2. • The International Council of Museums (ICOM)
defines a museum as:
• A non-profit making, permanent institution in
the service of society and of its development,
and open to the public, which acquires,
conserves, researches, communicates and
exhibits, for purposes of study, education and
enjoyment, material evidence of people and
their environment.
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3. • The English "museum" comes from the Latin
word, and is pluralized as "museums" (or rarely,
"musea").
• It is originally from the Greek (Mouseion),which
denotes a place or temple dedicated to the
Muses (Greek Goddess of education i.e. arts and
learning), and hence a building set apart for
study and the arts.
• The first museum/library is considered to be the
one of Plato in Athens.
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4. • Museums collect and care for objects of scientific,
artistic, or historical importance and make them
available for public viewing through exhibits that
may be permanent or temporary.
• Most large museums are located in major cities
throughout the world.
• Many museums offer programs and activities for a
range of audiences, including adults, children, and
families, as well as those for more specific
professions.
• Programs for the public may consist of lectures or
tutorials by the museum faculty or field experts,
films, musical or dance performances, and
technology demonstrations. Many times, museums
concentrate on the host region's culture.
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5. • Most museums do not allow physical contact with the associated
artifacts.
• Modern trends in museology have broadened the range of subject
matter and introduced many interactive exhibits, which give the public
the opportunity to make choices and engage in activities that may vary
the experience from person to person.
• With the advent of the internet, there are growing numbers of virtual
exhibits, i.e. web versions of exhibits showing images and playing
recorded sound.
• Museums are usually open to the general public, sometimes charging an
admission fee.
• Some museums are publicly funded and have free entrance, either
permanently or on special days, e.g. once per week or year.
• Museums are usually not run for the purpose of making a profit, unlike
private galleries which more often engage in the sale of objects. There
are governmental museums, non-governmental or non-profit museums,
and privately owned or family museums. Museums can be a reputable
and generally trusted source of information about cultures and history.
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6. Role of Museums
• Education
• Tourism
• Entertainment
• Documentation
• Research
• Publication
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7. Presentation Techniques in Museums
• The objects should be displayed in a systematic
order.
• Museum Building: Well planned. Palaces,
Temples and huge public building for museums.
• Public Areas:
– park & open space
– Big exhibition Gallery for displaying objects
– Room for Curator
– An Auditorium for meeting, lectures, film shows
– An information counter for public
– A rest room for public
– A library
– Toilets
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8. • Service Areas:
• An administrative office
• A store room to reserve the collection of objects
• Workshop with huge space for equipments with
water, gas and power connection
• A laboratory for treatment of objects
• A mechanical room-to plant electrical and air
conditioning gadgets
• Lighting: Spot lights and flood lights to highlight
objects
• Ventilation: Natural & artificial ventilation is
required.
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9. • In-House Activities in Museums
• Exhibition
• Cultural activities
• Field Trips, Clubs, Interest Groups
• Films
• Guide Services
• Project Work for Children
• Special Exhibitions in Foreign Lands
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10. Museums in India
• The concept of museums in India may be traced back to the
historic times, in which references to the chitrasala (picture
gallery) do occur. However, in India the museum movement
post-dates the similar developments that occurred in
Europe.
• The earliest necessity to house objects of antiquarian
remains dates back to late 1796 AD when the Asiatic
Society of Bengal felt the need to house the enormous
collection of archaeological, ethnological, geological,
zoological pursuits. However, the first museum by them
was started in 1814.
• The nucleus of this Asiatic Society Museum later provided
to the Indian Museum, Calcutta.
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11. Museums in India
• Vast quantity of antiquarian remains were collected since the times
of its first Director General Alexander Cunningham,
• The creation of site museums had to wait until the arrival of Sir John
Marshall, who initiated the founding of the local museums like
Sarnath (1904), Agra (1906), Ajmer (1908), Delhi Fort (1909), Bijapur
(1912), Nalanda (1917) and Sanchi (1919).
• The concept of site museums is well elucidated by Hargreaves, one of
the former Director Generals of ASI: ‘it has been the policy of the
Government of India to keep the small and movable antiquities,
recovered from the ancient sites, in close association with the
remains to which they belong, so that hey may be studied amid their
natural surroundings and not lose focus by being transported’.
• A separate Museums Branch in ASI was created in 1946 by Mortimer
Wheeler. After the independence, there was a spurt in the growth of
site museums in ASI. At present there are 44 site museums under the
control of ASI.
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12. Classification of Museums
1. According to the Exercise Controlled
2. According to the Nature of collection
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13. Classification of Museums
1. According to the exercise controlled-
a) Museums controlled by the government-
National & state level
b) Museums run by autonomous bodies
c) Museums controlled by private institutions
d) University museums
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14. 1/27/2023 14
Government Control
Govt. of
India
State Govt.
1. The National Museum , Delhi
2. Museum of National History,
Delhi
1. Govt. Museum , Madras
2. State Museum, Lucknow
Museums with National Status
The Indian
Museum,
Calcutta
Salarjung
Museum,
Hyderabad
The Prince of
Wales Museum,
Mumbai
15. Autonomous Bodies
• Birla Museum of
Science &
Technology, Kolkata
• Nehru Science
Centre, Mumbai
• Vishveshvaraya
Museum of Science
& Technology,
Bangalore
Private Institutions
• Calico Museum,
Ahmadabad
• Birla Academy of
Art, Kolkata
University Museums
• Bharat Kala Bhvan,
Varanasi
• Medical Museum,
Grant Medical
College, Mumbai
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16. 2. According to the nature of collection
1. General Museums
2. Archaeological museums
3. Art & Craft Museums
4. Anthropology Museums
5. Natural history Museums
6. Forest Museums
7. National War Memorial-cum-Defence Museums(Arms
Museums)
8. Personalia Museums
9. Crafts Museums
10. Palace Museums
11. Temple Museums
12. Science & Technology Museums
13. Specialised Museums
14. Children’s Museums
15. Agriculture & Forestery Museums
16. Miscellaneous Museums
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17. General Museums •Indian Museum, Kolkata
•National Museum, Delhi
•Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Sangrahalaya,
Mumbai
Archaeological Museums •Archaeological Museum at Sarnath,
Badami, Mathura, Bodhgaya
Art & Craft Museum •National Gallery of Modern Arts, New
Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru
•Baroda State Museum & Picture Gallery
Anthropology Museums •Central Museum of Anthropology, Kolkata
•Anthropology Museum, Ranchi, Lucknow,
Guwahati
Natural history Museums •Natural History Museum , Darjeeling
Forest Museums •Forest Research Institute Museum,
Dehradun
•Forest School Museum , Shivpuri
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18. Memorial-cum-
Defence
Museums
(Arms
Museums)
•National Defence Academy, Khadak Vasla,
Pune
Personalia Museums •Nehru Memorial Museum & Library, New
Delhi
•Gandhi Smarak, New Delhi
•Sardar Patel Museum, Surat
•Anand Bhavan, Allahabad
Crafts Museums •Thanjavur Art Gallery, Thanjavur
•Birla Academy of Art & Culture, Kolkata
•Crafts Museum, Delhi
Temple Museums •Birla Museum, Birla Temple, Bhopal
•Sri Venkateshwar Museum, Tirupati
•Sri Meenakshi Sundareshwar Temple
Museum, Madurai
Science & •Central Museum, Pilani
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19. Palace Museums •Salar Jung Museum, Delhi
•The Maharaja of Jaipur Museum, Jaipur
•Rana Pratap Museum, Udaipur
Specialised Museums •Calico Museum of Textiles, Ahmedabad
•National Philatelic Museum, New Delhi
•Museum of Central Glass & Ceramic
Research Institute, Kolkata
Children’s Museums •Bal Bhavan, New Delhi
•Motilal Nehru Bal Sangrahalaya, Lucknow
•Dolls Museum, Delhi
Miscellaneous
Museums
•Transport Museum, New Delhi
•Engineering Museum, New Delhi
•Himalayan Mountaineering Institute
Museum, Darjeeling
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20. • Museum artifacts are organized in different
galleries:
• Art –painting, sculpture, manuscripts
• Archaeological
• Natural History
• Textiles
• Coins
• Weapons/Armour
• Pottery
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21. Important Museums of India
• Indian Museum, Kolkata
• National Museum, New Delhi
• Salarjung Museum, Hyderabad
• Birla Science Museum, Hyderabad
• Khuda Bakhsh Oriental Library, Patna
• Patna Museum, Patna
• Gandhi Smriti, Delhi
• Nehru Memorial Museum & Library
• Napier Museum, Thiruvananthapuram
• Raja Dinkar Kelkar Museum, Pune
• National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi
Salarjung
Museum, Hyderabade
established in 1951 is
the largest collection
of antiques of an
individual in the world
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22. • Calico Museum of Textiles, Ahmedabad
• Victoria Memorial, Kolkata
• Visvesvaraya Industrial And Technological
Museum , Bangalore
Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu
Sangrahalaya (formerly Prince of
Wales Museum of Western India)
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23. • Orissa State Museum, Bhubaneshwar
• Government Museum and Art Gallery , Chandigarh
• Government Museum , Chennai
• Library of Tibetan Works and Archives , Dharamshala
• Birla Industrial & Technological Museum , Kolkata
• Rabindra Bharati Museum , Kolkata
• Nalanda Archaeological Museum , Nalanda
• Wax World - Wax Museum & Art Gallery, a collection of
life-size look-alike wax statues that speak of Indian
history, heritage and culture, Ooty - Tamil Nadu
• Shankar’s International Dolls Museum, Delhi
• Dr Bhau Daji Lad Museum, Mumbai
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24. Museums in NCR of Delhi
• National Museum, New Delhi established in 1949.
• National Handicrafts and Handlooms Museum
• Indian Air Force Museum, Palam
• National Gandhi Museum
• National Gallery of Modern Art
• National Museum of Natural History
• National Rail Museum
• National Science Centre
• Nehru Memorial Museum & Library
• Parliament Museum
• Teen Murti Bhavan
• Shankar's International Dolls Museum
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25. Indian Museum , Kolkata
• Indian Museum is the earliest and the largest multipurpose Museum
not only in the Indian subcontinent but also in the Asia-Pacific region of
the world.
• It 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 (Calcutta),
India, in 1814.
• The founder curator was Dr Nathaniel Wallich, a Danish botanist.
• It has six sections comprising thirty five galleries of cultural and
scientific artifacts namely:
Art, Archaeology, Anthropology, Geology, Zoology and Economic
Botany.
• This is an autonomous organization under Ministry of Culture,
Government of India.
• Egyptian mummies, which you will find only in Indian Museum besides
in Egypt.
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26. • Asiatic Society : Sir William Jones a profound
scholar devoted his life to the service of India,
founded the Asiatic Society in 1784 in Kolkata.
• The role of the Asiatic Society was to form a
learning centre for the development of art and
culture pertaining to the socio-cultural
activities, entertaining people, disseminating
knowledge and preserving the cultural as well as
natural heritage of mankind for posterity within
the geographical limits of Asia.
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30. • ARCHAEOLOGY SECTION
• The Archaeology section
represents the objects in
the following galleries:
• Pre and Proto Historic
Gallery
• Main Entrance Gallery
• Bharhut Gallery
• Gandhara Gallery
• Long Archaeology Gallery
• Bronze Gallery
• Coin Gallery
• Minor Art Gallery
• Egyptian Gallery
• ART SECTION
• The exhibits of the art
section are on display in
the four galleries which
are as follows:
•
• Mughal Painting Gallery
• Bengal Painting Gallery
• Decorative Art and Textile
Gallery
• South East Asian Gallery
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31. BARHUT, Madhya Pradesh
• is a village located in the Satna district of Madhya Pradesh. It
is known for its famous relics from aBuddhist stupa. The
Bharhut sculptures represent some of the earliest examples
of Indian and Buddhist art.
• The stupa at Bharhut may have been constructed by Ashoka
in the 3rd century BC, but many of the decorative features
(particularly the carved friezes) were added during the Sunga
Dynasty in the 2nd century BC.
• The stupa, which has been dismantled and installed in the
Indian Museum in Calcutta, is highly important for its series
of early Indian sculptural reliefs (many in medallion form)
depicting stories of the Buddha's previous lives (Jataka tales)
together with images of nature spirits (yakshas) and aniconic
Buddhist symbols such as the wheel, bodhi tree, footprints
and empty throne.
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35. • ANTHROPOLOGY SECTION
• The exhibits of the
Anthropology section are
on display in the four
galleries which are as
follows:
• Palaeo-Anthropology
Gallery
• Cultural Anthropology
Gallery
• Mask Gallery
• Musical Instrument Gallery
• GEOLOGICAL SECTION
• The collections of the
Geological sections are
displayed in four
Geological Galleries are
maintained by a separate
Curatorial Division of
Geological Survey of India
• Siwalik Gallery
• Invertebrate Fossil
Gallery
• Rock & Mineral Gallery
• Earth & Meteorite Gallery
with Gem Section
(Upcoming)
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36. • BOTANY SECTION
• The Botanical Gallery
has a permanent exhibit
display in 8 bays and
various sections such as
• Indian timbers, Food
products, Medicinal
produces, Vegetable
fibers, Oil and oilseeds.
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36
37. Salarjung Museum, Hyderabad
• The Salar Jung Museum was established in 1951. The
major portion of the collection of the museum was
acquired by Mir Yousuf Ali Khan, popularly known as Salar
Jung III.
• The Salar Jung Museum is an art museum located in the
city of Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh,India.
• Salar Jung Museum is popular as largest one-man
collections Of the World
• The collections of the Salar Jung Museum are the mirrors of
the past human environment, ranging from 2nd century B.C
to early 20th century A.D of different cultures such as
Greek, Roman, Hindu, Jain, Buddhist, Christian and Islamic
of various countries and of various materials.
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38. • The collection of the Museum can be divided into Indian
Art, Middle Eastern Art, Far Eastern Art, European Art and
Children’s Section. Apart from this, a gallery is devoted to
the illustrious Salar Jung family, which was mainly
responsible for acquiring the collection.
• The museum's collection was sourced from the property of
the Salar Jung family.
• The Salar Jung Museum is also possessing a huge library
consisting of nearly sixty thousand books, manuscripts,
journals etc., and it is a monument to the love of learning
of the Salar Jung family.
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39. • Nawab Mir Yusuf Ali Khan Salar Jung III (1889–1949), former
Prime Minister of the seventh Nizam of Hyderabad, spent a
substantial amount of his income over thirty five years to make
this priceless collection, his life's passion.
• The collections left behind in his ancestral palace, 'Diwan Deodi'
were formerly exhibited there as a private museum which was
inaugurated by Jawaharlal Nehru in 1951.
• Old timers believe that the present collection constitutes only
half of the original art wealth collected by Salar Jung III. His
employees siphoned off part of it, since Salar Jung was a
bachelor and depended upon his staff to keep a vigil. Some
more art pieces were lost or stolen during the shifting of the
museum from Dewan Devdi to the present site.
• Later in 1968, the museum shifted to its present location
at Afzalgunj and is administered by a Board of Trustees with the
Governor of Andhra Pradesh as ex-officio chairperson under the
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40. Some important Indian historical collections includes:
– The paintings of legendary Raja Ravi Varma (Raja Ravi Varma (29 April
1848 – 2 October 1906) was an Indian painter and artist from the princely
state of Travancore (presently inKerala) who achieved recognition for his paintings
depicting scenes from Indian literature including
the epics of Mahabharata andRamayana)
– Aurangzeb's sword.
– Jade crafted daggers of, Emperor Jehangir, Noorjahan and Shah
Jehan.
– A wardrobe of Tipu Sultan and
– A tiffin box made of gold and diamond
• The Museum has a famous Quran Collection from around the World in
different fonts and designs. The Quran Written with Gold and Silver, There
are many more collections of religious books,as well as Arabic Quran.
• The Clock: A bewildering variety and array of clocks greets the visitor in the
clock room. A visual delight is the musical clock Salar Jung bought from
England. Every hour, a timekeeper emerges from the upper deck of the
clock to strike a gong as many times as it is the hours of the day.
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41. National Museum, New Delhi
• The National Museum in New Delhi, also known as
the National Museum of India, is one of
the largest museums in India.
• 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 blue–print of the National Museum had been
prepared by the Gwyer Committee set up by the
Government of India in 1946. The museum has around
200,000 works of art, both of Indian and foreign origin,
covering over 5,000 years.
• It also houses the National Museum Institute of History of
Arts, Conservation and Museology on the first floor which
was established in 1983
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42. • On 15 August 1949, the National Museum was
formally inaugurated by the then Governor-
General of India, Chakravarti Rajagopalachari. At
that time, it was decided that until a permanent
home could be found for the collection, it would
continue to be housed at the Rashtrapati Bhawan
• The cornerstone of the present museum building
was laid by Jawaharlal Nehru, the then Prime
Minister of India, on 12 May 1955, and the
building formally opened to the public on 18
December 1960
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43. Departments and collections
• Reception of Museum
• The Entrance Corridor of the National
Museum housing artefacts on both
the sides
• Presently, there are several
departments in the National
Museum.
• Pre-History Archaeology
• Archaeology
• Manuscripts
• Numismatics & Epigraphy
• Paintings
• Arms & Armour
• Decorative Arts
• Central Asian Antiquities
• Pre-Columbian Art
• Jewellery
• Anthropology
• Education
• Public Relations
• Publication
• Conservation
• Display
• The collections of the National
Museum covers nearly all the
departments.
• It represents almost all disciplines of
art: Archaeology (Sculptures in Stone,
Bronze &
Terracota), Arms, Armour, Decorative
Arts, Jewellery, Manuscripts, Miniatur
es and Tanjore Paintings, Textiles, Nu
mismatics, Epigraphy, Central Asian
Antiquities, Anthropology, Pre-
Columbian American and Western
Art Collections.
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44. City Palace Museum, Jaipur
• City Palace Museum also called as Maharaja Sawai Man Singh II Museum
• It is located in Diwan-I-Aam which is an inbuilt public hall of the palace.
• The City Palace Museum inside the City palace contains a unique
collection of the dresses, ornaments, paintings, weapons of Kachwaha
rulers.
• It house of rare and exquisite scriptures of Hindu from the primitive period
of India. Most of the scriptures in the museum were written by hands.Out
of all scriptures , the miniature Bhagwat Gita is the most significant one.
• The most attractive part of the museum are the two jars which are made
up of silver.
• These two jars are considered to be the biggest and the largest silver
objects in the whole world according to the Guinness Book of World
Records.
• The City Palce was built by Sawai Jai Singh II
• The palace contains the life styles of Rajputs, Islamic and Europeans.
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46. Diwan-i-Am (Sabha Niwas), the Hall of
Public Audience
• Diwan-i-Am (Sabha Niwas), the Hall of Public Audience, is an
enchanting chamber with the ceiling painted in rich red and gold
colours, which still looks vibrant.
• This chamber, functioning now as an art gallery, has exhibits of
exquisite miniature paintings (of Rajastahni, Mughal and Persian
art), ancient texts, embroidered rugs, Kashmir shawls and carpets.
• The ceiling is richly decorated.
• It also showcases rare ancient handwritten original manuscripts of
Hindu scriptures (the Hindu holy scripture of the Bhagavad
Gita handwritten in tiny script).
• Also seen in the art gallery is the Royal throne (called as Takth-e-
Rawal) that was the seat of the Maharaja during public audiences. It
was mounted on an elephant or carried by palanquin bearers
during the Maharaja's visit outside the palace.
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47. City Palace Museum, Jaipur
• Textile Museum is the first museum that one can see while
entering the City Palace area.
• This museum contains the many ornaments as well as the
garments which are worn by the Kings and the other
people of the Royal families .
• The most fabulous piece of the museum is the dress which
was worn by Sawai Raja Madho Singh II and it is also the
most attractive part of the museum. The cloth used for this
garment is basically 190 metres in length as he had a bigger
body.
• Various ornaments as well as the dresses of the queens or
the bridal women of the royal families are also there in
textile museum.
• Best thing to be noticed in this museum is the polo uniform
of Sawai Raja Maan Singh II.
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48. City Palace Museum, Jaipur
• The Arms Gallery
• Various kinds of weapons are found here in this
museum-different kinds of pistols, swords,
daggers, shields .
• Pistols with double barrels, three barrels and four
barrels are one of the greatest attractions of the
museum.
• Long barrels guns are also there in the museum
that could only be taken else somewhere by
keeping them on the back of the camel or
elephant as these guns are very heavy because of
the long barrels.
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49. City Palace Museum, Jaipur
• The 'Diwan-I-Khas' or the 'Hall of Private Audience' is a marble
floored chamber located between the armoury and the art gallery.
• There are two huge sterling silver vessels of 1.6 metres (5.2 ft)
height and each with capacity of 4000 litres and weighing 340
kilograms on display here.
• They were made from 14,000 melted silver coins without soldering.
They hold the Guinness World Record as the world's largest sterling
silver vessels.[17] These vessels were specially made by Maharaja
Sawai Madho Singh II, who was a highly pious Hindu, to carry the
water of the Ganges to drink on his trip to England in 1901 as he
was finicky about committing religious sin by consuming the English
water.
• Hence, the vessels are named as Gangajelies (Ganges-water urns).
• There are a number of crystal chandeliers hanging from the ceiling
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50. City Palace Museum, Jaipur
• Bagghi Khana
• Bagghi Khana is a museum in the palace complex
where a collection of old carriages, palanquins and
European cabs adopted as baggis to Indian situations
are on display here. The baggi which attracts attention
is the one gifted by Prince of Wales to the Maharaja in
1876, called the Victoria baggi.
• Also on display here are the mahadol, palanquin with
a single bamboo bar that was used to carry the priests
and a ratha (chariot) that was used for carrying the
idols of Hindu gods in procession on festive occasions
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51. City Palace Museum, Udaipur
• The City Palace Museum is the jewel in the crown of the Udaipur City Palace
Complex.
• It gives the history of the Maharanas of Mewar, and really get a feel for their
culture and how royalty lived.
• The sprawling Museum is actually a series of palaces, including the Mardana
Mahal (palace for the royal men) and Zenana Mahal (palace for the royal
women).
• Construction on the City Palace started in 1559, making it the oldest part of
the City Palace Complex. The various Maharanas continued the work over
four and a half centuries, in a number of phases, giving rise to the Mughal and
British influences in the palace architecture.
• In 1969, the City Palace was opened to the public as the City Palace Museum.
• This was done out of necessity, in order to generate income and maintain the
building after India became a democracy, and royal rulers had to give up their
states and fend for themselves.
• The Museum is now overseen by the Maharana of Mewar Charitable
Foundation.
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52. City Palace Museum, Udaipur
• The current custodian of the House of Mewar, Shriji Arvind Singh
Mewar, hasn't merely been content with restoring the City Palace
to its former glory. Around 20 projects are underway to develop it
into a world class museum.
• Once such project is the exhibition of priceless royal family
photographs. The interior of the Museum is also adorned with
priceless artwork, which documents royal history before Udaipur
got its first camera in 1857. A collection of personal portraits of
Shriji Arvind Singh Mewar is on display as well.
• Recently, the world's first silver museum and gallery of royal
musical instruments were added.
• Being the largest part of the Udaipur City Palace Complex, the City
Palace Museum stretches 33 meters high, 333 meters long, and 90
meters wide.
• It was designed to hinder enemy attack.
• The Museum is open 9.30 a.m. to 5.30 p.m daily.
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53. City Palace Museum, Udaipur
• The main entrance to the Udaipur City Palace Complex is
known as Badi Pol.
• After passing through the entrance, there is a courtyard.
• On the east wall, there are eight stone ornamental arches.
• Known as "torans", these arches were constructed by Rana
Jagat Singh I, during the period 1628 to 1652.
• They mark the spot where, on special occasions such as
vists to holy places, the rulers were weighted against gold
or silver. The equivalent value was distributed to the needy.
• Head through Tripoliya, the triple arched gate made of
marble, it reaches Manek Chowk.
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55. City Palace Museum, Udaipur
• Manek Chowk is perhaps the most recognizable
feature of the Udaipur City Palace Museum. This
huge grassy courtyard fronts the main entrance
to the Mardana Mahal, Palace of Kings.
• Constructed by Rana Karan Singhji during the
period 1620-1628, Manek Chowk was used for
public meetings, ceremonial processions, horse
cavalry, elephant parades, and other festivals.
The courtyard now has a beautifully laid out
Mughal style garden, created in 1992.
• To this day, it's still used by the Mewar royal
family for festivals and special celebrations.
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56. City Palace Museum, Udaipur
• The main entrance to the Palace building adorned with the
Royal Crest of the House of Mewar. On the crest is a
Rajput warrior and Bhil tribal, along with the rising sun.
• The motto is, "The Almighty protect those who stand
steadfast in upholding righteousness". The sun symbol
represents Surya the Sun God, whom the Maharanas of
Mewar draw their linage from.
• To the right of the palace building is the triple arched gate,
known as Tripoliya. It was built in 1711, almost 100 years
after Manek Chowk and Badi Pol (the big entrance), by
Rana Sangram Singhji II.
• Manek Chowk has very much stepped into the modern age
now. There are book, clothing, and souvenir shops, as well
as the Palki Khana restaurant. A sound and light show is
also held there every evening.
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57. City Palace Museum, Udaipur
• After walking through the entrance to the Palace of Kings
and Udaipur City Palace Museum, the Assembly Hall opens
to Ganesh Chowk.
• There is Ganesh Deodhi -- an ornate idol of Lord Ganesh,
the remover of obstacles and Lord of success.
• The idol, sculptured from marble, was made by Rana Karan
Singhji in 1620. The fine glass inlay work around it is
absolutely superb.
• From here, the staircase climbs upwards to Rajya Angan,
the royal courtyard.
• Of note, on the top of the staircase is the famous painting
of Bapa Rawal, the founder of the Mewar Dynasty in 734
A.D. He is pictured accepting the trusteeship of the
kingdom from his guru, Harit Rashi.
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58. City Palace Museum, Udaipur
• PRATAP GALLERY
• Inside the Rajya Angan (royal courtyard) a gallery devoted to the
legendary warrior Maharana Pratap and his horse Chetak.
• The gallery displays the original armor and weapons used by
Maharana Pratap and Chetak during the great battle of Haldi Ghati in
1576, between the Rajputs and Mughals.
• What's particularly fascinating is the elephant-like trunk worn by the
horse. It served to disguise the horse as an elephant, to help avoid
malicious attacks from other sword wielding elephants during the
battle. Incredibly, elephants fought by holding mardanaswords in
their their trunks and slashing the enemy with them.
• It was a wound from one of these swords that unfortunately killed
Chetak, during the battle of Haldi Ghati. Legend has it that the horse
reared up high and planted its hooves on the forehead of Imperial
Mughal Commander Man Singh's elephant, while Maharana Pratap
courageously attempted to slay him with a lance. Man Singh managed
to duck, and the blow killed the mahout (elephant driver) instead. The
horse was critically wounded in the melee that followed.
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59. City Palace Museum, Udaipur
• Badi Mahal, known as the Garden Palace, is the
highest point in the Udaipur City Palace Museum. It
was built during the reign of Rana Amar Singh II, in
1699. Its 104 intricately carved pillars have been made
out of local marble. On the ceiling are cleverly fixed
marble tiles, highlighting the amazing skill and
craftsmanship of the local artisans.
• What makes Badi Mahal unique is its location. The
courtyard is full of large shady trees, and is a peaceful
place to relax and take in the palace surroundings. Its
height also provides a great vantage point for viewing
the town and Lake Pichola.
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60. City Palace Museum, Udaipur
• Badi Chitrashali Chowk -The blue Chinese tiles, colored
glass, and wall murals make Badi Chitrashali Chowk a
bright and cheery place to be. Indeed, it was used as an
entertainment space by the Maharanas. Music and
dance performances, and private parties were held
there.
• The ornate Mor Chowk (Peacock Courtyard) is often
referred to as the most spectacular courtyard of the
Udaipur City Palace Museum. Five peacocks decorate
the courtyard, which is also covered with beautiful
glass inlay work. The Maharanas held special audiences
and dinners there.
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62. • An impressive part of the Zenana Mahal (Queen's
Palace) is an open pavilion called Chowmukha. The
Queen used to hold audiences here, with other royal
ladies and ladies-in-waiting of the royal court, during
special occasions and festivals. Banquets and other
celebrations are still held there.
• Chowmukha was built by Rana Sangram Singhji II
during his reign from 1710-1734. The dome on top of
the pavilion was added to commemorate the 1999-
2000 millennium, and is known as the Millennium
Dome.
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64. • The captivating City Palace Museum galleries are filled
with priceless regal memorabilia.
• Two of the most important ones are the Silver Gallery
and Music Gallery.
• The Silver Gallery contains numerous precious pieces
of silverware used by the royal household. The
highlights include a crib for newborn babies, chariot to
carry religious idols when taken out in procession, a
horse cart, and mandap for daily rituals.
• On display in the Symphony of Mewar Music Gallery,
located in the Zenana Mahal, are many antique musical
instruments belonging to Mewar kings.
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65. Umaid BhawanMuseum, Jodhpur
• Umaid Bhawan Palace, located in Jodhpur in Rajasthan, India, is
one of the world's largest private residences.
• A part of the palace is managed by Taj Hotels.
• Named after Maharaja Umaid Singh, grandfather of the present
owner Gaj Singh.
• The palace has 347 rooms and is the principal residence of the
former Jodhpur royal family. A part of the palace is a museum.
• Ground for the foundations of the building was broken on 18
November 1929 by Maharaja Umaid Singh and the construction
work was completed in 1943.
• The palace is mainly divided into three compartments namely the
Maharaja’s royal residence, a museum and a heritage hotel.
• The museum here has a huge collection of weapons, a banner
presented by Queen Victoria and amazing clocks providing detailed
information about the royal era of Rajasthan.
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67. Umaid BhawanMuseum, Jodhpur
• History and Legend
• Umaid Bhawan Palace was originally designed by H V Lanchester, a
well-known Edwardian architect. After the palace disheveled on
18th November 1929, again the foundation stone was laid by
Maharaja himself on Chittar hill.
• There were around fifty thousand men and women, who worked
for more than fifteen years to construct this majestic palace, under
the supervision of architect Goldstraw. The architect use to get
thousand rupees per month and the workers were paid only fifty
paisa a day.
• All the colored stones which were used in the construction of the
building were brought by a special train. And the skilled workers cut
the big pieces of stones into intricate design form. The imposing
palace cost Maharaja around rupees 94, 51,565.
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68. • Umaid Bhawan Palace Museum
• Another prime compartment of Umaid
Bhawan Palace is the palace museum, which is
the repository of the very essence and spirit of
the land. The museum is open to public, only
closed on Sundays. The museum contains a
massive collection of arms, furniture, clocks
and China vases.
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69. BIRLA INDUSTRIAL & TECHNOLOGICAL MUSEUM,
KOLKATA
(National Council of Science Museums, Ministry of Culture, Govt. of
India)
• The first science museum in India was set up by
the industrialist Ghanshyam Das Birla at BITS,
in Pilani in a hall (185 sq.mt area) of the Tower
Building.
• The museum depicted mainly the industries
and business enterprises of the Birlas.
• The museum was opened to the public in 1954.
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70. • Existing galleries
• The Children’s Gallery. (April 2013.)
• The Mathematics Gallery. (March 2011.)
• Biotechnology
• Children's Gallery. Inaugurated on 14 November 2012
• Electricity
• Fascinating Physics
• Life Science
• Mathematics
• Metals
• Mock-up Coal Mine
• Motive Power
• Popular Science
• Television
• Transport
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71. Napier Museum , Thiruvananthapuram
• The Napier Museum is an art and natural
history museum situated
in Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum), the capital city
of Kerala.
• The museum houses a rare collection of
archaeological and historic artifacts, 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
ofMughal and Tanjore art.
• The Museum grounds also hold a Zoological garden,
which is one of the oldest in India. This Zoo was
established in 1857 and is spread over 55 acres
(220,000 m2) of land.
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73. CALICO MUSEUM OF TEXTILES, AHMEDABAD
• The Calico Museum of Textiles is located in the city
of Ahmedabad in the state of Gujarat in
western India.The museum is managed by the
Sarabhai Foundation and is one of the most popular
tourist attractions in Ahmedabad.
• The textiles on display include court textiles used by
the Mughal and provincial rulers of 15th to 19th
centuries.
• Rregional embroideries of the 19th century, tie-dyed
textiles and religious textiles.
• The galleries also have exhibits on ritual art and
sculpture, temple hangings, miniature paintings,
South Indian bronzes, Jain art and sculpture, and
furniture and crafts. There are also textile techniques
galleries and a library.
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74. National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi
• Established in the year 1954, this is the best
place to explore Indian contemporary art. The
royal building of the museum was formerly
the residence of erstwhile Maharajas of Jaipur.
It houses a splendid collection of paintings,
some of which are as old as 150 years.
• The painting treasure housed here includes
the 19th and early-20th century paintings of
British artists, Thomas Daniell, and his
nephew, William.
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75. The Nehru Memorial Museum & Library ,New Delhi
• The Nehru Memorial Museum & Library (NMML) established
in the memory of Jawaharlal Nehru (1889 - 1964) is an
autonomous institution under the Ministry of Culture,
Government of India.
• The Museum at Teen Murti House has been primarily
developed as a personalia museum. Some of the rooms, such
as thebedroom, the drawing room and the study have been
preserved as they were at the time of Jawaharlal Nehru’s
death.
• The NMML also houses a specialized Library which has been
designed and developed as a specific research and reference
centre on colonial and post-colonial India with its very rich
and varied collection of books, journals, photographs and
other resource materials on microfilm
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76. • Set up by the renowned political cartoonist, K.
Shankar Pillai (1902-1989), Shankar's
International Dolls Museum has one of the
largest collection of costume dolls anywhere
in the world.
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77. • The International Doll Museum, one of the most
unique and beautiful museums in India, housing a
collection of dolls from all world, curated by K.
Shankar Pillai, one of the most celebrated
political cartoonists in India, who also set up the
pioneering children’s publications, better known
as CBT, or the Children’s Book Trust. With political
figures from all around the world gifting and
donating dolls to the museum, the collection now
stands at a whopping 6,500 dolls, divided into
two sections, with dolls from the the Asian
subcontinent in one and from the rest of the
world in the other section.
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79. Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya,
Mumbai
• Formerly known as Prince of Wales Museum of Western India is the
main museum in Mumbai.
• It was founded in the early years of the 20th century by prominent
citizens of Bombay, with the help of the government, to
commemorate the visit of the then prince of Wales.
• It is located in the heart of South Mumbai near the Gateway of India.
• The museum building is built in the Indo-Saracenic style of
architecture, incorporating elements of other styles of architecture
like the Mughal, Maratha and Jain.
• The museum building is surrounded by a garden of palm trees and
formal flower beds.
'George Vth, The Prince of Wales, laid the
foundation stone on 11th November 1905'
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80. • The museum houses approximately 50,000 exhibits
of ancient Indian history as well as objects from
foreign lands, categorized primarily into three
sections: Art, Archaeology and Natural History.
• The museum houses Indus Valley
Civilization artefacts, and other relics from ancient
India from the time of
the Guptas, Mauryas, Chalukyas and Rashtrakuta.
• The Maritime Heritage Gallery, which displays
objects relating to navigation, is the "first of its kind
in India”.
• In 2008, the Museum installed two new galleries,
displaying the "Karl and Meherbai Khandalavala
collection" and "the Coins of India".
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81. • "Karl and Meherbai Khandalavala“ gallery showcases
a selection of renowned art patron and historian Karl
Khandalavala’s collection of 700 antiquities
comprising paintings, drawings and sculptures. The
display captures the breadth of his interest in Indian
art: the objects sweep through the vast period
between the third century and the early twentieth
century.
• There are sculptures from Gandhara, south India
and Nepal but the strongest works in the collection
are the Rajasthani, Pahari and Mughal miniatures.
• Khandalavala, who was on the board of the museum
from 1949 to 1995, This gallery is a tribute to the
man who had a very refined eye for art and who
guided the development of this museum for several
years.
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82. The Victoria Memorial, Kolkata
• The Victoria Memorial is a memorial building
dedicated to Victoria Queen of the United
Kingdom and Empress of India located in
Kolkata- the capital of West Bengal and a former
capital of British India.
• It currently serves as a museum and a tourist
attraction.
• It is an autonomous organization within the
Government of India's Ministry of Culture.
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83. • The memorial was designed by Sir William
Emerson in an architectural style similar to
Belfast City Hall. Building is Indo-Saracenic style,
incorporating Mughal elements in the structure.
• Vincent Esch was the superintending architect
while Lord Redesdale and Sir David Prain
designed the gardens.
• The work of construction was entrusted to
Messrs Martin & Co. of Calcutta.
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84. • The Memorial is the largest repository in India
for a visual history of Calcutta. It also has a major
collection of paintings, sculptures and
manuscripts from the British period
• The Calcutta Gallery displays the history and
development of Calcutta from Job Charnok and
the British rule up to 1911,when the capital was
shifted to Delhi.
• The gallery also has a life size diorama of the
view of the Chitpur road in the late 19th century.
Chitpur was the main business centre in those
days, presently known as the Burabazar area.
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85. Unique & Amazing Museums in India
• National Rail Museum , New Delhi
• Baywatch Wax Museum, Kanyakumari
• Khalsa Heritage Museum -Anandpur
• Naval Aviation Museum-Vascoda
• Government Archaeological Museum, Bangalore
• National Crafts Museum-New Delhi
• Mayong Black Magic and Witchcraft Museum,
Guwahati
• Maritime Museum of INS Vikrant(R11), Mumbai
• Fossil Park Museum, Sirmaur
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86. • Calico Museum of Textiles, Ahmedabad
• Antarang Museum of Sexual Health
Information, Mumbai
• Paldi Kite Museum, Ahmedabad
• Sulabh International Museum of Toilets, New
Delhi
• Island museum, Nagarjunakonda
• Jawahar Toy Museum, Pondicherry
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88. • The National Rail Museum is situated in
Chanakyapuri area of New Delhi, over 10 acres
of land. This unique museum witness toy
trains and great collection of carriages,
antique steam locomotives, other Railways
masterpiece. National Rail Museum contains
the rail heritage of India which includes Fairy
Queen-the oldest running steam locomotive in
the world, Patiala State Monorail Trainways-
the unique steam monorail,Matheran Rail and
Kalka Shimla Rail Bus.
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90. Baywatch Wax Museum, Kanyakumari
• The Baywatch Wax Museum is situated in the
seaside amusement park of Baywatch city in
Kanyakumari region of Tamil Nadu. Wax
Museum of Kanyakumari is a popular
attraction and first Wax Museum in India,
others are wax museum in Lonavala, Kolhapur
Wax Museum and Wax World Museum
Goa. Baywatch Wax Museum features wax
models and statues of famous personalities
and stars.
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92. • The Khalsa Heritage Memorial Complex or
popularly known as Virasat-e-Khalsa is
fabulous museum situated in Anandpur Sahib
of Rupnagar district,Punjab.
• Virasat-e-Khalsa is the most beautiful museum
in India inaugurated on November 25, 2011.
Virasat-e-Khalsa museum features the rich
culture and heritage of Punjab along with a
glimpse to Sikhism and the Khalsa Panth.
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94. • The popular air and space museum located
near Vasco da Gama in Goa.
• Naval Aviation Museum is one of the two
military museum inaugurated in 1998, other
being the Indian Air Force Museum at Palam
in Delhi.
• The military museum of India display the
evolution of Indian Naval Air Arm,various
aircraft engines and aircrafts, some of them
are Short Sealand Mk 2,HAL Chetak and
Westland Sea King Mk 42.
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96. • The Government Museum of Bangalore is one of
the oldest museum in south India with rare
collection of old jewellery, sculpture, coins and
inscriptions along with Halmidi inscription.
• The museum is an Archaeological Museum with two
exhibition and 18 galleries of sculpture, natural
history, geology, music and numismatics.
• The Halmidi inscription is the oldest known Kannada
language inscription in the Kannada script. Experts agree that it is the
oldest and the inscription is usually dated to the 450 CE - 500 CE
period . The inscription was discovered in 1936 by Dr. M. H. Krishna,
the Director of Archaeology in the (princely) State of Mysore (present-
day Karnataka region of India), in Halmidi, a village in the
Hassan taluk.
• The original inscription is kept in the Office of the Director of
Archaeology and Museums, Govt. of Karnataka, Mysore.
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98. • The National Handicrafts and Handlooms
Museum is located near the Purana Qila
complex at the corner of Pragati Maidan in
New Delhi.
• National Crafts Museum is one of the largest
crafts museums in India, reflecting the Indian
traditions, Tribal and Rural culture through
textiles, painting and various crafts made by
stone wood and clay.
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100. • The Mayong Central Museum and Emporium
is located near the Guwahati at Mayong in
Assam.
• Mayong Central Museum contains various
mythological epic and some of the ancient
manuscript of Black Magic and Ayurveda.
Mayong hill town is well known as India’s
capital of black magic.
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102. • The Maritime Museum is located in Cuff
Parade Mumbai with a Majestic class aircraft
carrier INS Vikrant (R11) of the Indian
Navy. INS Vikrant (R11) was the first aircraft
carrier of the Indian Navy and served over
twenty years. INS Kursura (S20) is another
submarine Museum on Ramakrishna Mission
Beach in Visakhapatnam.
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104. • The Fossil Museum of India or the
Shivalik Fossil Park is situated in Sirmaur district of
Himachal Pradesh.
• This one of the best museums in India has an
extensive collection of fossils and skeletons of
prehistoric animals. These animals were mostly
native to Shivaliks and surrounding geological
formations. You will find lifesize models of various
extinct mammals and other animals made of resins
and fiberglass
• There are other fossil park as well in India Mandla
Plant Fossils National Park and Dinosaur Fossil Park
in Dhar.
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106. • The Calico Museum of Textiles is one of the
most popular tourist attractions in
Ahmedabad.
• Calico Museum of Textiles exhibits an
enormous collection of fabrics .
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108. • Antarang Museum located in Mumbai and the
only museum of its kind in South Asia.
• The Antarang Sex Health Information Art
Gallery is dedicated to teach about the
human body, sexuality and AIDS.
• It has collection of visual display, sculptures
and exhibition to educates visitors.
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110. • The Kite Museum of Ahmedabad is one of the
major tourist attractions of India having
collection of rare types of kites at one place.
Paldi Kite Museum display fascinating facts
about kites, as Gujarat is well known for
International Kite Festival during the
Uttarayan or Makar Sankranti.
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112. • The world famous Sulabh International
Museum of Toilets located in in New Delhi,
known for different variety of Toilets and rare
collection of objects, facts and pictures
showing the historic evolution of toilets from
BC to modern ear.
• The unique Museum of Toilets is the only of its
kind in the Indian Sub-continent
• Exhibits are from over 50 countries.
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114. • One of the best archeological museums in India,
this one is dedicated to older civilizations of
India.
• The intricacies of town planning in that era and
the perfection of various utilities for those town
are more engaging and gripping than you assume
them to be.
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116. • Designed in the Shape of a Buddhist Vihara,
this unique museum depicts the culture and
remnants of Buddhism.
• In their collection, there is a tooth and an
earring which is said to be believed of Gautam
Buddha.
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117. LIBRARY
• It is a room where books are kept
• It is a collection of literary documents or record
kept for reference or borrowing
• Reading room is provided in the library
• They play important role in education
• Educational institutes have library
• There are public library
• The use of technology facilitates library
operations. The availability of the book or other
resources can be checked online.
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118. Public Libraries of National Importance
• The Khuda Baksha Public Library
• The Rampur Raza Library
• The Asiatic Society, Kolkata
• The National Library, Kolkata it is the largest
library in India
• The Central Reference Library
• The Delhi Public Library
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119. The National Library of India , Kolkata
• The National Library of India in Kolkata, is the largest library in India
by volume (2.2 million books)and India's library of public record.
• It is under the Department of Culture, Ministry of Tourism &
Culture, Government of India.
• The library is designated to collect, disseminate and preserve the
printed material produced in India.
• The library is situated on the scenic 30 acre Belvedere Estate, in
Kolkata.
• It is India's only Category 6 library and is one of the four depository
libraries in the country where publishers are required, under The
Delivery of Books And Newspapers (Public Libraries) Act, 1954, "to
supply books published in India, by Indians abroad or any title that
might be of interest to Indians".
• It is also India's sole repository library where all books, publications
and official documents in its custody have to be stored in perpetuity.
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120. The Rampur Raza Library, Uttar Pradesh
• The Rampur Raza Library located in Rampur, Uttar
Pradesh, India is a repository of Indo-Islamic cultural heritage
and a treasure-house of knowledge established in last
decades 18th century, and built up by successive Nawabs of
Rampur and now managed by Government of India.
• It contains very rare and valuable collection of manuscripts,
historical documents, specimens of Islamic calligraphy,
miniature paintings, astronomical instruments and rare
illustrated works inArabic and Persian.
• Rampur's Raza Library also contains printed works
in Sanskrit, Hindi, Urdu, Pashto (having the original
manuscript of the first translation of the Qur'an in addition to
other important books/documents), Tamil and Turkish, and
approximately 30,000 printed books (including periodicals) in
various other languages.
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122. Khuda Bakhsh Oriental Library, Patna
• Khuda Bakhsh Oriental Library is one of the national
libraries of India.
• It was opened to public in October, 1891 by Khan
Bahadur Khuda Bakhsh with 4,000 manuscripts, of which
he inherited 1,400 from his father Maulvi Mohammed
Bakhsh.
• It is an autonomous organization under Ministry of
Culture, Government of India, and is governed by a Board
with the Governor of Bihar as its ex-officio Chairman.
known for its rare collection
of Persian and Arabic manuscripts.
• It also hosts paintings made during
the Rajput and Mughal eras of India.
• It is also a designated 'Manuscript Conservation Centre'
(MCC) under the National Mission for Manuscripts.
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123. National Archives of India
• The National Archives of India is the repository
of the non-current records of the Government
of India and is holding them in trust for the use
of administrators and scholars.
• It is an Attached Office of the Ministry of
Culture.
• It was set up in March 1891 in Calcutta (Kolkata)
as the Imperial Record Department and
subsequent to the transfer of the National
Capital from Calcutta to New Delhi in 1911 .It
was shifted to its present building in 1926. ...
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124. • Shri K.R. Narayanan, then President of India,
declared open the "Museum of the National
Archives" to the general public on 6 July 1998. This
Museum is a representative overview of the
multifarious holdings of the National Archives,
promotes a common man's interest in archival
holdings.
• It has a Regional Office at Bhopal and three Record
Centres at Bhubaneswar, Jaipur and Pondicherry.
• The records holdings in the National Archives are in
a regular series starting from the year 1748 A.D.
These are in English, Arabic, Hindi, Persian, Sanskrit,
Modi, Urdu etc., These records are on paper, palm
leaf, birch bark, parchment etc. They are broadly of
four categories : Public Records, Oriental Records,
Manuscripts and Private Papers.
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126. Important Museums of the world
1. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.
2. Le Louvre, Paris, France
3. The Acropolis Museum, Athens, Greece
4. State Hermitage, St. Petersburg, Russia
5. The British Museum, London, England
6. The Prado, Madrid, Spain
7. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, New York
8. The Vatican Museums, Vatican City, Italy
9. The Vatican Museums, Vatican City, Italy
10. The Uffizi Gallery, Florence, Italy
11. Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
(From the National Geographic book The 10 Best of Everything)
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127. 1. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. : The
Smithsonian is the world’s largest research and
museum complex, with 19 museums and
galleries, the National Zoological Park, and
various research stations.
2. Le Louvre, Paris, France: The Louvre was a
medieval fortress and the palace of the kings of
France before becoming a museum two
centuries ago. The addition of I. M. Pei’s pyramid
shocked many when it was unveiled in 1989 as
the new main entrance. It houses Leonardo da
Vinci’s “Mona Lisa.”
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128. The Louvre Museum as seen through the Louvre Pyramid glass in Paris, France
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129. 3. The Acropolis Museum, Athens, Greece
• The stunning ground floor gallery houses finds from the slopes of the
Acropolis.
4. State Hermitage, St. Petersburg, Russia
• Russia may be isolated from the artistic centers of Paris, Rome, and
London, but the Hermitage has managed to acquire a spectacular
collection of world art—more than three million items—spanning the
years from the Stone Age to the early 20th century. This gloriously
baroque, blue-and-white structure was finished in 1764 and over the
next several centuries was the main residence of the czars. Gold
Rooms showcase golden masterpieces from Eurasia, the Black Sea
Littoral in antiquity, and the Orient.
5. The British Museum, London, England
• Britain’s largest museum looks after the national collection of
archaeology and ethnography—more than eight million objects
ranging from prehistoric bones to chunks of Athens’ Parthenon, from
whole Assyrian palace rooms to exquisite gold jewels. The Egyptian
gallery boasts the world’s second finest collection of Egyptian
antiquities outside Egypt, including the Rosetta Stone, carved in 196
B.C.
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130. 6. The Prado, Madrid, Spain
• The Spanish royal family is responsible for the
Prado’s bounty of classical masterpieces. Over
centuries, kings and queens collected and
commissioned art with passion and good taste
7. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City,
New York
• The Metropolitan Museum of Art is the largest
museum in the Western Hemisphere. Its collection of
more than two million items is not only broad—
covering the entire world, from antiquity to the
present—but deep, with holdings so large in a
number of areas that some might be considered
museums unto themselves.
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131. 8. The Vatican Museums, Vatican City, Italy
9. The Uffizi Gallery, Florence, Italy
• “Great” is an overworked adjective in Italy, where so
many of the country’s monuments and works of art
command the highest praise. In the case of the
Galleria degli Uffizi, it barely does justice to a gallery
that holds the world’s finest collection of
Renaissance paintings. All the famous names of
Italian art are here—not only the Renaissance
masters, but also painters from the early medieval,
baroque, and Mannerist heydays.
10. Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
• About 900,000 objects fill the Rijksmuseum, the
largest collection of art and history in
the Netherlands.
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