At the Museum

The Central Hall

Inside the Central Hall

Located on Bandar Road of Vijayawada, Bapu Museum (formerly Victoria Jubilee Museum) stands like a blast from the past. It was almost ten years ago that I chanced upon this building. The sad thing was that this was always under renovation/off limits, perpetually so. But, I got to visit this underrated museum on 3rd of January, Sunday. I have always had a feeling that Vijayawada could've been a better city - with a lots of tourism potential - perhaps the only true Andhra City that could match Chennai or Bengaluru in the distant future. Yet, the cultural and historical legacy of the city went for a toss, as is evident with the horrible maintenance of Moghalrajapuram caves and Akkanna Madanna Caves. When we seek culture merely as a form of entertainment and look up to the Past only as a source of manipulating emotions, we could never realize the inherent greatness bestowed upon us.

The Persian Artist by AR Chugtai - Painting

Dutch Epitaph Tomb

It was way back in 1887 that Robert Sewell, the then District Collector of Krishna inaugurated this Museum, originally as a part of Industrial Exhibition. In 1926, the Museum premises housed the first campus of Andhra University. The local Zamindars rendered yeoman services to the cause of the museum. Substantial renovations were made in 1962 and 2015. But, perhaps the greatest hours of the Museum was when history was made on 31st March and 1st April of 1921! At the Central Hall of the museum built in Victorian style, on the sidelines of the Special Annual Congress Session, Sri Pingali Venkayya garu, a famous telugu freedom fighter designed the Indian National Flag and presented it to Mahatma Gandhiji in the presence of other luminaries. The flag was the precursor of the present day Indian Tricolour. I felt really fortunate and humbled!

The Buddha in Bhumisparsha Mudra

Sculpture of Satyabhama

The name Bapu refers to Sri Sattiraju Lakshmi Narayana garu, an acclaimed Director and creative intellectual from Andhra Pradesh - the change in name was made in 2015. To the central hall's left, there is another building which housed the artifacts. On the ground floor, there are various impressive sculptures categorized into Jaina/Buddhist and Hindu themes along with Prehistoric tools and weapons discovered in adjacent villages. On the top floor, there are separate galleries for contemporary art, medieval warfare, numismatics and inscriptions. The application of Information Technology and the concept of Virtual Museum is impressive. On the lawns of the Museum, there are many idols and inscriptions from the past. I was surprised to find Tombstone Epitaphs in Dutch from my home town, Palakollu, which harks back to the colonial past.  

The Entrance

Application of IT and Virtual Museum concept

 

 

Name - Bapu Museum (formerly Victoria Jubilee Museum), Bandar Road, Vijayawada

Entry - Rs.50/- per head (Indian), Rs.200/- per head (Camera), Rs.1000/- per head (Foreigner/Video Camera) 

Timings - 10:30 AM - 05:00 PM everyday including Sundays, but closed on Fridays and other National Holidays.

Visited On - 03/01/21, Sunday.     

 

 

 

 

Maheeth Veluvali, 

Wednesday, 6th of January, 2021.

16 Saladi Jamindar Street, Palakollu.

The Curious Case of the Mummy of Hyderabad

The chill of the morning was gone. A sudden surge of sunshine was vital to get things done during winter. And so, it was, a sudden raise in temperature. Such baffling inconsistencies in the weather of the Deccan, within a day would scare a farmer. But for a student, they did ensure an encouraging sign of things to come. The workers at the great Public Gardens of Nampally toiled hard - the image of the city was important, more than anything else. After the Global Entrepreneurship Summit & the opening of the Metro, the city is about to host the World Telugu Conference on 15th of December. And I asked one such toiling worker, the way to the Museum.

Within the sprawling Public Gardens lies an old building, housing the Telangana State Archeological Museum. The Piece de Resistance of this museum is an old Mummy - the likes of which scared me as a kid when I visited it as a school going boy. But now, I was no longer a boy to be scared. And so, once again, I stared into the glass ceiling.

Egyptians, like many other civilizations had a firm belief of life after death. However, they took this passion to rituals of epic proportions. All Emperors, Queen consorts and Royalty, after death were preserved as mummified bodies. All vital organs were separately preserved in separate jars, and elabarote rituals followed where the ancient gods of Egypt like 'Ra, Seth, Horis, Anubis' were invoked to protect the body till the soul reaches the Egyptian Eden.

About the mummified body, it was not even 5 feet long, and was assumed to be that of the daughter of the VI Pharoah of Ptolemaic Egypt (c.300-100 BCE). Allegedly, she died young, aged around 16-18 years. There was, virtually, no information about the name of this once Princess of Egypt. The way this mummy made to Hyderabad is a tale of Luck and grandeur of the Nizams. Nazeer Nawaj Jung, the son-in-law of Mir Mahboob Ali Khan (VI Nizam of Hyderabad) brought the mummy for an allegedly throw away price of 1,000 Pounds in London, and then, gifted it to the Nizam. Thus, did the mummified body of the Princess of Egypt reach this Museum of Hyderabad.

As I stepped down, I was fascinated by the Mummy who could've once walked on the banks of the Nile alive. And now, this Mummy could'nt hear the ambient & fiery sound of the new Metro Rail just few feet away. Or can she?

1.Place and Time

@ - Dr YS Rajasekhara Reddy Telangana State Museum, Public Gardens, Nampally, Hyderabad, Telangana

On - Wednesday, 6th of December, 2017.

2. Subject -

"The Curious Case of the Mummy of Hyderabad" on the Mummified Body of a supposedly Ptolemaic Egyptian Princess preserved at the Museum.