet with an impressive website full of information on ragas. It is possible to download musical samples and listen to them in the ”Music Room” provided for within the web site.