Posts Tagged Government Museum
Renovated Amaravati gallery Government Museum opened the public next month.
Posted by ganesh in Chennai, Communication, Culture, Departments, Information, programme on February 11th, 2010
The renovated Amaravati gallery, one of the two major attractions of Government Museum in the city, will be opened to the public next month.
“The major works are over. We will complete all the remaining works by the end of this month,” according to an official of the State Archaeology department. The museum authorities want to keep on display as many sculptures as possible. Earlier, hardly 40 of the huge collection of sculptures were on display and the remaining kept in storage.
One official said “close to double the earlier number” will be on display once the gallery reopens.
The gallery has been under repair since 2008. In order to display them better and repair the walls, these sculptures were removed. They are now being rearranged.
Amaravati marbles are one of the most important and internationally known collection of sculptures in India. They are said to belong to a period between 200 B.C and 250 A.D and are considered as important as Sanchi and Bharhut Buddhist sculptures.
Amaravati near Guntur, Andhra Pradesh, was an important Buddhist centre. In 1797, when Colonel Colin Mackenzie first heard about it, the remains of an ancient stupa and the sculpted panels had already been vandalised.
In 1830, some of these marble slabs were taken to decorate a market square at Masulipatam and in 1854 they were brought to Madras Museum, along with the other pieces excavated by Walter Elliot, Commissioner of Guntur. In 1859, many of them were shipped to British Museum, London. They were popularly known as Eliot marbles, after Walter Elliot. Later, about 180 marble pieces were excavated from Amaravati and added to the Madras collection.
Erode museum to host exhibition on A.W. Brough
Posted by ganesh in Erode, Public, exicipition on November 19th, 2009
Some of the items from A.W. Brough’s collection that will be on display at Erode museum.
Government Museum, Erode will soon hold an exhibition on life and times of Antony Watson Brough.
The exhibition is likely to be held in the first week of December to throw light on Brough (1861-1936), who arrived in Erode as a missionary towards the end of the 19th century to serve the people.
During his stay in Erode, historians say, Brough collected a variety of articles of day-to-day use. The articles were subsequently shipped to Australia where he spent the evenings of his life.
Museum sources told ‘The Hindu’ that he collected 295 objects, which included bronze bell for prayer, brass rice chatty, curry chatty, brass anklet, human sacrificial sword, metal comb, and much more.
Of the 295 objects Brough collected, the Australian Government, as part of a goodwill gesture, gave 33 items, which are now at the Government Museum in Chennai.
Brough’s is an important chapter in Erode because he established schools, worked for Dalits uplift and also played a role in Erode’s development.
Historian Pulavar S. Raju says Brough established a hospital in Erode, particularly to look after the health needs of Muslim women. Though the hospital is now called CSI Hospital, it is popularly known as Gosh Hospital. It is next to the church, named in his memory, on Brough Road.
He also set up one more hospital, in Chennimalai in memory of his son who died on the battlefront during World War I, the historian says.
In all, Brough established 94 schools in and around Erode and two hospitals.
C. Maheswaran, former Curator of Erode museum, says the missionary also worked for the uplift of Dalits by teaching them arts and craft. He concentrated his work in Kanji Koil and also served as Inspector of Matriculation Schools in the district. He adds that Brough also has the distinction of being a member of the then Erode Municipality. He was a nominated member.
Mr. Raju further says that in view of Brough’s contribution to the society, particularly Muslims, the Brough Memorial Church has Ya Kudah inscribed at the entrance.
How Chennai manages to attract tourists
Heritage sites and the museum tend to attract foreign tourists. A group of foreign tourists visiting Government Museum in Chennai
The monsoon might have stripped the city of its beauty and left it reeling under layers of slush. But Chennai, at this time of the year, has much more to offer than many other tourist destinations. A good number of foreign tourists wade through shin-deep waters and rain-battered roads to get a feel of the city when it is at its creative best.
Cultural fests are all set to kick-off one after another, drawing fine arts buffs from across the world. The city, which had always been a transit point to neighbourhoods, now places itself among popular tourist destinations in the country.
Growing out of its conservative identity, Chennai is now projected as a melting pot of cultural festivals. The Department of Tourism cashes in on the festivals’ popularity and makes it a strategy for the State’s economic growth.
“There is a perceptible increase in the quantum of tourist inflow in recent years. It reaches its peak in October and the season is on till February. There is a global increase in the outbound tourism everywhere. The city receives a major chunk of foreigners for its cultural shows,” says V. Irai Anbu, Secretary, Department of Tourism.
The December Music Season, primarily to encourage local talents, has now become a global phenomenon. What was seen as an identity of Chennai is now serving as a prime tourist lure.
Veena artist and secretary of Nrithyodaya B. Kannan observes that music season, in its nascent stage, is confined to the second half of December. Now it begins in the second half of November and continues well beyond December. Foreigners make trips during this period to cover all cultural fests.
R.Sundar, secretary of Hamsadhwani, which organises an NRI music festival every year, says the music festival in Chennai was a confluence of the best forms of art and culture. “For the serious listener, it is an opportunity to see competitive spirit among singers in presentation of ragam thanam pallavi. For the foreign audience, dance is an attraction as many of them feel they can relate to India through its art forms.”
For arts’ sake
The Mamallapuram dance festival, which begins late December, is a unique crowd-puller. Every year, over 7,000 foreign tourists hit the heritage site to watch hundreds of performances of traditional folk forms and classical dance forms.
Chennai Sangamam, said to be India’s largest open festival, gives a glimpse of the State’s cultural diversity, highlighting its rich folk art forms, too. Organised during mid-January, coinciding with Pongal, Chennai Sangamam introduces over 4,000 performances every year at parks, streets and beaches.
The Tourism Department, on its part, conducts a month-long trade fair on Island Grounds, Tamil Isai festivals and Pongal festivals to promote the pastoral richness of the State.
The introduction of hop-on-fop-off coaches has propelled the popularity of East Coast Road, which is dotted with a string of tourist spots. Private players capitalise on the growing tourist flow into the ECR, if the mushrooming resorts, restaurants and amusement parks along the stretch are any pointer.
If arts attract a few, many hotels do their part by posting the State’s signature cuisines on internet to lure gourmets. Chennai’s hospitality industry is heavily relying on clients on business visits but the tourist pie is also swelling, says G.Ravi Kumar, Executive Assistant Manager of Green Park Hotels.
Bookings for the TTDC hotels are going on in full swing and the next two months is expected to be the busiest of the year for the hotels, Mr.Irai Anbu said.
Despite being seen as a safe place for tourists, Chennai is bracing itself to make its streets, hotels and highways more tourist-friendly. The Deputy Commissioner of Central Crime Branch, C. Sridhar, insists on foreign tourists who come on a tourist visa holding a list of telephone numbers of police officers in the city that they propose to visit. The phone numbers could be had from their respective embassies.
Mr. Sridhar says the tourists are advised to stay in reputable hotels and be careful when they use credit cards for shopping purposes. Hoteliers urge the government to promote the country as a safer destination as the terrorist attacks prove to be a discouraging factor for many tourists.
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