Gangasagar Mela Museum

Mallinson Architects are working with Hydea, partners with Ghosh Boss and Associates and STUP in Kolkata for the World Banks Integrated Coastal Zone Development Project and West Bengal Governments's Sundarban Development Project to produce a museum and exhibition on the Gangasagar Mela and Sagar Island in the River Gangees where it meets the Bay of Bengal.

The annual festival attracts 500,000 people for bathing and visiting the temple of Kapila Muni, the founder of the Indian Samkya Philosophy, and is one of the most ancient pilgrim sites in India.

The site is regularly destroyed by monsoons, and the museum will help document the history and importance of the local narratives about the myth of the creation of the Gangees, as well as celebrate the local culture, traditions and life of the island. The environmental part of the project and the protection needed for the islanders from the cyclones will also be presented and the work that is being done to address these problems by the World Bank and West Bengal Government with the local people.

The focus on the project is to encourage year round eco-tourism to help support the local economy as well as provide education and entertainment for the multitude of pilgrims and visitors, who come from all over India for the festivals.

The project should be opened in January 2015, and finally completed in 2016. The exhibition is being developed with the assistance of the Indian Museum, the West Bengal Archaeological Museum, the West Bengal Nature Society, and the British Council's museum training initiative.