SHILLONG: 6th February 2005 -- Last year the State of Assam in North East India passed a milestone in that Catholics there were able to celebrate a centenary of the Faith.  In 2006 the Salesians will celebrate their centenary of presence in India.  The Don Bosco Centre for Indigenous Culture, Shillong, is not one hundred years old, but it is one place from which to view the faith, Salesian activity and of course the entire cultural panorama presented by North East India's seven states.

    Fr Joseph Puthenpurakal is currently the director of DBCIC and has suggested that austraLasia might like to feature the Centre.  Certainly.  With seven stories, 56,000 square feet of floor space and 15,154 square feet of display wall space, it ranks among the top 36 or so cultural centres of its kind in the Salesian world.  Museums/cultural centres in practice appear to be a significant aspect of the Salesian mission.  Not every province has one, but those who do have every right to proud of them.  Over a period of time the Italian Salesian Bulletin gave some room to each - not accessible, unfortunately, to those who do not read and understand Italian.

    Even in terms of design the DBCIC is startling: built in hexagonal shape, its seven floors represent the seven states of North East India.  The building rises to form a flame, expressing the reality that if cultures are understood well, they can form a communion of cultures for a better society.

    DBCIC contains seventeen galleries displaying cultural artefacts and paintings.  It offers study and research facilities throughout its specialised library of 10,000 volumes, a media hall and a conference hall.  It is frequented by school students and older research students and anthropologists, since this area of India is an anthropologist's paradise.  Tourists to Shillong also make a point of visiting, since it is one of the city's highlights.

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