B L Razdan
For a country that is famous for not having historical records and a historical sense, using the words like “heritage”, “culture”, “museology” with abandon, as we do these days, is somewhat surprising; for the simple reason that when other nations of the world strive to preserve and proatect their heritage and history, at all costs, we Indians have a gift for obliterating every trace of our great past. It is high time that we, as a nation, realise the utmost importance of museums and museology because civilisation developed to glorious heights in this enchanted land now called India, in very early times. In the words of Linda Johnson, “if you had been around in the third millennium B.C.E, India is where you would have wanted to be. The quality of life was higher there than practically anywhere else in the world. In fact, the towns of North India in 2600 B.C.E. were more comfortable and technologically advanced than most European cities till nearly the time of the Renaissance!”
The National Museum, New Delhi, as we see it today, had an interesting beginning. The blueprint for establishing the National Museum in Delhi was prepared by the Maurice Gwyer Committee way back in May 1946. To start with, 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 Governments 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 the exhibits to their respective museums. An exhibition was organized in the Rashtrapati Bhawan, New Delhi in 1949, which turned out to be a great success. The success of this Exhibition led to the idea that advantage should be taken of this magnificent collection to build up the nucleus collection of the National Museum. State Governments, Museum authorities and private donors, who had participated in the exhibition, were approached for the gift or loan of artefacts, and most of them responded generously. This event was eventually responsible for the creation of the National Museum.
The National Museum was set up in the Rashtrapati Bhawan in New Delhi on August 15, 1949. It was inaugurated by Shri C. Rajagopalachari, the then Governor-General of India. The foundation of the present building was laid by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, the Prime Minister of India, on May 12, 1955. The building was handed over to the museum authorities in June 1960. The first phase of the National Museum building was formally inaugurated by Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, the then Vice President of India, on December 18, 1960 and the museum was thrown open to the public on the same day. At the time of its inauguration, Prof. Humayun Kabir, the then Minister of Scientific Research & Cultural Affairs, made an interesting statement. Said he, “Five years ago I had the privilege of omvotomg the Prime Minister of India to lay the foundation stone of the National Museum, New Delhi. “I had then referred to the remark of a foreign friend that, “Delhi, though the capital of the Indian Republic, could at best be described as a very populous village, for it lacked the essential marks of a city so long as it was without a National Library, a National Museum and a National Theatre”. The second phase of the building was completed in 1989.
The Museum continued to grow its collection through gifts that were sought painstakingly, artefacts were collected through its Arts Purchase Committee and today the National Museum can easily boast of a great collection consisting of 2, 06,534 artefacts including the rarest of the rare variety, both Indian as well as foreign, and its holdings cover a time span of over five thousand years of Indian cultural heritage. Its rich holdings of various creative traditions and disciplines which represents a unity amidst diversity, an unmatched blend of the past with the present and strong perspective for the future, brings history to life
To start with, the National Museum was looked after by the Director General of Archaeology until 1957, Ministry of Education, Government of India, and later it was declared as a separate institution and placed under its own direct control. It also houses the National Museum Institute of History of Arts, Conservation and Museology on the first floor which was established in 1983 and now is a Deemed University since 1989, and runs Masters and Doctoral level courses in History of Art, Conservation and Museology. At present, the National Museum is under the administrative control of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Government of India.
The National Museum building has two floors. It has a rotunda around which the structure is based.The Entrance Corridor of the National Museum houses various artefacts on both the sides.
The collections of the National Museum cover nearly all the departments. It represents almost all disciplines of art: Archaeology,, Arms, Armour, Decorative Arts, Jewellery, Manuscripts, Miniatures and Tanjore Paintings, Textiles, Numismatics, Epigraphy, Central Asian Antiquities, Anthropology, Pre-Columbian American and Western Art Collections.
The Museum has various artefacts from the Harappan Civilization also known as Indus Valley Civilization. Among the artefacts, the most significant is the Dancing Girl which is a 4.5 inch bronze statue discovered from Mohenjodaro. Another gallery has objects from the 4th century BCE to the 1st century BCE having objects spanning three major dynasties; the Mauryas, the Shungas and the Satvahanas. Kushana Gallery displays artefacts from the Kushan period when the major school of arts were the Gandhara School of Art and the Mathura School of Art. Gupta Gallery exhibits artefacts from the Gupta Dynasty (4th-6th centuries CE)., when Mathura and Sarnath were the main centres of artistic activity.
Early Medieval artefacts gallery has sculptures ranging from the 7th to 10th centuries. After the fall of the Gupta Empire, the Indian subcontinent was divided and it was controlled by different dynasties in different parts of India like Palas in the East, Maitrakas in the West, Vardhanas and Pratiharas in the North when there was a general decline in the artistic quality. Late Medieval Artefacts gallery has sculptures ranging from the 10th to 13th centuries. The country was further sub divided into a number of separate principalities during this period.
Decorative Arts gallery gives a glimpse of three collections of the Museum – Ivory, Jade and Ceramics. It has artefacts from the proto-historic period to the present day. This gallery exhibits the Throne of the Raja of Varanasi, Metalware, Jewellery, and Wooden objects like Wooden Garuda Vahana from Tamil Nadu, Wooden Horse from Tanjore.
The Museum has over 17,000 miniature paintings in its Miniature Paintings Gallery which is divided according to the places and time where the schools of arts flourished. The paintings show the rich heritage of Indian Miniature Paintings. These paintings belong to major styles such as Mughal, Deccani, Central India, Rajasthani, Pahari and many sub-styles relating to the period from 1000 CE to 1900 CE. It includes paintings on Palm leaf, Cloth, Wood, Leather, Painted Manuscripts, Covers on Wood and Hardboard & Thankas on Canvas. The major theme of these miniatures is Kalpasutra, Ramayana, Mahabharata, Bhagavata Purana, Durgasaptasati, Ragamala, Baramasa, Panchatantra, Vishnu Purana, Shahnama and Baburnama
Miniature painting flourished during Mughal rule. Emperor Jahangir and Shahjahan were great patrons of art. In their courts, the painters adopted themes ranging from portraitures to landses, durbar scenes and processions for their works. The Deccani style was a fusion of Islaamic idiom with indigenous art styles and of local classical traditions with elements of Persian and European Renaissance. A view of the Rajasthani Paintings Section reveals that Miniatures flourished mainly in Mewar, Bundi, Kota, Kishangarh, Jaipur, Jodhpur and Bikaner. Mewar Miniatures are illustrating Hindu mythological themes.Bundi and Kota Miniatures excel in composition compactness. Hunting scenes are Kota’s speciality. Bikaner excels in Portraire. Kishangarh is known for its Bani Thani, which portrays the model of an idealised and elegant woman.Pahari schools flourished mainly at Basohli, Chamba, Guler and Kangra under the patronage of Maharaja Sansar Chand in the late 18th and early 19th centory.
The National Museum is serving as a beacon light to the other museums in the country to help the world learn about the richness of our culture that flourished over thousands of years. As it is, Meditation, Yoga and Ayurveda are now a part of the curriculum in many medical schools the entire world over. All of us should highlight our rich cultural heritage wherever we may be, and eagerly look forward to see India rise and shine again and occupy its deservingly important place among the comity of nations.
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