Dictionary definitions tell us that a museum is a place where heritage objects are displayed to the public. To me, they are a glimpse into the time and space that we are not a part of, an opportunity to interact with the past through what they have left behind for us. It is a time travel of its kind. The museum comes from the root word Muse. It traces its roots to 15th CE Florence where it was used to refer to collections of curious objects. Museums, as we know them now, would be first set up in Oxford in the late 17th CE. This article on Museums of India covers those that cover the diversity of the nation.
In India, the first museum came up in 1814 CE at Calcutta. It was simply called the Indian Museum. It continues to be one of the most loved museums in India with some of the best collections including the Buddhist stupas and railings from Bharhut.
Museums of India
Today museums keep popping up everywhere showcasing the grandeur of the past. The history of technology evolution, human stories, and micro-histories of all possible subjects. Sometimes they go overboard and create dioramas and virtual cities to showcase the living traditions. Museums are public spaces to step into the past and look at the future from a different lens.
Allow me to take you to some of the museums in India that give you an essence of India, as it was, as it evolved and it stands today.
National Museum, New Delhi – Must-visit Museums of India
By default, the National Museum is the national treasure of any country. In India, this national museum came up when the city of New Delhi came up as the new capital of the country in the early years of the 20th CE.
The National Museum, Delhi is one of my favorite museums in India for various reasons. It is home to the National Museum Institute which offers various courses in art appreciation and museology. It has some of the finest galleries and some absolutely exquisite artifacts. For example, the Harappa gallery here has the famous dancing girl from Harappa. Its Buddhist gallery has the relics of Buddha making it a place of pilgrimage for Buddhists. And it has some of the best Chola bronzes in the Chola Gallery.
The only museum that can match its Chola collection is the Government Museum at Egmore Chennai, where you can see a documentary on the making of these bronzes using the ancient lost wax method.
Miniature Gallery
My top recommendation here is the miniature gallery that has a collection of miniature paintings from across the country. From Pahadi in the hills to Deccan in the south and all possible schools of Rajputana in between. My favorite displays in this gallery are the old maps of sacred cities like Kashi listing all the temples one can visit there and depicting the pilgrimage paths.
Ancient jewelry collections in pure gold and precious stones can enchant anyone. Thankfully you can see some of it online – http://www.nationalmuseumindia.gov.in/en/photo-gallery/category/24. The decorative art gallery has exquisite pieces in wood, ivory, and metal. You need a couple of hours at each gallery of your interest. There are a lot of galleries to explore in this museum. It is almost like a visual walk through the history of India.
Website – http://www.nationalmuseumindia.gov.in/
Calico Museum of Textiles, Ahmedabad
India has always been known globally for its exquisite textiles. Especially cotton along with the dyeing techniques that brought vibrancy and variety to the textiles. Renowned art historian and philosopher Ananda Coomaraswamy had suggested Gautam Sarabhai set up this museum. It was inaugurated by the first prime minister of India.
Now the museum is housed in a heritage Haveli of the family, adding an aura of stepping into the past as soon as you step in. It also has a collection of Chola bronzes and Jain Art including manuscripts and miniature paintings. The second zone called Chauk displays collections of Royal art – be it tents, carpets, costumes, or furnishings. Between the two, it also captures the history of the textile trade in India through the displays of traded textiles.
You need to pre-book its guided tour. Arrive within the 15-minute window that they allow you to enter in. Then follow the guide, who is not obliged to be friendly. No bags, mobile phones, or photography of any kind is permitted.
Kunda Satyanarayana Kala Dhamam or Mythology Museum, Surendrapuri, Telangana
Located at the foothills of Yadagirigutta, about 60 kilometers northeast of Hyderabad, is a unique museum dedicated to the Itihasa-Purana stories of India. Kunda Satyanarayana thought of bringing all these places, along with all the stories from the epics and Puranas together with a goal to create an awareness about them. He named the place in memory of his son Surendra. Popularly, it is known as the Mythology Museum.
Larger than Life Murtis
This Museum has larger-than-life Murtis of deities that immediately remind you of their size with respect to your own. Once inside, you are in the world that is so beautifully described in our scriptures. There is a recreation of different Lokas as defined by scriptures like Vishnu Loka, Brahma Loka, Shiva Loka, Naga Loka, Indra Loka, Yama Loka, Naraka, Pataala. It is a recreation of the cosmos from Indian texts. My favorite recreation is Ganga at Haridwar, where it is believed to enter the realm of humans from the realm of Devatas.
You actually have to walk through the flowing water, as if you are crossing the river. Scenes from Ramayana and Mahabharata are elaborate.
Museum houses replicas of all the major temples across India. It is a great place to appreciate the diversity in temple architecture across the country.
To the best of my knowledge, it is one of its kind recreations of the Indian cosmos. You can spend a whole day walking through the museum walkways that are three kilometers long.
Bharat Kala Bhavan Museum, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi
Varanasi is the spiritual nerve center of India along with being an educational hub. So, no wonder that one of the earliest museums in the country was conceived in this city as part of Bharat Kala Parishad in 1920. There is a gallery dedicated to Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya – the founder of the university called Mahamana Gallery. You see a lot of hand-written letters and notes written by various Indian leaders during the independence struggle.
It highlights his life and times, an introduction to the great personality who designed the university campus using principles of Indian Vastu shastra. Newspapers and periodicals from the early 20th CE are a delight to read in this gallery, as is local literature by the likes of Munshi Prem Chand and Jayasi.
The City of Varanasi is celebrated through a display of masks used in the famous month-long Ram Leela of Ramnagar. There are maps, artifacts, and archival material which take you through the history of the city that dates back to Satyuga when Raja Harishchandra visited it from Ayodhya. Buddha gave his first sermon here and Jain Tirthankars were born here. Poet saints like weaver Kabir lived here. All these have a place in this gallery.
Textile Gallery
The textile gallery introduces you to all kinds of textiles in India – cotton, silk, wool, and blends of these, with myriad expressions using different weaves and patterns. Not to forget that Varanasi is one of the biggest silk-weaving hubs in India. The decorative art gallery is full of collections of medieval times. Sculpture Gallery brings you some of the finest from the Ganga Yamuna plains. Most of these are carved using Chunar stone that was found very close to Varanasi. Sarnath School of sculptures primarily used this stone for all its sculptures as did the famous Ashoka pillars.
The collection that stands out in my mind is the one that is in a vault and opens for a short period. It has vintage jewelry with miniature paintings, jade bowls, studded gold jewelry, coins, and musical instruments in silver.
You can easily spend half a day at the Bharat Kala Bhavan Museum. You can also visit the New Kashi Vishwanath temple on the BHU campus which has the tallest Shikhara of all the temples in India. Chech their Website.
Roerich Art Gallery, Naggar, Himachal Pradesh
Naggar was the erstwhile capital of the Kullu Kings and their palaces and royal temples continue to exist here. This was the final home of Russian artist and archeologist Nicholas Roerich. He was influenced by the Vedantic thoughts as spoken by Swami Vivekananda and Ramakrishna Paramahamsa as well as by Buddhism. The Himalayas influenced his work a lot, and he did explore the Himalayas as much as he could.
Kullu Kings
In 1962, his home at Naggar was converted into a museum and art gallery. You stand on the balcony and you can see the mighty Himalayas all around. The home is not without history. Before it came to Roerichs, it was the palace of Kullu Rajas, or the kings of Kullu. You can still see the Barsela and Sati or memorial stones in a part of the garden, neatly arranged for the visitors. These stones are a great source to admire the dressing styles of the region over time. One of the notable ones is with a woman wearing a Sari.
Brave Kings
Below an old tree is the Mutris of brave kings of Kullu riding their horses. One of them belongs to Guga Chauhan, considered the guardian of the valley, along with his sister Gugi Chauhan and comrade Narsingh. The legend goes that Guga’s head was severed in a battle but he continued to fight for three days after that. He is surrounded by many other Murtis of deities and sages. A priest duly worships them every morning and the signs of the same can be seen in this open-air temple below a tree.
The first floor of the double-story house is full of Himalayan landscapes painted by Roerich.
About 10 mins’ walk away is another gem called Uruswati or Himalayan Research Institute. It was a lab that researched archeology, botany, and zoology. Now, it is a precious library. I remember seeing fascinating stones here – from fossils to delicately sculpted ones. Uruswati Institute also has a lovely collection of traditional folk art from the Kullu region.
Unfortunately, no photography is allowed indoors.
Kala Bhoomi Odisha Crafts Museum, Bhubaneshwar – Museums of India to visit
Kala Bhoomi in the temple city of Bhubaneswar is a young museum that opened only in 2018 CE. It aims to create a lively place where visitors can interact with the art and the artists. Spread across 13 acres, the first thing that strikes you is the pleasant design that oozes the essence of the culture of Odisha. The gardens are well maintained, the walls full of tribal art, and the courtyards have an open-air display of tribal life and temple architecture.
Between its 8 galleries, you can see terracotta, paintings, stone carving, wood carving, metal crafts, tribal crafts, and handlooms. For the finest examples of stone sculptures, you have to see the stone gallery where the master craftsmen have chiseled emotions on stone. The same goes for wood carving which has its roots in wooden murtis of Jagannath, Subhadra, and Balbhadra at Puri.
Filigree work in Silver
What stands out in the collection of this museum is the delicate filigree work in silver. Cuttack, close to the city of Bhubaneswar and the erstwhile capital, is well known for this magical work. Besides jewelry you get to see the larger artifacts like sailboats, reminding us of the maritime history of the east coast of India. There are of course deities and other decorative items. It is unique art from the state and it should not be missed.
Another gallery that stands out is Farm Craft where the products are made from farm produce like bamboo, grass, or palm leaves.
Palm Leaf Paintings
We of course know about the famous palm leaves paintings of Odisha that tell the stories from Indian history in a nutshell by piercing the surface of palm leaf and filling it with black color. Here you can see the fine paintings on terracotta pots, or coconut shells or areca nuts, making them a great souvenir to pick up. It is one thing to see a finished piece and another to see it in making, it helps you appreciate the skill and the effort involved.
Odisha’s rich handloom heritage is proudly displayed with Sambalpuri Ikkat, Ganjams Bomkai, and tribal Kotpad Saris. There is a silk trail showcasing the indigenous silk varieties like Tussar and Eri.
Only mobile photography is allowed.
Urusvati Museum of Folklore, Shikhopur Village, Gurugram in Haryana
Culture as it is lived by the people on an everyday basis is folk culture. It reflects in the spaces we live in, the stories we pass on from generation to generation, on the patterns we weave on our textiles, or on our items of everyday use. Shows in our music and in our folk dances that are not performances but a collective expression of shared emotions. It is these local traditions that this museum dedicated to folklore puts a spotlight on.
Located just off the national highway connecting Delhi and Jaipur, this is technically in Sector 78 of Gurugram in the national capital region. The first thing that you notice here is the large terracotta tablets telling folk tales of the region, be it stories of Krishna, of kings, or love stories. Two walkways named Thandi Sadak meaning the cool road and Gul Gulfam allow you to take a walk on a tree-lined road, almost taking you to distant Kashmir where similar silver oak trees line the roads.
Sanjhi
Sanjhi is a form of Devi that is worshiped in parts of North India during Navratri. It is hardly known outside the families who practice it. For the first time, I saw a Sanjhi made traditionally using cow dung and clay on the walls of this museum. It was sheer nostalgia and somewhere the seed to write about it was born inside me and it finally took shape in the form of a book called Navaratri – When Devi Comes Home.
The two floors of the museum showcase various items like paintings, embroidery, jewelry, and household items that we now hardly use like perfume boxes or churning pots. Everything that was used in our day-to-day lives carried an element of culture. What I recommend looking out for is the Murtis or temples of local deities, usually made in wood. Each of them has a story to tell.
The most remarkable thing about the museum is its handwritten documentation in calligraphy. It adds a personal touch and also keeps alive the art of calligraphy in a useful way.
Thanjavur Maratha Palace – Museums of India to visit
Aranmanai is what the locals call this beautiful Maratha palace in Thanjavur that was originally named Shivgangai Fort by its builders. It was built by the Thanjavur Nayakas who ruled from here after the fall of Cholas and Pandyas but passed on to Marathas who ruled from here, till the British took over, though the palace always stayed with the royal family. The Palace is a museum today visited by tourists and history enthusiasts for its colorful Darbar hall, its Saraswati Mahal Library, its bell tower, and its art gallery among other things.
It is actually a complex with a mish-mash of buildings and the pathways connecting them, built in different styles.
Bell Tower
The tallest structure here is a bell tower that is seven stories tall and served the purpose of a watchtower and also for the darshan of Brihadeeshwara temple as well as Ranganatha temple in Srirangam. It was probably way taller than what we see today. To me, it reminded me of the beautiful Deepastambhas that we see in the temples of Maharashtra. Maadamaaligai is what it is locally called referring to its square structure. At some point in time, it had a bell that was rung at regular intervals to announce the time for the city.
Royal Palace Museum
The Royal Palace Museum has royal artifacts like headgears, weapons, and sculptures. Serfoji Memorial Hall used to be the living quarters of the royal family. It now commemorates their life through displays and photographs. The Highlight of this museum is the colorful, opulent, and ornate Darbar hall which makes your eyes struggle to choose a focus. There are scenes from epics, portraits of rulers, and various deities painted in bright colors. A life-size statue of Serfoji proudly stands in the middle.
Raja Chola Art Gallery
Raja Chola Art Gallery has some beautiful Chola bronzes and what makes them special is that you see them in situ, in the Chola heartland where they belong. The upper floor has two interesting things – one a 90+ feet skeleton of a whale that was found on a beach in 1955 and two an inverted lotus-shaped ceiling, which is intriguing.
Saraswati Mahal Library in the complex is one of the most amazing library collections you can visit to see the palm leaf manuscripts primarily in Sanskrit and Tamil but also in other languages. I remember looking at the detailed manuals that described the species of elephants and horses, using many drawings and sketches.
Ghughua Fossil Park, Madhya Pradesh
Bandhavgarh National Park and Kanha National Park are the most popular national parks in central India for sighting tigers. Located in between them, in the Shahpura Tehsil of Dindori district in Madhya Pradesh is this fascinating Ghughua National Fossil Park, where you can see the oldest trees and plants of the subcontinent in their fossilized forms. Some of them are as old as 65 million years. Discovered only in the 1970s, this was soon declared a national park in 1983.
Natural Museum
Being a natural museum, it is an open-air museum, with piles of fossils gathered around the trees or on small platforms. Spread across 75 acres, it has well-laid-out walking pathways. Neatly placed boards tell you about the process of fossilization and its relevance to us today. Take a guided tour to see things like insects struck between layers of a tree and fossilized right there. What amazed me was the fact that the form of the trees is intact but when you touch them you realize it is a stone.
When you look at the cross sections of the trees, you see the crystal-like core – bright and shining, as if it is lying in the well-protected rugged outer layers.
A museum cum interpretation center has some of the oldest pieces preserved and displayed. This includes rare dinosaur egg fossils. It helps the visitors understand the world of fossils and what they mean to us today using illustrations and diagrams. Present in situ, it is one of the most educational museums in a natural setting.
Napier Museum, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala
The Napier Museum is located right in the heart of Thiruvananthapuram city. Napier Museum stands out in my mind for its absolutely unique architecture. Named after the then governor-general of Madras as the region was then called. This architectural masterpiece was designed for Ayilyam Thirunal Maharaja by Robert Chisholm as a museum. A mosaic of red, pink, and blue tiles makes the outer walls look ornate. They are punctuated with typical dark wood windows and doors of this region.
The conical slanting roofs on top never let you forget that you are in Kerala. Even when the architecture has influences from Europe, China, and North India. Making it one of its kind Indo-Saracenic architecture in the region with Gothic roofs and minarets. The remarkable thing about this museum is its natural air-conditioning system. Inside it is a typical museum with sculptures in bronze and stone, paintings, the carving of wood and ivory, lamps, textiles, traditional musical instruments, and numismatic collections. Notable among these is a temple chariot.
Complex
Napier Museum is part of a complex. That also houses one of the oldest zoos in Asia from the early 19th CE, a natural history museum, and the Sri Chitra Art Gallery. Raja Ravi Varma remains one of the most celebrated painters of modern India. He revolutionized it by bringing in the lithographs that made the prints of his paintings present in every Indian household and a part of calendar art. The best places to see his original works are Lakshmi Vilas Palace in Vadodara and Shri Chitra Art Gallery in Thiruvananthapuram.
Established in 1935 CE, it is housed in a classic old building in white and has many original works by Raja Ravi Varma. His famous paintings of Shakuntala and Damayanti can be seen here. Along with him, works of other celebrated painters like Tagore, Jamini Roy, and Nicholas Roerich can also be seen here along with the traditional miniature paintings from across the country.
Celebrating the legends of Karnataka – Museums of India to visit
Not many places in India celebrate their illustrious sons and daughters as Karnataka does. The twin cities of Hubballi and Dharwad have been home to many legendary musicians like Gangubai Hangal, Mallikarjun Mansur, Bhimsen Joshi, Ramakant Joshi, and even Kumar Gandharva. It has also seen illustrious writers like D R Bendre. The homes of some of these personalities have been converted into museums dedicated to them.
Now, this is special, as it is a space that belongs to them. When you walk into their music rooms, you can visualize them practicing their art there. When you look at the simplicity of the homes, you realize that you do not really need a tailor-made perfect environment to master your art.
Gangothri
Gangothri – the Gangubai Hangal’s home in the lanes of Dharwad is full of her images, as she performed at different places. There are images of her standing while holding her Sitar, shot 50 years apart. The earlier image is black and white and the latter a colored one. In one frame you see the journey of a young girl to a maestro. At her samadhi in Hubballi, a Gurukul now runs. Young musicians are taught in the traditional Guru-Shishya Parampara here.
Mansur’s house
Mallikarjun Mansur’s house in pristine white, has his initials MBM prominently mentioned. This is not just his home, but also his samadhi. He is buried in the garden of the house along with his wife. Inside the house, his Tambura, his Padma awards that include Padma Shri, Padma Bhushan, and Padma Vibhushan can be seen along with his bust in white wearing a sandalwood garland. His singing can be heard as you walk around the house.
I was fortunate to speak to Akka Mahadevi, daughter of Mansur. She recalled that her father’s day began at 4 AM. I also learned that the house is white as it was his favorite color. Music classes are still held in the house, keeping his legacy alive.
Bendre Bhawan
Not too far from Mansur’s house is Bendre Bhawan, which celebrates the Jnanpeeth award winner poet D R Bendre. He wrote under the pseudonym Ambikatanayadatta. A huge hall on the first floor is full of portraits of the poet, some of them with his poetry.
There is Bendre’s bust in his garden beneath the trees. They say that they took his permission to grow here.
Kuvempu
Little away in the village of Kuppali in Shivamogga district, home of Kannada poet Kuvempu. It is now not just a museum but also a showcase of the culture of the Malnad region that it belongs to and what is reflected in the writings of the poet. There are many artifacts showcased inside the house including pictures and farm equipment. Kavimane, literally meaning a poet’s house, is a large house with slanting roofs and an inner courtyard, constructed using a lot of wood.
Worth noting is the Kavishala or the poetry house created using megalithic rocks. It is the place where he used to sit on a rock and discuss literature with other writers.
Bhau Daji Lad Museum, Jijabai Udyan, Byculla East, Mumbai
The ethnic diversity of the city is best savored at the museum that celebrates the city of Mumbai – Bhau Daji Lad Museum. The pistachio green building was designed to be a museum documents the city of seven islands. Through specially created dolls representing every possible community and profession contributing to the tapestry of Mumbai. You can see from bangle sellers on the streets to shipbuilding, Mumbai is after all a business city, the commercial capital of the country.
Outside the building, you can see the elephant from Elephanta caves and old pieces from the roads of Mumbai.
These museums give you a glimpse of what to find in some of the Museums of India. It is a window that lets you peep into the past, culture, diversity, traditions, and people of India.
