The Indian museum is one of the largest museums in India and it is renowned for its exclusive collection of ornaments, antiques, skeletons, fossils, Mughal paintings, mummies and armors. This grand museum was actually founded by Dr Nathaniel Wallich. He was a Danish botanist and he used to practice at Serampore which is located near to the Indian state of Kolkata.

If you are not aware, then I would like to bring this to your knowledge that this grand museum consisted of six sections and these sections were comprised of more than thirty five galleries. These galleries were completely based on the scientific as well as cultural artifacts. Some of the major artifacts included Anthropology, Economic Botany, Archaeology, Geology and Zoology. There is also a multipurpose institution that is being included in this grand Indian museum. This institution is known for its multidisciplinary activities and this is the major reason that this museum is known as an Institute of national importance. The grand Indian museum is one of the oldest museums in India and according to the ministry of culture; this grand museum is considered as an autonomous organization.

History

If you are willing to gather some useful information regarding the origin as well as growth of the Indian Museum, then you must go through the information that is provided below as it might prove out to be of great help and guidance to you in this regard. It is a fact that the origin as well as the growth of Indian museum is one of the remarkable events and it has eventually led to the overall development of the Indian culture and heritage. The grand Indian museum was actually founded in the year 1814. Soon, it became one of the largest and the oldest museums in the Indian subcontinent as well as the Asia Pacific region. This grand museum was actually founded at the cradle of the Asiatic Society of Bengal.

It is a fact that the Indian museum is one of its kinds because it is well comprised with many exclusive features. According to the survey reports, the Indian museum is the first museum of its kind in the whole Asia region. This pre historic museum was actually created by Sir William Jones in the year 1784 and it rose from the famous Asiatic Society of Bengal. In the beginning, many relics and curiosities were being sent and soon, the space that was required for the construction of this grand museum was granted by the Indian government between the Chowringhee and Park Street.

If you are not aware, then I would like to bring this to your knowledge that in the year 1814, Dr Nathaniel Wallich supported the overall formation of the grand museum through his letter and in this letter, he wrote about the two different sections of the museum. These sections actually referred to the first and the second section of the Indian museum. The first section of this grand museum is comprised of technical, ethnological and an archaeological section. On the other hand, the second section of this museum is comprised of a zoological and the geological sections. Dr Nathaniel Wallich also offered some unique items from his collection as well as other kind of services to the society. The society heartily supported his proposal and resolved their efforts in order to set up the museum. In the year 1814, Dr Nathaniel Wallich took the charge of the museum. It is extremely important for you to note that Dr Wallich donated about forty two botanical specimens to the museum and this is the major reason that Dr Wallich is considered to be the first curator of the Indian Museum.

As soon as Dr Wallich resigned, the museum started paying salaries to the curators and a temporary grant of 200 Rs was also being sanctioned by the government for the overall maintenance of the museum as well as the library. Soon, after the creation of the museum, the zoological section as well as the anthropological section of this grand museum led to the starting of the Zoological survey of India. This survey actually started during the year 1916 and this eventually led to the beginning of the Anthropological survey of India, which got started during the year 1945.

Different Sections in Museum

Art Section

The art section of the Indian museum is actually spread up on the first and the second floor. This section is actually comprised up of textiles, metal images, wood carvings, miniature paintings, decorative art objects, Persian carpets, ritual robes, ornaments, manuscript illustrations, Tibetan temple banners and other kind of artistic objects from various countries like Nepal, China, Java, Japan, Sri Lanka and Thailand.

The art section of the Indian museum also consists of the South East Asian gallery. This gallery is actually sub divided into three different galleries and they consist of artifacts from Burma, China, Tibet, Japan and Nepal. You can easily notice paintings, colored porcelains, ivory carved articles and antique designed wine cups. It is extremely important for you to note that the tradition of the Burmese gallery are meant for displaying wood carvings, bronze figures, lacquer ware objects, silverwares and brass figures.

You can also visit the Nepal-Tibet gallery which actually consists of various bronze images as well as woodcarvings that actually belong to the 9th or the 10th century. According to the visitors, there is a special mention about the bronze image of Lord Shiva and this image actually belongs to the 9th century. Apart from bronze objects and pre historic paintings, there are many other ritual objects that are comprised within this gallery. Some of these ritual objects include butter lamp, bone apron, ancient ornaments, human bone figures and incense burner.

Anthropological Section

Apart from the art section, the anthropological section of this grand museum also contains a wide range of objects as well as material cultures. These objects actually belonged to the tribal as well as non tribal people of the Indian culture. If you want, you can visit the galleries of this ancient museum and watch the gallery of ancient and different kinds of musical instruments. A lot of research work was done while creating the anthropological section of this grand museum.

Archaeological Section

The archaeological section of the Indian museum is also extremely popular. It is because this section is meant for displaying antique and exceptional Stone Age artifacts that belonged to India. Apart from the Stone Age artifacts, the archaeological section also displayed the ancient antiquities from Harappa and Mohenjodaro. These antiquities actually belonged to the 2500 B.C. the archaeological section of the Indian museum also contains sculptures that belonged to the different phases of history like the 4th and the 5th century. This section also displays the inscriptions that are made up of stone and copper as well as the Indo Muslim architectural pieces.

Geological Section

The Geological section of the grand Indian museum is very famous because it contains more than 80,000 specimens. All these specimens are displayed in more than four galleries and some of these specimens include precious stones, rocks and materials, meteorites, fossils and ornamental building stones.   

Zoological Section

The zoological section of the Indian museum is a rich source of specimens of various kinds of mammals, insects, birds, reptiles and fishes. This section is very unique and one of its kind in India.  

Industrial Section

The Industrial section is also extremely popular because it boasts more than thousands of botanical specimens. Most of these specimens belong to the cottage industry, medicine, agriculture and the forestry.

Mission of Indian Museum

Collections

If you want to know more about the collections of the Indian museum, then I would like to tell you that the grand Indian museum currently occupies the ashes of Lord Buddha, an Egyptian mummy, the famous Ashoka pillar, rare antiques, fossil skeletons of ancient animals, an exclusive collection of meteorites and a proper art collection.  

Exhibitions

Jorasanko Thakurbari O Rabindranath

If you are not aware, then it is extremely important for you to note that in order to commemorate the 150th birthday anniversary of Kaviguru Rabindranath Tagore, a grand exhibition was organized at the Indian museum, Kolkata. The name of the exhibition was “Jorasanko Thakurbari O Rabindranath” and it was mainly organized at the Asutosh Birth Centenary Hall in the Indian Museum. The exhibition mainly started with the welcome speech of the director of the museum Sri Anup Matilal. He also displayed some famous painting of Kaviguru Rabindranath Tagore in front of the public. You must also note that this grand exhibition was actually inaugurated by Dr Ashok Kumar Das. Apart from the painting of Rabindranath tagore, many fascinating photographs as well as manuscripts of Guru Rabindranath were showcased in front of the public. A small catalogue was also being released and this catalogue was in proper connection with the exhibition.

Musical Instrument Donated by Raja Sir Sourindro Mohun Tagore

An exhibition was being organized at the Indian Museum in order to pay homage to Raja Sir Sourindro Mohun Tagore. The name of the exhibition was ‘Musical Instrument Donated by Raja Sir Sourindro Mohun Tagore’. This exhibition mainly showcased all the ancient and antique musical instruments and this grand exhibition was mainly held at theAsutosh Birth Centenary Hall of the Indian Museum. This grand exhibition was inaugurated by Sri Amitendranath Tagore and a small catalogue was also released on this occasion. The vote of thanks was being given by the deputy keeper of the archaeology section, Sri G.N. Ghosh.

Saktirupena: An Exposition on Mother Goddess in Indian Art

An exhibition named Saltirupena was also organized at the grand Indian museum on the occasion of Durga Puja. This exhibition was mainly organized in order to showcase the sakti icons of the great mother principle. And most of these sakti icons were showcased in the form of coins, stone sculptures, folk paintings, metal carvings, ivory, terracotta etc. All these sakti icons varied from the pre historic period to the early historic period.

Games and Pastime Through the Ages

This was one of the most popular in house exhibitions that were being held at the Indian Museum. The name of this in house exhibition was “Games and Pastime through the ages” and it was actually held at the Asutosh Birth centenary Hall of the Indian Museum, Kolkata. Most of the objects that were showcased in this exhibition were actually taken from the collection of anthropology, art and archaeology. The exhibition was mainly inaugurated by the legendary sports personality, Sri Anup Matilal. The vote of thanks was being delivered by Sri G.N. Ghosh.    

Ganesa: Gifted by Vasant Chowdhury

It is a fact that the Indian Museum is one of the major repositories of antique and exclusive Ganesa icons. Vasanta Chowdhury is a renowned Indian film actor and he is also the member of the Board of Trustees. He donated more than 101Ganesha icons to the Indian Museum in the year 2000. This is the major reason that this exhibition was being organized by the Indian museum in the fond memory of Vasanta Chowdhury at the Asutosh Birth Centenary Hall. All the Ganesha icons that were being donated by Vasanta Chowdhury were being displayed at the exhibition. Most of the Ganesha icons were made up of stone, bronze and ivory. This grand exhibition was being inaugurated by Sri Jawhar Sircar, Ministry of Culture. A lecture was also being delivered by Dr S.K. Chakravarti on the different types of Ganesha icons that were being donated by Vasanta Chawdhury.

Puppets: From the Collection of the late Raghunath Goswami

The grand Indian museum organized an exhibition in order to pay tribute to Raghunath Goswami. This exhibition was actually based upon the puppets and it was mainly inaugurated by Sri Subhaprasanna Bhattacharya. This puppet exhibition mainly took place at the Asutosh Birth centenary hall between the 6th and 12th January, 2012. The grand Indian Museum also organized a puppet show in connection with this exhibition at the main courtyard of this museum. This puppet show was mainly based upon the glove and hand puppets.

Ancient Indian Terracottas

The Indian museum also organized an exhibition on the occasion of the 198th anniversary of the ancient Indian terracottas. This exhibition was being organized at the Asutosh Birth Centenary hall in the Indian Museum, Kolkata. This exhibition was organized between 2nd February and 12th February, 2012. Some of the major personalities who took part in this grand exhibition were Mr M.K. Narayanan, hon’ble chairman of the Board of Trustees, Indian Museum and the Governor of west Bengal, Professor Sabyasachi Bhattacharya and Professor K. Paddayya.  

Workshops Organized By Indian Museum

Kites: Learn, Create and Fly

The grand Indian Museum collaborated with the Craft Council of West Bengal and organized a workshop on Kite making. This workshop was actually named “Kites: learn, create and fly”. This workshop was mainly organized from the 17th November to 20th November 2011. This workshop was organized at the central courtyard of the grand Indian museum. All the kites flying show were arranged at the roof top of the main Indian Museum building. It is important for you to note that students from different institutions, art colleges and Universities took part in this workshop.  

Indian Bead Technology: An Intangible Heritage of India

A workshop named ‘Indian Bead Technology: An Intangible Heritage of India’ was also being organized at the Indian Museum. This two day workshop took place on the 14th December and 15th December, 2011. Lectures were being delivered at this workshop by Professor R.K. Mohanty, Prof. K.K. Basa and Dr Tilak Thakuriya. Many artisans from different parts of India took part in this grand exhibition. According to the reports, the artisans from Khambar, Gujarat took part in this exhibition and demonstrated the Indian bead making technology. Many other students from various institutions, art colleges and universities like the government Art College, University of Calcutta took active part in this workshop. The students of the Government Art College as well as the students of selected schools participated in this programme. The staff of the Indian museum also took active part in this programme and this whole function ended in a festive mood.

Continuity of Terracotta, Art

The Indian Museum organized a two day workshop that was named “Continuity of Terracotta, Art” on the occasion of its 198th anniversary. This workshop mainly took place at the Archaeological garden of the Indian Museum. Many students who belonged to the University of Calcutta and the Governments Art College took active part in this two day workshop. This workshop was mainly conducted by Sri N.C. Mondal, the head modeling unit of the Indian Museum.

Training Programs Offered By Indian Museum

Museum Internship Course

The Indian Museum offers Museum internship course to the post graduate students. This course plan is mainly initiated by the University of Calcutta and the theoretical classes are also being taken by the sectional heads as well as other officials who belong to different units. It is important for you to note that practical demonstrations are also being given to the students.  This three month course is often completed in the month of October and certificated are being awarded to the students by the Director of the Indian Museum.   

Architecture Through the Ages

Indian Museum also organized a three months course and this course plan was mainly focuses on the architecture through the ages. More than 20 students from various institutions, universities and the government art colleges took part in this course plan.

Cultural Heritage and Museum Studies

The Indian museum is also planning to organize a six month course and this course will be completely focused on the cultural heritage as well as the museum studies. Scholars from various parts of India took part in this exhibition and this course plan was mainly highlighted with different issues that were focused on the cultural heritage and the museum management.

Facilities Provided By Indian Museum

Museum Shop

Museum shop is one of the major facilities that are being provided by the Indian Museum. This shop is open for sale of all kinds of books as well as children’s book. It also contains bulletins, replicas, pictures, catalogues, photographs, art albums, postcards etc.

Photography

The permission for taking photographs is being granted to the students by the Indian Museum with a fee of Rs 50 and Rs 100, including stand. The students can easily take photographs inside the museum galleries.

Training Programme

There are three types of training programs that are being conducted every year by the Indian museum ad these training programs are organized under the mass education schemes. These training programs include:

All these training courses are meant for the post graduate students and regular programs are also being offered to the interested candidates.  

Library

The Indian museum mainly functions in order to promote the researches that are being conducted by the curators as well as the technical persons. The library facilities are also meant for the scholars, school students and the college students.  

Membership Process

The grand Indian museum has also introduced a membership process for the interested people. Anyone can apply online or he can also apply in person by writing a letter head addressing ‘To The Director’ stating the need and asking for permission to use the library along with attested photocopy of supporting documents. Furthermore, students (college or school) need to furnish letter of recommendation (in official letter head) from the Head of the Department or Institution.

All the school students who are seeking detailed information regarding the archaeological, zoological, geological as well as anthropological sections of this grand museum can approach the librarian and collect all the useful information for their project.

Membership Fees

A fee of Rs.50/-(Rupees fifty only) per year is to be paid as Library Membership fee on getting permission.

Library Hours

The Library remains opened from 10.30 a.m. to 4.30 p.m. in the week days except Sundays and second Saturdays of the month and other official holidays.

Temporary Exhibitions

Museum organizes temporary exhibitions with the objects in display and in the reserve collection.

Exhibit of the Month

On several festive occasions, selective objects are showcased in the showcase of the “Monthly Exhibit” placed in the entrance lobby of the Indian Museum.

Inter-state exhibition

Inter-state exhibitions are organized to build up cultural contact with different states of India.

Cultural Programme

Museum conducts some cultural programmes in a year,

(i) The Foundation Day celebration in the month of February

(ii) Vasanta Utsav, during the spring and

(iii) Autumn festival during the Durga Puja of Bengal together with other cultural programmes staged in the Asutosh Birth Centenary Hall, Indian Museum and in the central courtyard of the main Museum building.

Guide Service

Guide Service also available here.

How to Reach

The Indian Museum, Kolkata is easily accessible by various modes of public transportation you can easily reach to this grand museum via railways, airways and roadways.

By Air

It is a fact that Kolkata is well connected with all the domestic as well as international airports. All these airports offer direct airlines service to the Kolkata city and other important cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Lucknow, Patna and Varanasi.  

By Rail

You can also reach to the grand Indian museum through railways. Kolkata is mainly served by two major stations.

By Road

Kolkata is well connected by well maintained roads and this is the major reason that one can easily reach to the grand Indian museum via roadways. There are many private companies that offer private stands for the public.

Nearest Metro Station

Park Street

Timings and Ticket Prices

The Indian Museum is kept open and closed as per the following schedule:

Open                                                   Date & Time

March to November                            10.00 A.M. to 5.00 P.M.

December to February                         10.00 A.M. to 4.30 P.M.

Closed

For The Public

Every Monday, Republic Day ( 26th January), Holi Festival, Independence Day (15th August),

Mahatma Gandhiji’s Birthday (2nd October), Dusshera or Vijaya Dashami, Diwali, Id-ul-fitr.

Facts about Indian Museum

Location of the museum:  At the intersection of Park Street-Chowringhee road on 27 Jawaharlal Nehru Road

Famous as:  Museum

Visiting hours of the museum: Anytime of the day except Monday as the museum remains closed on that day.

Preferred Timings: It is best to visit the museum between 10 A. M. to 5 P. M.

Admission charge: Separate charges for international tourists and locals

Photography / Video charges: Strictly prohibited

Time required for sightseeing: keep ample time in hand to explore the various wings of the museum.

Photo Gallery