Muse over Museums

Museums are the guardians of our collective memory, the storytellers of human achievement, and the catalysts for future innovation. Their importance lies not just in preserving the past, but in shaping our understanding of the present and inspiring the possibilities of tomorrow. 

Amy Hawkins

               Science City, Kolkata 

It is basically a tale of two cities with the one hand holding me through the process of assimilation and the other through the process of affirmation.

I, Sudeshna Chatterjee, was an arts student by choice, but I loved Physics and Biology too. However, in the late eighties, our education boards were not patronizing enough to promote fusion courses of an amalgam of select arts and science subjects in the higher secondary classes. But during then, our science museums were in the evolving state of getting into interactive modes, thanks to the visionary leadership of Dr.Saroj Ghose who recently passed away. Hence, when I became a journalist and went to the country’s largest interactive centre, Nehru Science Centre, Mumbai, Maharashtra, to cover some trending stories in the late nineties, I found an amiable director in Ganga S Rautela. He still breathes science and spreads it among the underprivileged children in remote areas of Uttarakhand. When I saw the 3D science-based documentary films for the first time, the connection with science became more engaging and consequently enthralling. The bond continues even today.

 

But this blog of mine is not just on science museums. Rautela says there are a total of about 1200 museums now in India. Earlier, there was a difference between science museums and science centers with the latter being more tactile. But now, all our museums, including arts and multipurpose museums have become quite interactive. And I see a splendid cohabitation of arts and science in most museums and science centers as well. Because the science behind is incomplete without knowing the cultural heritage a phenomenon carries. In this regard, I remember a textile exhibition in the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangralaya (CSMVS) and their one-day workshops on traditional crafts in association with Paramparik Karigar. Or, the exhibits on archaeological finds at the Dr Bhau Daji Lad Museum. Set up in 1855, it is the oldest museum in Mumbai. I still remember my trip into the awe-inspiring art museum, Salar Jung, in Hyderabad. Sculptures and especially Veiled Rebecca mesmerised me.   

 

.          Veiled Rebecca at Salar Jung

        

 If it is Science City, in Kolkata, West Bengal (WB), you will witness the grandeur in technology, such is the immersive experiences. It is currently the largest science centre in the Indian subcontinent, containing a science museum, a science park and auditoriums. A particularly inspiring aspect of this centre is that it showcases a beautiful Butterfly garden symbolising the importance of the 'art of living' in everyday life. Through colourful larvae of different species, the lifecycle of a butterfly is explained along with intriguing facts as to why butterflies lay eggs on a particular plant. Incidentally WB also has the record number of science centres/museums in India. And the first one under the National Council of Science Museums, Ministry of Culture, Government of India, also came up here in Kolkata in 1959, and is still one of the best in the country: Birla Industrial & Technological Museum. I visited this museum a few years ago and particularly remember their gallery for the sightless called, ‘World in Darkness’. The very first museum in India, the multipurpose Indian Museum, set up in 1814 is also housed in Kolkata. It has at least eight museums taking account of both private and public institutions. That reminds me of the striking red brick building featuring The RBI (The Reserve Bank of India) museum in Kolkata. The bank’s first central office was housed in this building. It started its operation way back in 1935. The museum includes many interactive displays, videos and riveting details to understand the history of the world of banking. For example, Jataka Tales (c. 3000 BC) and Kanheri Caves Inscriptions (Ist cent. BC) at Mumbai are some of the early references to banking in India. Currencies and coins have intriguing forms and facts like a Buddha head sculpture from shredded currency notes!!

Rautela opines, art and culture have the same value as science and technology for social development. Now educationists talk integrated approach called STEAM or Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics. Here the focus is on creating such narratives conditioned by creativity and innovation. This wind of change has also impacted museum world and new approaches to encourage creativity and innovation in presentations and activities are adopted specially in science museums and centres.

 

                   Ganga S Rautela 

Knowledge and understanding are often the best weapons in the face of mistrusts and misunderstandings. The museum has the power to showcase this. Also it evolves our thought process. All this happens through the interactive programmes of the museums like workshops, games, discourses etc. Fifteen years ago, I came across a lady through one such lecture who changed my perspective on museums. Barbara Winters, then assistant secretary general, Commonwealth Association of Museums, was in Mumbai for its first conference in India at the CSMVS. My interview with Winters appeared on the edit page of The Times of India. She was the first museum professional to tell me that museums no longer only centre around collectibles, but feature ideas as prominently. Think of the Peace Museum (one is at Imphal, Manipur), Apartheid Museum, Holocaust Museum, Museum of Human Rights etc. The museum staffers collaborate and partner with communities for mutual benefit and with mutual respect. Over the years,  I have seen museums showcasing/ highlighting collections from indigenous communities for larger understanding.

This is one place where both adults and

adolescents could get a learning that will earn them more wisdom than words could manifest, thus impacting societal narratives. Little surprising that the proliferation of the museums today highlights contemporary needs and priorities. More educational institutions today for example ensures museum visit, a preferred part of their itinerary.

 

 

            Entrance foyer at the RBI Museum 

This year, the International Museum Day fell on a Sunday, May 18, 2025. The International Council of Museums (ICOM) theme for this year (2025) is very pertinent to the unsettling times we are inhabiting because of increasing misgivings and hostilities across the globe. The theme: The Future of Museums in Rapidly Changing Communities. This theme aligns with the ICOM General Conference taking place in Dubai in November. The theme explores how museums can adapt and evolve in a world of rapid change. 

#ICOM #DrSarojGhose #BarbaraWinters #STEAM #CommonwealthAssociationof Museums  #ScienceCity #NehruScienceCentre #DrBhauDajiLad #TheRBIMuseum #SalarJung #CSMVS