The Govt Museum of Chennai

It had been years since I visited the 'seththa' college of Chennai. To give my wife the much needed break and to help her study for her exams, I decided to take my two and half year old son out for a day. The choice was the museum. It was not a good choice for the purpose after all. Except for the miniature model museum, to be specific, the miniature cars in the model, nothing inside the museum kept him occupied. He, of course, enjoyed the walking around the museum part.

The museum was clean and pleasant. It was evident that the same care has been given for the artifacts they maintain in the museum. However, I was not equally impressed with the display of our national treasures. As a nation with a long history and prehistoric culture, we are used to the treasures strewn all around us. Unlike many nations,we still carry on and practise a life style which has been in vogue for several thousand years. Even today our places of worship, the centres of our ancient craftsmenship still plays the host to these treasures. As a result, we do not give these treasures their due importance and place. Even if we value them, we do not let the worldknow our place. The british boast of their collection from all over the world, including the tons of gold ornaments that they had taken from India during the Raj. There is hardly anything older than five hundred years in the United States, still they are proud of showcasing their natural wealth. And, what we do? Having been used to the wealthof history, we had lost the sense of importance of our treasure. The stone and bronze statues on the display are supported by cryptic, hard to read small font explanations. In many cases, the paper notes are half eaten by moth. One walk around the hall leaves our eyes strained from reading. Certainly not an invite to a second visit.

To be fair, I dont think the museum is adequately staffed. I doubt that they are adequately funded either. They may think of seeking the help of volunteers, Im interested! I know a lot of you out there volunteer for many social causes. Is not this worth its time and effort?