…Formerly called The Prince of Wales Museum. According to Sumanya, the existing name sounds so ‘un-cool’ that even the authorities had to add ‘Formerly Prince of Wales Museum of Western India’ to the title. Nonetheless, I quite like saying Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya! It sort of poses a challenge to ones tongue really. And once you’ve succeeded in pronouncing the mouthful of words without hesitation, you can almost taste a sense of vain accomplishment. Of course that wasn’t the intention in changing its name. That's an entirely different story.
A week ago a couple of friends and I visited the museum to roam about its long corridors and enjoy one of Bombay’s iconic structures. Now if you have visited any tourist attraction in any part of India, you will have noticed the huge difference in entry fees for Indians and foreigners. True to form, this museum is no different. A foreigner’s fee is 300 rupees while an Indian can enter at a cost of 25. The only saving grace for a foreigner is to be a student and to hold some sort of student identification document. Then, the fee is a mere 15 rupees. The foreigners pass however, comes with a free audio guide, available in several languages.
On entering you are expected to leave water bottles and umbrellas at the door and go through an airport like security check. A conveyor belt moves your bag through an x-ray machine accounting for hidden weapons and sundry. After that, you have a good few hours of walking and browsing ahead of you. If you do happen to make a visit, do not miss the old grandfather’s clock standing to the right of the entrance. The clock numbers you will find aren’t numbers at all, but in fact Tamil alphabets; quite an interesting piece.
On entering the foyer, we hear a ruckus. Apparently a group of tourists took a picture against the backdrop of the ground floor and was told that photography would cost an extra 200 rupees. Of course this must have insulted the man’s sense of Indianness. How dare he be asked to pay for something that should rightfully be free!!! And so he felt no apprehension in shouting at the top of his voice at the indignity of having been asked to pay for taking a picture.
Ignoring the loud voices we move on, walking through ancient Buddhist ruins of centuries past, exhibitions of paintings and artefacts donated by several of the city’s wealthiest industrial families. Prominent among them are the Tata’s. Huge paintings and showcases filled with beautiful objects adorn the walls and the museum’s space. Many of the exhibition halls were closed either due to maintenance work or as a result of the lack of an exhibition.
In a bid to keep people entertained, a kiosk like structure stands at the end of the exhibition on the Harappan Civilization. Here you can digitally piece together an ancient looking pot or make your own bookmark with the help of stamps. Of course, a small donation box is kept at the side of the bookmark stand to encourage people to help maintain such exhibitions.
After speaking to my seasoned Bombay friends, I find that many have never visited the museum. In truth, there is much more that can be done to liven up the place; it barely reflects the country’s history or cultural heritage. Nonetheless, it is still worth a visit.
No comments:
Post a Comment