Feb 05, 2006 10:09 AM
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(Updated Feb 05, 2006 10:09 AM)
The story goes a bit like this. I was there with two of my friends. Inside the national museum that is. We were in the entrance, but hadn’t entered it. This was my third visit to the museum if I remember correctly. We were in a predicament because…well…the two of my friends weren’t Indian, which meant they’d have to pay rs 300 for each ticket.
It was a very small sum to pay for this museum…only $9, which is below what you’d pay in the west for even a mediocre museum. But we wanted to save that money for drinks.
We looked around and saw a guard at the entrance, we were pretty sure that he’d check for our ticket. I knew we had a chance to get through without a ticket, because we had one white guy in the group, and I knew the guard would be less suspecting of foreigners. The three of us walked up to the entrance…
I cringed when we passed the guard, but nothing happened, we slipped right through. This type of double standards can only be expected in India, I knew if I had gone past the guard alone, he would have asked for my ticket.
I have to say, the moment I stepped into the museum I thought I was in another country, its so wide and spacious. The museum was wonderful, there wasn’t much wrong with it. It’s been 10 months since I went to it so I can only remember a few things about it.
I remember this huge elephants tusk with really detailed carvings on it. I also remember the preserved mummy. There was a lot of jewellery on display, very beautiful.
I mean…I’ve been to the museum’s in New Zealand and I have to say I prefer The National Museum than Te Papa, which is the museum in Wellington. The museum I went to here is a major tourist attraction, so if National Museum can match it, it’s a big achievement.
The National Museum does not match the western Museums in terms of using technology, and using outrageous gadgets to dispense knowledge. The Museum is very traditional, with writing under each artefact to display its history.
National Museum has substance, and it’s endless, you could spend several hours in it viewing all the things on display.
It is a must see when you go to delhi!!
