14/08/2015
On 8th August, 2015, the Heritage Club of La Martiniere for Boys visited the "Indian Museum" in Kolkata. The Indian Museum left us with a plethora of historical items to glance at. After leaving the premises of the Museum, the boys were nothing but amazed at the various prehistoric artifacts and significant antiquities that they had witnessed.
Coming to the history of this magnificent epitome of history in Kolkata, the Indian Museum was founded or established in 1814 at the cradle of the Asiatic Society of Bengal. The Indian Museum is the oldest and the largest multipurpose Museum not only in the Indian subcontinent but also in the Asia-Pacific region of the world. It houses six main sections comprising thirty five galleries each. These sections are namely Art, Archaeology, Anthropology, Geology, Zoology and Economic Botany.
After walking through the main gates of the Indian Museum, the students first entered the section on prehistoric life and fossils. The boys had witnessed the magnificent remains of plants, animals and beasts that we had only seen pictures of in encyclopaedias. One such stunning exhibit was that of an extinct elephant, scientifically known as Palaeoloxodon Namadicus. From the prehistoric section, the students went on to visit a section on the History of Indian coins. This section was named as "Coining Indian History." The boys had viewed historically significant coins ranging from the the pre Mughal period until after the Independence of India. In that section, we saw coins issued by the great Mughal emperors, Jahangir and Akbar; coins introduced by the Dutch East India Company as well as the East India Company during the reign of Shah Alam II; one of the most valued coins in the room was that issued by Guru Gobind Singh. The various coins had exquisite work on it. The section did not only display coins made of silver but also those made of gold. A group photo was taken in front of a fragment of the Sanchi Stupa in an intermediate section after this. The next section the students moved on to was that on Indian History. This part of the section on Indian History had a large display of historic sculptures, artwork and stone carvings on walls. One of the most important exhibits on display was a sculptor of Buddha in Red Sandstone, dated back to 385 BC, built in Bodh Gaya, Bihar. There were other sculptures that depicted scenes from Buddha's life. There was a separate enclosure that contained a large stone imprint of Buddha's foot. The students had witnessed sculptures showing the Mount of Lord Vishnu as well as the famous Chaturmukha Linga. After this section, the students entered a room that described the development and evolution of human beings. The exhibits depicted scenes ranging from the prehistoric ages to the Palaeolithic and stone ages. There were models of men ranging from man's most primitive phase of development to the Neanderthal man, which is the most advanced. We had also seen what was knows as the evolutionary clock, that was on display. One of the exhibits had a quote by Charles Darwin on display. It read, "it's not the strongest of species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the ones most responsive to change." The next section was associated with Animals, both those in the present and those that are extinct. Students saw the skeletal remains of a few animals that walked on the face of the earth. They included the Little Piked Whale and the South African bush elephant. The Skull of an Indian elephant, scientifically known as Elaphas Maximus Linnaeus was also on display. The last section visited by the boys was on Egyption History. Everyone was taken aback by the wonderful exhibits on display. We had viewed the world famous Rosetta Stone which was found in 1799. The basalt ala is inscribed with a copy of the bilingual Decree promulgated by the whole of the priesthood of Egypt. It was they key to deciphering the Egyptian hieroglyph. Jess Francois Champellion and Thomas Young stand out as the true discoverers of the method of deciphering the hieroglyphs. The final exhibit witnessed and probably the most astounding one, was a 4000 year old Mummy present in a glass enclosure. All the organs of the mummy, but the heart were taken out of the it's body through nostrils. The heart is placed in a special chamber. The body was then massaged with with salt and oil and covered with a thin sheet of soft cloth and linen. Before leaving the Museum, we saw the famous Ashok Stambha.
This brought an end to our excursion. The visit to the Indian Museum was a truly learning and edifying experience and opened our minds to the rich history of not only our country but also this world.
- Report by:
Farhad Islam,
Senior Officer,
The Heritage Club,
La Martiniere for Boys.
