Matters India Reporter
Kolkata, Feb 4, 2020: The Indian Museum Kolkata celebrated its 206th birthday with an evening of cultural and academic events.
The 2-hour celebrations on February 2 started with renowned Baul singer Parvathy Baul entertaining guests with Bengal’s unique folk songs – Baul geet.
Students of Bharat Seva Ashram and Don Bosco School Bandel participated along with their respective teachers and principals, and other eminent guests.
Director General of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya, Mumbai, Sabyasachi Mukherjee delivered Nathaniel Wallich Memorial Lecture on the topic “Museums, then and now – Understanding trends and changes in Indian Museums.”
“For detoxification of poisons in society we must visit museums with youths as a part of our duty as a conscientious citizen,” said Mukherjee addressing student participants.
Teacher at Swami Pranabananda Vidyapith Ms Nivedita Ganguly participating at the event was of the opinion that “Terrorism and corruption are like poisons that oppose national concerns.”
“The discussion on bringing changes in museum to make it more realistic cultural space is quite relevant keeping in mind the displaying of originality and tradition the two main pillars of any museum,” said Principal of Don Bosco School Bandel Father Noby George.
Director of Eastern Zonal Cultural Centre Gouri Basu moderated a panel discussion on Museums as Cultural Spaces.
Eminent Panelists included Vinod Daniel (Board Member of International Council of Museums);Jayanta Sengupta (Secretary & Curator, Victoria Memorial Hall); Antonio Riello (renowned Italian Artist); Debanjan Chakraborti (Director British Council East and Northeast India); Abhishek Basu (Executive Trustee Basu Foundation); and Tiphaine Mayran
(Alliance Française du Bengale).
The Indian Museum in Kolkata is the ninth oldest museum of the world, the oldest museum in India and the second largest museum in India, after the Madras Museum.
It has rare collections of antiques, armor and ornaments, fossils, skeletons, Egyptian mummies and Mughal paintings. It was founded by the Asiatic Society of Bengal in Kolkata in 1814 by founder curator Nathaniel Wallich, a Danish botanist.
The museum has six sections comprising 35 galleries of cultural and scientific artifacts namely Indian art, archaeology, anthropology, geology, zoology and economic botany.
Many rare and unique specimens, both Indian and trans-Indian, relating to humanities and natural sciences, are preserved and displayed in the galleries of these sections. In particular the art and archaeology sections hold collections of international importance.