India, June 21 -- Kunal Ray's Museum of Goa will serve as an eye-opener for readers who think of museums as stuffy places with musty old cabinets and ancient artefacts bearing no relation to one's present-day. A biography of an institution called Museum of Goa (MOG) - constructed over 18 months on a plot of land at the Pilerne Industrial Estate in Saligao - and of its founding director, Subodh Kerkar, this book shows that museums can also be "workshops for ideas"; can be vibrant and participatory spaces that invite visitors to be co-creators of meaning and not just consumers of a collection. Interestingly, MOG is not just an acronym. The word means "love" in Konkani, which is the official language of Goa. This charming semantic coincidence is quite apt since the museum is a labour of love. Trips to museums in France, Portugal, the UK and US made Kerkar realise that his home state had no contemporary art museums. So, he built MOG. Kerkar's big career switch from medicine to art, emphasised by Ray in his narrative, speaks volumes about the former's passion for art. His work spans a wide range from drawings, paintings and photographs to installations, sculptures, performances, video and multimedia works. Without belabouring the point, the book nudges readers towards the realisation that medicine and art have something in common: a capacity to heal. This book is not a critical appraisal of Kerkar's body of work; it is meant to introduce children to his art. One of the works discussed here is a multimedia art installation titled Gandhi's Heart Sounds. Ray writes: "We see Gandhi's bust and hear his heartbeats. It is like having him among us, with us." Instead of using archival footage or photographs, ".the artist converted Gandhi's electrocardiogram to the sound of his beating heart." This would arouse the curiosity of children reading the book, and hopefully also give art teachers tips on how to make their classes more engaging. The book would not have been as much of a visual treat without the illustrations by Kerkar, who also holds the Mario Miranda Chair for Arts at Goa University. His art is rooted in Goan history and culture, and this book presents his desire to celebrate these aspects of his native land. Ray points out the recurrence of coconut trees in Kerkar's work and writes of his love of "drawing on logs of wood brought ashore by the sea". Photographs of fisherfolk and sculptures that incorporate oars and boats feature in his oeuvre. The museum itself is part of his larger artistic vision and has a cafe that serves traditional Goan snacks. Readers curious about the quieter aspects of Goa are likely to enjoy this book. It might also strike a chord with those who love walking on the beach by themselves or with loved ones. One beautiful illustration features a little Subodh holding his father and mentor Chandrakant Kerkar's hand as they stand on the beach and look out at the horizon. "Growing up, Subodh remembers going on a long walk along the beach with his father daily. Those walks brought him closer to his father and to the world of art," writes Ray. An important fact that this book mentions in passing but is worth highlighting is that Kerkar did not study art formally but learnt from visiting museums. With museums in India gradually waking up to the significance of outreach programmes targeted at schools, Museum of Goa is a reminder that museums must not only inform and educate but also encourage curiosity and play. That can happen only when children are allowed to ask questions instead of being told, like earlier generations of Indian students, to shut up and walk in single file....