NATIONAL MUSEUM: A Journey Through Time

The National Museum is one of the premier and most sought-after museums in India. It's not just a building with artefacts or fancy sculptures... It's a time machine 🕰️ that connects the past with the present. It's a place where the visitors, who are unaware of the vast knowledge of our rich history 📜, get to dive into it, and today I got to immerse myself in the centuries-old history of our beloved country.

As I bought the ticket 🎟️ and entered the museum compound, I saw a garden with huge trees and squirrels 🐿️ squirming around. It was really well maintained by the museum management. There was a large chariot  (I suppose from a South Indian empire in Hampi) inside a large glass enclosure. After admiring that, I entered the museum building 🏛️ where I saw a wooden sculpture of Nataraja (Lord of the Dance), or was it Vishnu 🤔 (not really sure), but it was preserved quite nicely. From there, I moved towards the ground-floor walkway there were freebies available 🎁 (a crossword puzzle about facial expressions, a guide to the National Museum, a brochure of pre-Columbian and Western Art, and a printed painting of Radha and Krishna with some Gopies).

The first exhibition I entered was about the Harappan Civilisation. It contained the history of the Harappans — about how they moved to present-day India and Pakistan. They displayed scenes depicting the early life of the Harappans and their day-to-day activities, showcased by a painting 🎨. This gallery had various artefacts like pots, miniature figurines of gods/goddesses, animals 🐘, etc. It also had a glass enclosure of an excavated Harappan skeleton ☠️. It also had multiple stone slabs, which were beautifully carved.

Glass cabinets displayed stone tools from the Stone Age to early civilisation, including tools and weapons such as knives and daggers 🗡️. Moving on, the same exhibition had dedicated art galleries as well, which showcased various paintings — some were acrylic, some were oil, and some were very old manuscripts 📖, which were probably restored. The paintings portrayed the events of the lives of the Raja Maharajas of Rajasthan, Gujarat, Deccan, etc., like wars ⚔️, social gatherings and processions, festivals 🎉, etc. Paintings of Krishna, Rama and Shiva were also displayed. There was a gallery dedicated to the Islamic history of India 🕌, which displayed paintings of Babur, Akbar, Shah Jahan, and Alamgir. It also had bronze or copper manuscripts with Islamic texts.

After the gallery, there was a section specially for bronze sculptures. These sculptures were enclosed within glass displays. The sizes of the sculptures varied from small to large, of various animals and deities. The two sculptures which interested me the most were "Nataraja – Lord of the Dance" — it was a large bronze structure of Nataraja with one leg in the air and the other on an evil dwarf of ignorance, one hand pointing at the leg and the other hand in a mudra. The other sculpture was of Lord Krishna standing on Nagaraja's five-headed hood 🐍 and holding its tail. This sculpture was even bigger than the previous one.

There was a decorative piece section as well, which consisted of medieval cutlery 🍴, furniture 🪑, a model of a shrine 🛕, etc. It also had a gold jewellery exhibition 💎 which consisted of many jewellery pieces like necklaces, bracelets, earrings, etc. These gold jewellery pieces were also enclosed within a glass display and had a guard inside the gallery to make sure no funny business was going on there 😅.

The first floor consisted of coins 🪙 and a painting exhibition. There were coins from different centuries — from Harappa to Rajputs and Mughals to the British to modern India. This exhibition displayed some scenes from the coin factories during the 10th and 12th centuries. These scenes were depicting dolls performing the minting process. There were commemorative coins as well, for example, a 100-rupee coin featuring Jawaharlal Nehru and a ₹50 coin. After the coins section, I moved towards the gallery, which had paintings from Tanjore and Mysore 🎨. The gallery displayed huge paintings, with one of them displayed over the height of the floor. After I exited the gallery, there was an exhibition of maritime heritage ⛵. It was an engaging and interactive experience about the Ajanta Cave and the maritime history of India.

Next followed the pre-Columbian era and Western art on the second floor, where I saw artefacts from different civilisations like Mesopotamian, Egyptian and Qing. This exhibition displayed sculptures and artefacts from Mesopotamia, texts and embroidery from Egypt, and artworks from the Qing dynasty, which spanned over the walls (large murals). Wooden statues of Christian Saints such as Saint Francis, Saint Xavier, Mother Mary, and Jesus ✝️ had intricate detailing and were well preserved. There was a small wooden sculpture of Jesus on a cross, which depicts Jesus’s sacrifice and love for mankind ❤️.

Another exhibition showcased the tribal culture of North–East India, depicting mannequins adorned with tribal clothing, photographs 📸 of tribal people and their day-to-day activities. Tools such as woven baskets, daggers, knives 🔪, cutlery, tools, etc., were also on display. Further into the exhibition, there was a large display of old Indian instruments like Shehnais, Tablas and Sitars 🎶. My personal favourite display was the Sitar, and its display showcased how the old Indian Sitar had evolved into its modern counterpart.
Another side enclosure contained Western instruments like the piano 🎹, accordion, flutes 🎼, etc. A display showcasing all sizes of vases — from small to medium to large — with detailed artwork inscribed on the body. This was the end of the second floor.

As I was preparing to leave the museum complex, I saw a signboard which said Buddha Museum 🧘. I entered the Buddha Museum and saw an open building in the shape of a rounded square, which had a big open veranda in the centre with Himalayan flags flapping in the wind in the bright summer daze 🌞. The museum showcased Buddha’s early days and how Buddhism spread across India to other South-Asian and Central-Asian countries. There were paintings and embroideries dedicated to Lord Buddha. A huge room with a large statue of Buddha in a meditating pose, probably made of bronze with a gold outer touch ✨.

The museum also had a souvenir shop 🛍️, which I explored. It was selling historical books 📚, printed postcards, envelopes ✉️, etc. A café named Café Museo was also established for the visitors to dine in; it had a peculiar menu and overpriced Coca-Cola, and a sitting space inside the Buddha Museum to sit and eat 🍽️.

To me, the National Museum was a huge tree 🌳 whose roots connected the visitors back to the magnificent and fascinating past of our motherland. This was truly one of the most insightful and memorable educational visits I've had so far 🌟📚🏛️.