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The
National Museum
on
Janpath is the premier repository of antiquities. Built in 1960, it
has an extraordinary collection representing the entire span of
Indian civilization from pre-historic times. Its galleries include
finds from the Indus Valley Civilization, superb sculptures in
stone, and bronzes from the Chola period, the largest collection of
miniature paintings in the world, manuscripts, a Buddhist Gallery,
including relics of the Buddha from Piprahwa, the exquisite Jewelry
Gallery, the Anthropological Gallery of tribal art; galleries
devoted to decorative and applied arts, Maritime Heritage and
Pre-Columbian art, and the Central Asian Antiquities, Gallery of
Auriel Stein's finds along the ancient Silk Route (the great murals
however, are on display at the adjacent Archaeological Survey of
India).
The
National Gallery
of Modern Art,
housed in the residence of Jaipur's former maharajas has a superb
collection of paintings dating from 150 years ago to the present
day. Company School paintings of the 19th and early 20th centuries
and the works of Rabindranath Tagore, Jammi Roy and Amrita Sher Gil
hold pride of place amidst exhibits, which give an overview of the
evolution of modern Indian paintings and sculpture. The National
Museum and the National Gallery of Modern Art periodically organize
special exhibitions.
The Rail Transport Museum
is a must for rail buffs. Its vintage display includes the oldest
locomotive in the world-still working; the Viceregal Dinning Car
(1889) and the Prince of Wales Saloon (1876). Children can enjoy a
ride on the miniature rail track.
The Nehru Memorial Museum
is at Teen
Murti House where Jawaharlal Nehru lived for 16 years till his death
in 1964. its special charm is that the rooms have been preserved as
they were. Not far from here is the Indira Gandhi Memorial where one
gets a glimpse of the life of the late Late Prime Minister.
The Gandhi Memorial Museum
has a collection of memorabilia on Mahatma Gandhi. The Crafts Museum
at Pragati Maidan has galleries displaying India's rich tradition of
handicrafts. An added attraction is the presence of craftsperson who
are bought here from different parts of the country to demonstrate
their skills. In this central part of the city are also located the
National Philatelic Museum of Natural History, Mandi House, and the
Malliah on Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Marg.
The Tibet House Museum
on Lodi
Road has a fine collection of tankhas, jewellery and ritual objects.
En route to Old Delhi are the Shankar's Dolls Museum of Archeology
related to the Mughal era, and the Museum of Arms and Weapons which
traces the development of arms from the Mughal age to the First
World War.
Archeological
Museum
Situated in the historic Red Fort, the museum exhibits objects that date to the
Mughal period. On view are manuscripts and firmans' that demonstrate the fine
art of calligraphy. Also on view are paintings, textiles and costumes.
One section concentrates on relics of the .1857 war (First War of Independence)
like maps and weapons.
Archaeological Museum
Red Fort, New Delhi
Timing: 9.00 am to 5.00pm
Open on all days.
Crafts Museum
The Crafts Museum
complex is a charming oasis in the midst of the hustle and bustle of Delhi. Mud
huts with painted walls and thatched roofs, courtyards, terracotta horses
recreating village shrines, craftsmen at work are some of the elements that add
to the rural ambience of the place. Within the museum itself are examples of
traditional Indian crafts, wooden carvings and images, metalware, especially ewe
perdue objects from Bastar, West Bengal and Bihar, clay and terracotta pots,
toys and images, folk and tribal paintings, jewellery and textiles. Some of the
most outstanding exhibits are the life size wooden buta figures which were
discovered in an abandoned rural shrine in Karnataka.
Crafts
Museum (National Handicrafts and Handlooms Museum)
Bhairon Road,
Pragati Maidan
New Delhi 110001 Timings: July to September:9.30 am to 5.00 pm October to June:
9.30 am to 6.00 pm
Closed on Mondays and national holidays.
National Children's Museum
The National
Children's Museum is geared towards satisfying the interests of the young. Thus
the exhibits include toys from India and abroad, dolls, animals in stone, bronze
and stuffed as well as examples of children's creative activity in different
media.
National
Children's Museum
Bal Bhawan Society of India
Kotla Road, New Delhi 110 002 Timings: Summer: 7.30 am to 1.30 pm Winter:
10.00am to 5.00pm
Closed on Thursdays and government holidays.
Shankar's
International Dolls Museum
The International
Dolls Museum is exactly what its name implies, it is a museum devoted to a
display of dolls from all over India and abroad. On view are dolls dressed in
national costumes, each exquisitely Grafted and embellished.
There are indigenous rural dolls made by local craftsmen, sophisticated dolls
machine made at factories, in fact a magical collection that will delight
children as well as enthrall the adult.
Shankar's International Dolls Museum
Nehru House
Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg
New Delhi
Timing: 10.00 am to 6.00 pm
Closed on Mondays.
Nehru Memorial Museum and Library
This personal museum
displays the relics of Mahatma Gandhi. There are original copies of his
correspondence as well as photostats of his letters and the journals he
published. These are further supplemented by microfilms and a number of
photographs which depict the various aspects of his invaluable contribution to
modern India.
Gandhi
Memorial Museum Rajghat,
New Delhi 110 002
Timing: 9.00 am to 5.30 pm
Closed on Mondays and government holidays.
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