"IT'S A LOVELY EXPERIENCE WALKING AROUND A MUSEUM BY YOURSELF"

BY ASHAR KHAN – JANUARY, 2021

The grand looking main entrance of this nearby museum was made up of stone. It had a certain feel of a Buddhist monastery. As I entered the zone, I felt a serene air in the museum around me. It was fairly spacious and wholly covered in tree shades.

Finally, I had reached this offbeat museum generally known as National Crafts Museum. It was located at a corner under the clump of dense trees near Pragati Maidan, opposite the majetic Purana Qila. The place celebrates the rich, diverse, and practising craft traditions of India. It was designed by the renowned architect Charles Correa in 1956.

A National Crafts Museum preserves Indian crafts

There was an encircled courtyard that contained a vast collection of life sized statues and utensils from ancient civilisations like Harappa and Mohan Jodaro. Several people were sitting around these antiques. Some were even meditating in the quiet.

Artefacts at National Crafts Museum, New Delhi

An 18th century wooden Jharokha

In fact, the museum had a large establishment with the reception area on the front. Yet another section showcased handicrafts from all over country. Moreover, the museum collection consists of over 33,000 specimens in various crafts acquired from all the Indian states. The collection reflected the continuing traditions of handicrafts and handlooms of the indian culture. It consisted of traditional artifacts such as Textiles, sculptures, utensils, Wood-works, Folk/tribal paintings , range of cane and bamboo crafts.

Further, As I reached at the courtyard, I left astonished to see a giant wooden chariot which was astounding in its size and design.

“The artisans of Mahabaleshwar designed this beautiful artefact” said Bhim singh, the chief guard of the museum, who has been on duty for 20 years.

Although, there were several other artefacts in the museum but this particular antiquity was my personal favourite.

The museum also had its own amphitheatre dedicated to the special events. It was terracotta stone made and looked like some Spanish coliseum. Further, the craftsmen exhibitions area was spread was in the courtyard. It was occupied by the artisans from all over the country.

Next to this gigantic structure was the gallery of textiles which hosted an extensive collection of traditional Indian textiles which covers the vast range of hand-woven and handcrafted techniques found throughout India. The exquisite variants of textiles include Kalamkaris, Jamawars, Pashmina and much more.

To my much surprise, there was also a very alluring and serene open air restaurant Cafe Lota. It was under the Bamboo shades and dense trees. Everything had a wooden and greenish feel even the waiters were wearing the brown coloured uniforms. The cafe offered a delicate range of vegetarian and non-vegetarian Indian cuisine with regional flavours. It also has received an excellent reviews of the most prominent food connoisseurs. Another attached outlet to the cafe was the Lota shop which showcased a whole range of contemporary craft products on art, craft and design. It contained finely crafted artifacts from craft demonstration programme. The shop is one of the best in the city.

Hence, It has preserved the rare specimens of traditional Indian handicrafts and handlooms. The objective of its preservation is to serve as source material for the revival, reproduction and development of Indian crafts. These source materials are taken care for the master craftsmen, art-historians and craft designers. Its also one of the best places for interested people to know our age-old cultural heritage. Museum is a special attraction for foreign tourists who wish to have a glimpse of our material culture.

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