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MUSEUMS & ART GALLERY
India is a land with a history and culture that goes back over
5000 years. Innumerable historical sites, cities and the country
are a testimony to this rich cultured past. India's museum's offer
visitors a rare opportunity to view over five millenniaof concentrated
culture under a single roof.
DELHI
National museum
 The
national Museum is one of India's most prestigious institutions.
The Indus Valley gallery displays many antiquites excavated from
Mohenjadaro and Hareppa, like terracotta toys, images and pots,
jewellery, seals, bronze and copper implements and sculptures. The
most outstand object here is the Iyrical bronze Dancing Girl.
The colour paintings of Moghul, Rajput, Deccan are praiseworthy.
Besides, there are the holy Git Gobinda, the holy Mahabharata, the
holy Bhagabat Gita in golden alphabet, Octogonal mini Quran, Babamama
in Babar's handwriting, Jahangir's diary, musical instruments of
more than 300 types, varieties of tribal dresses enriched the museum.
The antique collections of Sir Aurel Stein have added to the attraction
of the museum.
National Museum of Natural history
A prehistory animal greets the visitor to the National Museum of
Natural History preparing him for the collection of botanical, zoological
and geological objects on view within.
National Rail Museum
 This
museum depicts 130 years of evolution and development of the Indian
Railways. On view are vintage locomotive engines, especially the
Fairy Queen, the oldest preserved locomotives in working order (built
in 1855), the Patiala Monorail Tramway (1907-27) which is internationally
unique, the Prince of Wales saloon (1875), the luxurious Maharaja
of Mysore's saloon, the Viceregal dining car, the N-Class Garratt
locomotive, Matheran railways coaches and the first locomotive built
in India at the Ajmer workshop.
Craft Museum
The craft Museum complex is a charming oasis of mud huts with painted
walls and thatched roofs, courtyard, terracotta houses recreating
village life. Craftsmen at work are some of the elements that add
to the rural ambience of the place.
MUMBAI
Prince of Wales Museum of Western India
 The
Prince of Wales Museum was design and built to represent the ancient
and medieval architectural styles of western India. The basalt stone
structure with its large central dome inspired by the Bijapur domes
and beautiful gardens are set in a crescent shaped piece of land.
There's a lot to see in the Museum.The key gallery is like experiencing
5,000 years of Indian art in a capsule. The art section at the museum
has a collection of Indian paintings representing its different
styles and phases. The collection presents the evolution of painting
in India, ranging from the 11th and 12th century illustrated plam
leaf manuscripts to early 19th century Pahari paintings, Exquisite
examples of all the main schools of miniature painting are on view;
Rajput, Mughal and Rajasthani schools, from 16th to 19th century,
only emerged out of past influences, indigenous Indian as well as
Persian Turkish and central Asian.
Timings to visit Museum
10.15 a.m. to 6.00 p.m. Closed On Mondays. The dome was designed
consciously to add to the variety of the skyline and to provide
a landmark at ground level.
KOLKATA
Indian Museum
This museum was established in 1878. The museum is built in Italian
architectural style and is considered as the largest museum in the
country and one of the best in Asia. This museum has different sections
and the artifacts displayed here are amazing. Form the Egyptian
mummy to the Skeleton of the whale and some rare statutes; the museum
has every thing. One of the rooms has a collection of meteorites.
The museum also has a unique fossil collection of prehistoric animals
which includes a giant crocodile and a huge tortorise. The art collection
has many fine pieces from Orissan and other temples and superb example
of Buddhist Gandharan art, India's best collection with large number
of Buddihist relics from the Mahayana period.The Numistmatic Gallery
sis also one of the best in the country, displaying coins of great
craftsmanship, ranging right form the 5th century BC punch marked
coins, through the Gupta period to Mughal period.
Ashutosh Museum of Indian Art
Bengali art piece collections can be seen at Ashutosh Museum of
Indian Arts located within the premises of Calcutta University.
Established in 1937, it is located within the premises of Calcutta
University having interesting pieces of Bengal art. On display are
basalt sculptures from pala and sena periods with its distinctive
blend of Hindu and Buddhist styles, as also sculpted clay panels
from temples of the Vishnupur region.
There are also interesting collections of patachitras, or painted
scrolls from Bengal, playing cards, palm leaf manuscripts, ritual
objects, toys and dolls. The textiles include embroidered kanthas,
the patchwork and quilting textile technique, and saris from Baluchar
with their quaint figurative designs.
Victoria Memorial Museum
 The
impressive Victoria Memorial houses a collection of the British
colonial period. It is a treasure trove of Raj Relics, offers tree-lined
walks in splendid parks, 'lakes' and houses a number of superb statues
including that of Queen Victoria. The exhibits include paintings,
manuscripts, fire arms, statues, lithographs and furniture.
A period museum depicting the times under the British Raj, it is
dedicated to the conservation and preservation of the main building,
the sprawling garden surrounding it and the artifacts in its collection.
The Hall has a rich collection of Company paintings and several
original paintings of the Daniells.
CHENNAI
Fort St. George museum
The fort has a museum, displaying many items from the British Raj
and memorabilia of the East India Company. These relics are a reminder
of a period of oppression and struggle. The banquet hall upstairs
was built in 1802 and has paintings of Fort St. George's governors
and officials of the British regime. Other major attractions include
the paintings of the Governor of this fort and other high officials
of the British regime.
JAIPUR
Central Museum (Albert Hall)
Situated in the midst of Ramnivas Gardens, it is an imposing stone
structure executed in the Indo-Persian style of architecture. The
museum has a wide range of metal objects used for domestic purposes.
Also on view are a large collection of miniatures from the Bundi,
Kota, Kishangarh, Udaipur and Jaipur schools of painting; ceremonial
robes worn by kinds and queens and samples of wood block printing
in the textile section.
Maharaja Sawaiman Singh II Museum
 The
Maharaja Sawai Man Singh II Museum is situated in the Chandra Mahal
Palace, built by Sawai Jai Singh when he constructed his new capital
at Jaipur in 1727. Dividend into five comprehensive sections, the
museum displays the ancestral collections of former maharajas -
paintings, manuscripts, maps, carpets, textiles, costumes, weapons
and decorative art objects depicting courtly life in Jaipur state
between the 16th and 19th century.
In the Vastragar (the textile and costume gallery), fine Mughal
brocades, embroideries, Patkas, Kashmiri woollen and Pashmina shawls,
Sanganeri blockprints and Mashru from Gujarat jostle with royal
costumes. Among the latter is an immense atamsukh worn by the 2.1
m tall Sawai Madho Singh in the 18th century.
There are other rare and interesting objects like the giant silver
vessels, each weighing 3.5 quintals, especially made to contain
Gangajal (Ganga water). The Guinness Book of Records lists these
as the largest silver objects in the world. Among a fine collection
of carpets is one from Herat which is more than 17 m long. The Silehkhana,
with its painted and mirrored ceiling, contains a large section
of weapons which include varieties of swords and daggers, some with
delicately carved jade, ivory crystal and horn handles and some
enamelled and encrusted with jewels.
AHMEDABAD
Calico Museum Of Textiles
 Established
in 1948, the Calico Museum of Textiles is undoubtedly one of India's
leading museums for textiles. Its superb collection of textiles
is further enhanced by a fine collection of pichhwais and patachitras
(paintings on cloth).The museum is housed in two buildings, one
displaying textiles of religious significance and the other traditional
court fabrics, tents, carpets and costumes.
The museum presents its collection in themes connected with the
two great Indian religions: Vaishnavism and Jainism, and simulates
a suitable religious atmosphere. The first exhibit is a replica
of a small reconstructed pustimarga shrine with an idol of Sirnathji
placed on an altar, covered with a painted textile. The shrine leads
to galleries where pichhwais and textiles belonging to the Vallabha
sect are displayed. The 90 pichhwais are divided into group relating
to festivals, seasons and a variety of devotional themes.
The Jain Gallery includes shrines, derasarai of the Svetambara
and Digambara sect as well as a small home shrine, important manuscripts
like the Kalpasutra and Kalakakatha and Jain patas: the yantras,
and tirtha chitras. The main attraction, however, is a painted,
domed, wooden celing of a derasarai.
Three buildings with traditional carved wooden facades located
around the chowk house the courtly or secular pieces like carpets,
embroidered and decorated shamianas, wall hangings and costumes.
There is an excellent display of phulkaris from Punjab, kalamkaris
from Andhra and sari. A significant gallery presents the different
weaving techniques with the help of samples, technical notes and
their relation to the different sects.
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