The Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU) and Deccan College Post Graduate and Research Institute will mutually reveal a first-of-its-sort course in Quite a while on Buddist heritage and tourism. The colleges intend to build the notoriety of Buddhist legacy destinations like the Ajanta and Ellora caverns.
A week ago, a MoU was inked between the tops of the two organizations – Prof Nitin Karmalkar, Vice-Chancellor, SPPU and Prof Prasad Joshi, Vice-Chancellor (Acting) of Deccan College.
The one-and-a-half-year-long postgraduate certificate (PGD) course is special as it joins Buddhist legacy, history and culture with the tourism. The course will initiate from 2021 – 2022 and moves on from all staff are qualified to apply. The PGD degree will be granted by SPPU.
“Students will be required to undertake an entrance test where their knowledge on basic Buddhist literature, heritage sites, history and culture will be tested. The present course intake has been decided at 30, excluding foreign nationals,” said Prof Mahesh Deokar, head, Department of Pali at SPPU.
Buddhist Literature and Philosophical Heritage, History of Buddhism in Asia, Buddhist Virtual Art, Architecture of world Buddisht Heritage locales, Buddhist Pilgrimage and destinations in India, Living Buddhist Cultural Heritage, Fundamentals of Tourism, Tourism and Heritage Studies will be the expansive subjects covered during the three-semester program. Personnel from the Department of Pali, SPPU and visiting researchers from Deccan College will take the talks.
“We aim to introduce students to the history of Buddhism in India and Asia, its heritage and literature and also the world Buddhist heritage circuits with special focus on Indian sites. The Ajanta and Ellora caves are popular among visitors. But there are similar and equally magnificent Buddhist heritage sites in Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra which are not very well known even today,” said Dr Shrikant Ganvir, assistant professor in Ancient Indian History and Culture, at the Deccan College.
Tourism is probably the biggest boss both all around the world and in India. This course , specialists state, will be a stage for sprouting local area experts who can represent considerable authority in working at Buddhist legacy destinations in India and abroad.
“More often than not, tourists and visitors from Buddhist-majority countries like China, Japan, Sri Lanka and Thailand do not get to learn about Buddhism or its history when they visit Indian sites. Through internships and training in tourism management, we hope to prepare students for the tourism industry, especially for Buddhist heritage sites,” added Ganvir.
The two organizations plan to likewise offer involved preparing by orchestrating entry level positions and workshops.
“We are planning to bring industry experts and tie up with tourism sector departments of the government so that students get to learn on the job. This could include joining ongoing projects and field work to heritage sites,” said Deokar.
Disclaimer: The views, suggestions, and opinions expressed here are the sole responsibility of the experts. No Daily Pune journalist was involved in the writing and production of this article.
