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Out of a time warp

The Indian Museum, the oldest and largest museum in India, turns 200 in 2014 the authorities have finally woken up to the need for renovation

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Debaleena Sengupta

As the Indian Museum nears its 200th anniversary, the authorities have launched a restoration and renovation project. The first phase is scheduled to end in February, 2014 — around the time of this venerable museum’s bicentenary. “The restoration is an exhaustive plan and will be carried out in phases,” says Basudev DasGupta, Officer on Special Duty and Project Manager at the Indian Museum. Because the building is a listed, protected heritage property, there are limits to how much the overhaul will be able to change, explains DasGupta.

Designed by W L Grandville, the current museum building was finished in 1875. The museum was set up by the Asiatick Society in 1814, headed by the scholar and founder of the Society, Sir William Jones, to give an impetus to Oriental studies. The museum was originally at Society’s building on Park Street, from 1814 to 1878.

 

“The plaster on the walls of the southern wing of the building has peeled off and restoration work is being done under the guidance of specialists from Jadavpur University,” says DasGupta.

The museum has a common entrance and exit point but as a part of the renovation the authorities plan to create a separate exit from the south side. There will also be a new toilet complex, cafeteria and souvenir shop.

The deadline is 2018. The museum authorities have asked the Union Ministry of Culture for a grant of Rs 100 crore but since the work will be done in phases, there is likely to be some cost escalation.

The master plan includes renovation of the different galleries. The Museum is divided into various sections: culture, archaeology, art, anthropology, science, geology, zoology, botany.

The galleries contain rare artefacts from across British India and Egypt. “The Indian Museum’s collection is better than that of the National Museum in Delhi, but the latter is more organised in terms of display,” admits DasGupta.

The collection is wide-ranging and diverse in nature. From fossilised stems of ancient plants to rare geological stones from volcanic eruptions, the science section is one of the biggest draws. The star attraction, however, is the Egyptian Gallery, which has a mummy on display.

Unfortunately, innocuous and avoidable errors mar the display. The guide map at the entrance has glaring spelling errors, where “medieval” is spelt as “medeaeval”. The interiors seem to be caught in a time warp. The galleries are badly lit and the lack of ventilation makes them suffocating for visitors. Several galleries have empty showcases, in some cases because paintings (especially those of the Bengal school) have been removed for restoration or chemical treatment.

As a young British tourist in the museum says, “There is an extremely rich collection of archaeological and anthropological findings, but it is disappointing to see such a poor standard of maintenance.”

“The galleries will be modernised with full air-conditioning,” says DasGupta. The galleries will be ventilated and the objects properly catalogued and identified.

The ministry of culture has delegated the task of modernisation to the National Building Construction Corporation. NBCC is also seeking expert advice from the British architecture firm Chapman Taylor. The museum authorities have also sought help from the National Council of Science Museum, to upgrade the standards of scientific display at the museum.

The first phase of renovation will focus on the archaeological section. On display here, in the Bharhut Gallery, are remains of the Bharhut Stupa in Satna district of Madhya Pradesh, home to Buddhist archaeological remains from the Maurya and Sunga periods.

The Egyptian gallery will also get special attention, along with the decorative arts and textile galleries. While the restoration work has begun, the gallery renovation is yet to start.

Services like audio-visual information for visitors, now common in museums worldwide and in better-run museums in India, are also absent. The Indian Museum has only three professional guides to attend to visitors every day. To try and create a pool of trained guides, the museum plans to offer a two-year guide course for postgraduate students. The students will intern at the museum for two years. The museum plans to select 15 fresh postgraduates from different departments, soon.

Nobel-winning writer Orhan Pamuk has called museums “places where Time is transformed into Space”. At last the Indian Museum has an opportunity to live up to this noble definition.

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First Published: May 27 2012 | 12:12 AM IST

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