Museums by Dr. Gaurav Garg
The National Museum, New Delhi
● The blueprint for establishing the National Museum in Delhi was prepared by the Maurice Gwyer Committee in May
1946. An Exhibition of Indian Art, consisting of selected artefacts from various museums of India was organized by
the Royal Academy, London with the cooperation of Government of India and Britain. The Exhibition went on display
in the galleries of Burlington House, London during the winter months of 1947-48.
● It was decided to display the same collection in Delhi, before the return of exhibits to their respective museums. An
exhibition was organized in the the Rashtrapati Bhawan (President's residence), New Delhi in 1949, which turned out
to be a great success. This event proved responsible for the creation of the National Museum.
● The current building of the National Museum was designed by the architect Ganesh Bikaji Deolalikar and the
foundation stone was laid by Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru on May 12, 1955.
● Once the building was ready, the new museum was inaugurated by Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan , Vice-President of
India on December 18, 1960.
● Google made the National Museum digital. The project is named “Life in Miniature”.
Indian Museum, Kolkata
● Founded in 1814 at the cradle of the Asiatic Society of Bengal (at the
present building of the Asiatic Society, 1 Park Street, Kolkata),
Indian Museum is the earliest and the largest multipurpose Museum
not only in the Indian subcontinent but also in the Asia-Pacific
region of the world.
● With the foundation of Indian Museum in 1814, the Museum
movement started rolling in India and through the years from then,
got a new fillip and great momentum.
● Since then, it has so magnificently developed and culminated into
the fruitful existence of more than 400 museums in the country.
● The movement, which was started in 1814, in fact was the beginning
of a significant epoch initiating the socio-cultural and scientific
achievements of the country. It is otherwise considered as the beginning of the modernity and the end of mediaeval era.
● The founder curator was Nathaniel Wallich , a Danish botanist.
● It is an autonomous organization under the Ministry of Culture, Government of India.
● This multipurpose institution with multidisciplinary activities is being included as an Institute of national importance
in the seventh schedule of the Constitution of India.
Government Museum, Chennai
● Also hailed as Madras Museum , Government Museum is positioned
in Egmore, which is among the busiest spots of Chennai.
● It was established in 1851 & it has excellent sections showcasing the
main south Indian times encompassing Chalukyas, Chola and
Vijayanagar .
● It is second oldest museum in India after Indian Museum, Kolkata.
● It is particularly rich in archaeological and numismatic collections. It
has the largest collection of Roman antiquities outside Europe.
● Among them, the colossal Museum Theatre is one of the most
impressive.
● The National Art Gallery is also present in the museum premises.
Built in Indo-Saracenic style, it houses rare European and Asian
paintings of renowned artists, including that of Raja Ravi Varma (he painted Hindu mythological figures).
● It is the third largest museum in the world , and with 0.6 million visitors in 2018. It has the richest collections of bronze
idols, 500 of them dating to 1000 BC, in Asia.
Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya, Mumbai
● On 14th August 1905, a number of prominent people of Bombay
gathered at the Town Hall and resolved to erect a Memorial to the
visit of the Prince of Wales (later King George V) in the form of a
public Museum which would be named after him.
● The Foundation Stone of the Museum was laid by the Prince of
Wales on 11th November 1905
● The building was completed in 1914 but it opened to the public
much later on 10th January, 1922. Until then it was used by the
military as a hospital and for Children’s Welfare Exhibitions.
● Name of the Prince of Wales Museum of Western India was changed to the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu
Sangrahalaya.
Shivalik Fossil Park Museum In Sirmour - Himachal Pradesh
● It is also known as the Suketi Fossil Park.
● It has a collection of prehistoric vertebrate fossils and
skeletons recovered from the upper and middle
Siwaliks geological formations of sandstones and
clay at Suketi.
● The park has a display of the fossil finds and an
open-air exhibition of six life-sized fiberglass models
of extinct mammals in a recreation of the Shivalik.
● Fiberglass life-size model of the extinct Stegodon of Shivalik Hills.
Shankar's International Dolls Museum, Delhi
● The International Dolls Museum is a large collection of dolls in
Delhi, India.
● It was set up by K. Shankar Pillai, a political cartoonist.
● Shankar Pillai was honoured with the Padma Vibhushan, India's
second highest civilian award by Government of India in 1976.
The Salar Jung Museum, Hyderabad
● It is an art museum located at Dar-ul-Shifa, on the southern bank of the Musi River in the city of Hyderabad, Telangana.
● It is one of the three National Museums of India.
● Originally a private art collection of the Salar Jung family, it was endowed to the nation after the death of Salar Jung
III. It was inaugurated on 16 December 1951. The Indian Parliament has declared the museum an Institution of
National Importance .
The Kite Museum, Paldi, Ahmedabad
● Gujarat is known for its kite festival and the art of kite-making. The Kite Museum, located inside the iconic Sankar
Kendra building built by the French architect Le Corbusier, houses some 125 rare and uniquely designed kites that
showcase the history of kite making in Gujarat.
● The collection was donated by Mr. Bhanubhai Shah - a kite lover who has been collecting kites since he was 21 years
old. As his collection expanded, it was later converted into a museum in the year 1986.
Calico Museum Of Textiles, Ahmedabad
● The Calico Museum of Textiles houses one of the most important collections of textiles in the country - ranging from
ancient textiles, carpets, and tents to costumes, Kalamkari prints, tie and dye, pichwais, and sarees.
● It also holds an assemblage of bronzes, Jain art objects, and Indian miniature paintings acquired from the Sarabhai
Foundation.
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