Established | 1 January 1960 |
---|---|
Location | Bejai Road Mangaluru |
Coordinates | 12°53′12″N 74°50′57″E / 12.886645°N 74.849266°E |
Type | Historic house museum |
Visitors | 1 million |
Srimathi Bhai Memorial Government Museum Mangalore, Karnataka, Collection of archaeological and geological artifacts, a unit of Directorate of Archaeology & Museums Karnataka was founded in 4th May 1960 by Sri B.D Jatti, the then chief minister of Karnataka Government. The museum is located in Mangalore, the costal land of Kartnataka.
History
editThe major portions of the collections were made by Col. V.R Mirajkar. He was a medical officer at Lahore during the second World War, in the British Indian Army[1], The museum was his living house designed & constructed in a nearly same blueprint of the glorious building structures of Milan, Italy in the year 1935, looks like ship. Later the house was donated to the government of Karnataka in 1955[2] with all the collection of antiques and contemporary masterpieces during his trips within and outside India. Thereafter, it was transformed into the museum and named in honor & memory of his beloved mother Srimathi Bhai. It has magnificent collection of antiquities and important historical collections representing culture and lifestyle of olden days civilization and arty-crafts.
Exhibition galleries
edit- The Museum exhibitions consists of Tulunadu's unique Bootharathane idol, Muga(Mask), utensiles.
- Paleolithic & Neolithic stone tools, coins, metal utensils , wooden furniture, musical instruments, ethnological materials, arms & armors, replicas of the Harappa & Mahenjodaro, Gandhara & Takshahshila School of art, Warangal, Nagarajunakonda, Saranath, Konark, Kushana, Ahimchatra, Tulunadu and local regions.
- Animals seals, wooden panels, gigantic wooden figurines, porcelain materials, musical instruments, lamps, clock, wooden god figurines and other antiques for historical seeking aspects of local people.
Painting
editThe painting has the moderate collections of natural history artworks on paper. The gallery selects highlights from more than 100 illustrations in the collection to explore the intricate relationship between art and the science of nature over past centuries from the 1700s to the present day. Drawings, paintings and sketches of nature combine aesthetic beauty with scientific accuracy, sharply illuminating the close collaboration between artists and viewers in their endeavors to observe record and classify nature. The art gallery has played in increasing our understanding of the natural world, telling fascinating stories of history and culture. The exhibition covers traditional attires, contemporary scenes, portraits, nature of both oil & water painting by various identified and unidentified artists.
The first floor of the building is dedicated to collections made by col. V.R.Mirajkar. He had collected huge variety of handicrafts made not only from different places of the country but around the globe right from China, Nepal, Czechoslovakia, Africa, Danish, Persia, Germany, Japan, Turkey, Brittan, Italy, Tibet, Russia, Venice, Paris, & London. Many of his contemporary collections are unique and have become antique pieces now. Wooden furniture, glass panels, silver & ivory objects, shells, cigar boxes, variety of lighters, wooden objects, glass materials, metal objects etc. are personally used by him.
Gandhiji photo gallery
editGandhiji photo gallery exhibits his collections of Gandhiji’s rare photographs[3]. It reflects the life cycle of Gandhiji from birth till end of the journey. Life in Africa, rally, non co-operation movement, Dandi March, Satyagraha, Photos depicting Gandhi with Nehru, Jinah, Kasturba, Rabindrantha Tagore, Subhashchandra Bose, Sardar patel, Lord Mount Batten & other historic figures of our nation. Collections of Gandhiji’s letters written to Andrews, Wardha and others.
Kids section
editKids section brings joy to the kids through the collection of performing puppets, dolls of Yakshagana, bird & animals figurines, planes, boat models, photographs, wooden models, ethnical & bhootha aradane uru of Tulunadu
Stones
editOuter premises covers hero stone, Maha Sati Kallu of Tulunadu, Tulu, Kannada inscriptions, statues of soldiers, Jaina, Nagastones & Cannons collected from Jamlabad Fort, Belthangady which are belongings made between 14th to 16th century AD.
References
edit- ^ https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mangaluru/Authorities-do-no-good-to-this-museum-road/articleshow/16830660.cms%7COct 16, 2012 Times of India
- ^ https://www.deccanherald.com/content/532511/bejai-museum-awaits-facelift.html%7CMarch 04, 2016 Deccanherald
- ^ https://swapnawrites.com/mangalore-museum-gandhi-letters/