MUSEUMS AND PALACES IN

INDIA

ADITHYAKRISHNAN P V

MAJOR MUSEUMS IN INDIA◦National Museum, Delhi◦ Indian Museum, Kolkata◦ Salarjung Museum, Hyderabad◦National Rail Museum, Delhi◦Napier Museum, Trivandrum◦Government Museum, Chennai◦ Prince Of Wales Museum, Mumbai◦ Calico Museum Of Textiles, Ahmedabad◦ Shankar’s International Dolls Museum, Delhi◦Dr. Bhau Daji Lad Museum, Mumbai

NATIONAL MUSEUM◦Established in 1949, it holds variety of articles ranging from

pre-historic era to modern works of art. ◦It functions under the Ministry of Culture, Government of

India. ◦The museum is situated on the corner of Janpath and

Maulana Azad Road, New Delhi◦The Museum has around 200,000 works of art, both of Indian

and foreign origin, covering over 5,000 years.◦Major Collections areHarappan

Civilisation,Archaeology,Buddhist Art,Indian Miniature Paintings,Evolution of Indian Scripts and Coins,Central Asian Antiquity,Indian Textiles,Wood Carving,Pre-Columbian and Western Art,Musical Instruments,Tribal Lifestyle of North-East India,Arms and Armour,etc.

INDIAN MUSEUM◦The Indian Museum is the largest and oldest museum in India Located in Chowringhee, Kolkata◦Museum has rare collections of antiques, armour and ornaments, fossils, skeletons, mummies, and Mughal paintings. ◦It was founded by the Asiatic Society of Bengal in Kolkata in 1814. The founder curator was Nathaniel Wallich, a Danish botanist.

SALAR JUNG MUSEUM◦The Salar Jung Museum is an art museum located at Darushifa, on the southern in the city of Hyderabad.

◦It is one of the three National Museums of India.◦It has a collection of sculptures, paintings, carvings, textiles, manuscripts, ceramics, metallic artefacts, carpets, clocks, and furnitures.

◦The Indian historical collections includes,the paintings of legendary Raja Ravi Varma,Aurangzeb's sword, Jade crafted daggers of EmperorJehangir,Noorjahan and Shah Jahan,A wardrobe of Tipu Sultan,A tiffin box made of gold and diamond

NATIONAL RAIL MUSEUM◦The National Rail Museum is

a museum in Chanakyapuri, New Delhi which focuses on the rail heritage of India it opened on the 1 February 1977.

◦It is located in over 10 acres (40,000 m2) of land with both indoor and outdoor exhibits. A toy train offers rides around that site on regular days.

◦Major exhibitions are , Patiala State Monorail Trainways ,Fairy Queen, Fire Engine, Cranetank, Kalka Shimla Rail Bus, Matheran Rail Car No 8899,Fireless steam locomotive,etc.

NAPIER MUSEUM◦The Napier Museum is an art and natural

history museum situated in Thiruvananthapuram.◦The museum was established in 1855.In 1874, the old

Museum Building was demolished and foundation for the new building was laid. The new building was named after Lord Napier, the Governor of Madras from 1866-1872.

◦The museum houses a rare collection of archaeological and historic artefacts, bronze idols, ancient ornaments, a temple chariot and ivory carvings.

◦It also contains the Sri Chitra Art Gallery, which contains works from Raja Ravi Varma and Nicholas Roerich, as well as examples of Mughal and Tanjore art.

MAJOR PALACES IN INDIA◦ City Palace, Jaipur◦Hawa Mahal, Jaipur◦Maharaja’s Palace, Mysore◦Umaid Bhavan Palace, Jodhpur◦ Padhmanabhapuram Palace, Kanyakumari◦ Jai Vilas Palace, Gwalior◦ Laxmi Vilas Palace, Baroda◦ Lake Palace, Udaipur◦ Rambagh Palace, Jaipur◦Udai Vilas Palce, Udaipur

CITY PALACE, JAIPUR◦The City Palace of Jaipur was constructed in the 18th century by Sawai Jai Singh II, the ruler of Amber, and till the 20th century, many structures were added into the palace by subsequent rulers of the city.

◦The palace is a beautiful amalgamation of various styles of architecture, namely the Mughal, Rajputana and European styles. 

HAWA MAHAL, JAIPUR◦The Hawa Mahal in Jaipur was constructed for the queens and princesses of the royal household to observe the city outside, the colorful bazars and fairs while undetected from the people.

◦The engineering of the windows is such, that the person on the inside of the palace cannot be seen, and hence is considered one of the most advanced architectural marvels of its time.

MAHARAJA’S PALACE, MYSORE◦The Maharaja’s Palace is one of the biggest tourist attractions in Mysore, and one of the biggest palatial complexes in south India.◦ The official residence of the rulers of Mysore, also known as the Wodeyars who ruled the city from 14th to 20th century. ◦Tucked away very accessibly in the heart of the city facing the Chamundi Hills, the palace is composed of about 14 Hindu temples, gardens and courtyards as well, the palace has some of the most rarely designed rooms.

UMAID BHAVAN PALACE, JODHPUR

◦One of the most ridiculously royal and privately owned heritage residence is the Umaid Bhavan in Jodhpur.

◦The palace is divided into three parts, the hotel chain run by the Taj group, the private residential complex of the royal family and the museum. One of the must visit parts of the Palace is the vintage car collection of the royal family, on display here.

PADMANABHAPURAM PALACE◦Padmanabhapuram Palace is located in Padmanabhapuram Fort, in Padmanabhapuram, Kanyakumari.◦Padmanabhapuram is the former capital city of the erstwhile Hindu kingdom of Travancore. ◦It is about 20km from Nagercoil, and about 50km from Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.