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The National Museum has a new shop, in time for the CWG.

Amid the rush of opening day, with staffers jostling and securitymen in safari suits on the stairs, Malvika Singh talks about the new museum shop she and her colleagues have organised for the National Museum on Janpath, in Delhi.

In half an hour, union textiles minister Dayanidhi Maran, whose ministry runs the shop through the Handicraft & Handlooms Exports Corporation (HHEC), will arrive to snip the ribbon and throw open the glass double doors. Chief minister Sheila Dikshit will come to lend her support.

Singh, publisher of Seminar journal and a familiar Delhi face, explains why she and her associates chose to redo the shop. The gist of the deep background is that the patronage for India’s master craftsmen collapsed after the end of princely rule. “Classical arts and folk beliefs were reinforced by rulers,” she says, “and the new democratic rulers in a command economy disregarded traditional skills and history to ape the worst of the West” — though she has warm words for Pupul Jayakar, who helped set up the HHEC.

Singh says they went to Nirmal Sinha, HHEC’s CMD, and asked him to let them refurbish the museum shop. “Let’s avoid the tender process,” she says she told him. “We will bring professional people to do it, pro bono. No TA, no DA.” She shows me photographs of the shop as it used to be: drab, institutional and full of ordinary crafts items, none of which had anything to do with the art in the National Museum.

She got her clearance, and Rs 15 lakh, three months short of the Commonwealth Games. The shop opened last week.

“Museum shops have a science to them,” she explains. “There is a range from very cheap to very expensive. Cheap includes postcards, T-shirts, caps — we did scarves instead — umbrellas, walking sticks, playing cards...” Not all of that bounty has reached shelves yet. “We could not order in bulk because of the budget. The products will follow the money. I have been connected with the best artisans and producers, so they came on board.”

Neha Prasada, media consultant and member of Singh’s team, adds later that “Most people are proud of the National Museum, so a lot of artists delivered at cost price for us. They said, we want to be part of this showcase.” Prasada helped identify products, relating the stock to the Museum’s holdings. She was helped by Singh’s other collaborators, including Mohini Menon, Lalita Phadkar and Adil Ahmed. Ahmed redesigned the interior with a shoestring Rs 5 lakh, giving the shop black walls, black-painted brick piles on which sculpture reproductions are posed, and strategic spotlighting.

Others were suppliers as well as brains trust, such as Mitch Crites, who provided reproduction Mughal coins and Indus seals in stone, and sculpture copies in fibreglass treated to look like stone (Rs 2,800-4,900). Shameem Abdullah of Asia Crafts made the Mughal-style papier-mache boxes and bowls (Rs 1,200-45,000)

Apart from Mahabalipuram bronzes (up to Rs 1.5 lakh) and books and handbags, the theme is Mughal. There is striking jewellery by Amrapali (showy ring, Rs 2,100; chunky silver bracelet Rs 12,460); and affordable (up to about Rs 1,000) mugs and plates with flower motifs, and scarves, T-shirts and cushions with Mughal miniatures.

The next theme, says Singh, will be the Buddha. HHEC will continue to run the shop, but Singh and her cohort will keep the ideas coming.