A REPORT ON THE NATIONAL MUSEUM VISIT
ON 17TH JUNE , We got the wonderful opportunity to get ourselves
exposed to and visit one of India’s most long-established spaces i.e.
the national museum of India. Before declaring my expositions, I, being
a history student, would like throw some light on the historical
background behind this building which preserves our historical cultures
in a brief manner. So, the national museum cited on the road of
Janpath, Rajpath Area, Central Secretariat , New Delhi has been initially
looked after by the Director general of archaeology until 1957, when
the Ministry of Education, Govt. of India, declared it separate institution
and placed it under the administrative control of the Ministry of
Culture.
Being unable to attend the expo due to some circumstances, I, along
with many students, got the assistance of Prof. Dr, Saurav sir as we
started exploring different but limited galleries of the historical Indian
artefacts around 2 PM – 4PM. First of all, the very entrance of the
museum made me glance towards its beautifulness. Moving inside, as
sir took us all, inside the Harrapan gallery of Artefacts and craft, I found
myself a bit stunned by their craftsmen and their creativity. A Glass had
pottery remains from Fatehabad, Haryana where the Terracotta
figurine of mother Goddess ,Utility objects like pots and Mortar used
for crushing grains were on show. These artefacts , as historians say,
conveyed the very realm of Harrapan civilization and its artefacts like
the beads and the animal figurines spoke volumes about historicity of
the site. The Chola art gallery depicts the recent changes in Museology
as they hang things in a way where you can see them from all
sides.Having a Brahmanical origin , I saw deities of the major puranic
Gods like that of Vishnu and Shiva. In short, almost the whole figures of
the NCERT book. Nearby, I saw some of the visitors giving their
namaskar or salutations to them, which often makes me think about
how they would been perceived by the masses in antiquity. Even, as sir
A REPORT ON THE NATIONAL MUSEUM VISIT
told us, the clothing pattern has also been changed due to Queen
Victoria. Pondering about all these historical changes, these facts
helped me substantiate the argument that there is a certain dynamism
embedded to history as it flows.
Moving on to the upper floor, we got to reckon the significance and the
dominance of the coins in almost every major part of “dynastical
history of India”. Numismatics always substantiate the fact of the thin
lines of regionality in a space as big as India where kings like Kushans
used golden coins and the tribal ppl used bronze and copper ones and
the way they were made. History ,to me, in this way makes itself very
interesting and keen enough to study more about these socio-
economic changes. The presence of security, mumbling and clicking
pictures by people including me and group was something very
common in each gallery.
Nevertheless, the intellectual support and prowess of Saurav sir is
something I acknowledged whenever I got the time to be around him,
during this visit. Concluding this report, with students seeking solace, I
thoroughly enjoyed this visit conducted by our SEC department,
especially Saurav sir. With modern techniques like bar codes attached
over, Museum, that’s how, depicts the history in a modern way which
specifies its very role and the contributions to the culture and art of
India.
Submitted by,
Submitted to,
Keshav Chandra Rishu,
-Dr. Saurabh kumar,
B.A. Hons. History [2nd semester]Roll number-64 Department of
History,
Subject - Museum and Museology ( Skill Enhancement
Course ) Hindu college, University of Delhi
A REPORT ON THE NATIONAL MUSEUM VISIT
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