Q.

On basis of your field visit to National Museum and Akshardham Museum, discuss the relevance of the museum in evoking national pride, heritage and identity. The first thing that comes to mind on hearing the word Museum, is a building or a space which has certain artefacts, mostly related to history (of a place, country, person, event or particular subject). The word museum or art gallery also instantly evokes a building: bold, worthy of civic sense and even national pride. But what do museums do? What is the need for having a museum? Is it of extreme importance or just a waste of space? Does it evoke any sense of national pride and heritage among the citizens? If it does, then how and if it doesn't then why doesn't it? These are some questions which can be looked at when studying about the museums. The definition of a museum has varied over time. It started with being merely a private collection of elite individuals, then the opening up of public museums and the kind of museums we have today. A survey conducted by the International Council of Museums found that from the year 1946 to the year 2006, the definition of museums had changed. "In 1946, the word "museums" included all collections open to the public, of artistic, technical, scientific, historical or archaeological material, including zoos and botanical gardens, but excluding libraries, except in so far as they maintain permanent exhibition rooms."1 By 2006, according to the survey, the museum has become a non-profit making, permanent institution in the service of the society and its development. The traditional role of museums is to collect objects and materials of cultural, religious and historical importance, preserve them, research into them and present them to the public for the purpose of education and enjoyment. In 42nd amendment of the Indian Constitution, out of 10 fundamental duties, 3 deals with the peoples concern for their past, present and future environment. These are:1. To value and preserve the rich heritage of our composite culture. 2. To protect and improve the natural environment including forests, lakes, rivers and wild life and to have compassion for living creatures. 3. To develop scientific temper, humanism and the spirit of enquiry and reform. Museums are competent enough to help in fulfilling all the above goals.2 Today, this idea of 'museum culture is not uncommon to every country and almost every country or even a small state, has a museum. When reading about the museums one would also find that there are Museums of all sizes relating to different subjects and topics. Most common ones are art-history museums, archaeological museums, museums of natural history, science, maritime, war museums etc. What is the role of museums, in general? Are they simply keepers of history, neglected and forgotten? Or do they act as an inspiration for making movies, just like the famous Ben Stiller starrer, Night at the Museum? Or are they relevant institutions of knowledge and learning? The answer to this might vary from individual to individual. But it remains true that museums carefully preserve our history for future generations and provide a sense of connection to our past. They are the only source of "living history". They are an important institution of society which helps us identify with our country's culture. They are also a valuable source of creativity,
1

. George E. Hein, The Role of Museums in Society: Education and Social Action , Seminar for Museum Educators, Finland, 2005. 2 . Prabhas Kumar Singh, Museum and Education , OHRJ, Vol. XLVII, No. 1, Orissa State Museum, Bhubaneswar.

particularly organisations such as art galleries, as many people find themselves inspired and then take up such activities. Example; In the National Museum, Delhi, few students were seen sketching the sculptures in the art gallery. Museums hold more place in society than people give them credit for! For this assignment a field trip was organised to the National Museum, New Delhi and Akshardham Temple and Museum, New Delhi. This visit aroused in me a sense of pride and dignity about our country's past but also, being a student of history, I was a little disheartened to see the state of museums and also the way in which the artefacts of our ancestors are handled. Along with the national anthem, national festival, the national emblem, a nation needs its national library, its national country archive, and its national museum.3 The idea of having a National Museum was inspired by European Museums. Nevertheless, the National Museum stands as symbol of India's glorious past. It is a house to over two lakhs artefacts and it holds variety of articles ranging from pre-historic era to modern works of art. But it is not good enough to simply boast about the number of possessions in a museum. Until these possessions establish a connection with people in an interactive way, these artefacts are nothing but dead relics. The National Museum comprises of three floors, including the ground floor. The museum starts with the Harappan Gallery and goes on to show the progressive development of Indian sculptures, in a chronological manner. It includes, Maurya, Shunga and Satvahana Art, Gandhara, Mathura art, Gupta Art, Late Medieval Art, Buddhist Art, Indian Miniature Paintings etc. The other two floors are full of specialised galleries including, manuscripts, coins, wood carvings, musical instruments, war armaments, tribal lifestyle, costumes and textiles, maritime heritage etc. If downstairs the museum is arranged roughly chronologically with the intention of following the river of history, upstairs museum is turned into a series of still pools in which we might reflect upon the technical finesse of different kinds of artists and artisans as they work on metal wood or cloth.4 The National Museum Delhi is certainly the largest museum in India but seeing the condition, one is forced to believe that museum building in India is a forced concept one which does not come from within the society. A visit to National museum is recommended for everyone. One can see the patience and creativity and hard work done to get the museum in a particular order. There is no doubt about the fact that the museum carries out numerous exhibitions and tries its best but it definitely needs to do much more. The museum is in poor condition and it shows India's lack or concern about its heritage. It can start by improving the bad and fading signage along the artefacts and also putting up ample amount of good lighting. Certainly the curators or museum staff cannot change the artefacts but they can certainly change a way to present them and can bring a change in the overall environment of the museum. Kavita Singh in her article 'Museum is National' talks about the history behind building a national museum for the country. After reading her article I strongly felt that if so much pain was taken to erect this museum then same amount of pains must be taken to maintain it! Visiting the next site, The Akshardham Temple/ Museum was a big relief than the National Museum. This temple complex is also a house to Indian culture. The gigantic size of this temple itself is breathtaking. Akshardham Temple is considered to be the largest Hindu Temple Complex. It not only includes just a temple building but also includes lush, green gardens, fountains and fabulous exhibitions. What makes this place unique is the kind of programmes and exhibitions it
3 4

. Kavita Singh, Museum is National, India International Centre, Vol. 29, 2003. . Kavita Singh, Museum is National, India International Centre, Vol. 29, 2003. Pg 185.

has. Among four exhibitions, the Hall of Values (or Robotics), the Boat ride, film screening, and Musical fountain, first two were more appealing to me. The Robotics or Hall of Values is a 40 to 50 minutes show that displays unique use of the present day technology. With the help of human figured robots, the show is about learning and knowing the human values like, honesty, believing in self, non-violence, harmony and spirituality. This exhibition was based on the life incidents of Swaminarayan and was set in village setting of 18th century India. The cultural boat ride of 12 to 15 minutes is altogether an amazing experience! An indoor boat ride, this exhibition allows a visitor to sail through the 10,000 years of India's glorious past. Sitting in peacock shaped boat, one can learn about the ancient Indian rishis discovering the numeral zero, the rishis studying about laws of gravity, plastic surgery, Ayurveda and also the early aeroplanes! Everyone can enjoy this ride through the oldest Vedic Bazaars and village and can also imagine themselves sitting in the First University in the World, Takshashila. This way of technology combined with storytelling or as I like to call, History telling, takes the visitor back in India's glorious history. Museums are generally seen as places where one can learn about history of the country, place, person or events. So in this sense, it becomes important, as to what kind of information or history is the museum really representing? Here comes in the skills of the curator who puts the objects in such a way that it immediately makes sense to the visitor and is not left clueless. Labels or captions are also an important part of the object itself. They are required for identification and understanding. They should be short, to the point, self-explaining and also in a language which is understood by everyone. This is because; the exhibition is not only for a certain set of people but for people from all backgrounds. Along with this sufficient lighting, photographs, drawings, charts, models and other subsidiary materials can be used to explain all exhibit, supplementary to the object themselves. Keeping these in view, I found Akshardham Museum to be more appealing than the National Museum. The museums today act both as an academy and school for the people. Hence, the educational work of a museum today, directly involves research scholars and educationists on the transmitting end and the people in general at the receiving end. The museum professionals and the educationists, who are responsible for the educational activities, should use their knowledge in the framework of the educational programs and present them to the people for their understanding, debate and adaptation.5 This is clearly seen in the National Museum and they live up to this function by carrying out various youth related programs etc. With the technology advancing forward today, the museums should not be lagging behind in adopting the new technology. The impeccable use of technology as seen in the Akshardham Museum won me over. While the National Museum stuck to gallery depiction of artefacts, Akshardham Museum used the current technology and made the history come alive. When the classrooms are changing with the use of smart boards and computer controlling our lives, why should the Museums be dull and boring? Looking at the continuous history of India, it not surprising that we have the world's largest collection of art objects, some in the country and some displayed in foreign museums. Yet, these Museums generally see a large number of foreign tourists and for Indians, a visit to the museums mostly seems forced and unpopular. One of the classical examples for the disinterest in history among Indians is provided by large-scale use of the bricks taken from the forgotten urban
5

. Prabhas Kumar Singh, Museum and Education, OHRJ, Vol. XLVII, No. 1, Orissa State Museum, Bhubaneswar.

settlements of the Indus Valley Civilisation of 3,000 BC to lay either the foundations of railway lines or to construct their own houses. One way to remove such disinterest in the countrys past, is to plan the teaching of history in schools and colleges in close collaboration with the museums. History lessons can become more interesting, even for a lifetime, if the teaching of the lives of kings, queens, warriors and laymen are accompanied by glimpses of the ancient artefacts exhibited in museums. Field trips can be an exciting experience and are always enjoyed by students. The museums on their part can also be much more than being mere keepers of art. They can periodically advertise, with scholars explaining the importance of their collections in TV shows, which will arouse in the interest of the young and old across the country. History should not be left dead and buried but should be enjoyed and should be felt proud of! In conclusion, in a changing world, Museums must not hesitate to broaden their scope. Museums must be innovative, people-oriented, community-minded, programme-oriented, and professionally solid with well-trained personnel and above all, children-friendly, for them to play a major role in the development of a country and the world in the 21st century. This would need adequate resources like space, man power, keen interest of the authorities responsible for the development of museum educational programmes, which is yet to be fulfilled in the country like India. The museum provides a quick, effective and economical way of building of a nation, its background, resources, history, culture, crafts and arts. Therefore, if museums are to continue and progress, they cannot avoid serving this cause of education, and if education is to be effective, it dare not neglect the museums.

Bibliography
1. Singh, Kavita Museum is National, India International Centre, Vol. 29, 2003. 2. George E. Hein, George E. The Role of Museums in Society: Education and Social Action, Seminar for Museum Educators, Finland, 2005. 3. Prabhas Kumar Singh, Prabhas Kumar, Museum and Education , OHRJ, Vol. XLVII, No. 1, Orissa State Museum, Bhubaneswar.