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National museum is Delhi's largest museum
and provides vast storehouse of information of India's history and
culture. Packed with exhibits ranging over five thousand years,one must be
prepared to spend several hours here. It is located in Janpath and is
closed on Mondays.
A Place Of Historic Treasure
The National Museum has an amazing collection of Indian art and
sculpture, which dates back from the prehistoric times and the priceless
collection is spread over the three floors of the museum.
The
ground floor has several galleries, each dedicated to a particular period
in history. These galleries display rare pieces from the Paleolithic Age
to the Mughal period. The most famous sculpture on this floor could be the
Dancing Girl from Mohenjodaro, 2,500 BC. The Mughal period is depicted and
displayed in vivid details in the paintings and Arabian manuscripts.
Of special interest is the superb Central Asian Gallery that exhibits the
silk banners, sculpture and wall paintings that form part of Sir Aurel
Stein's collection, brought to India in the early part of the 20th
century.
A new gallery has been added to the ground floor, which is the Jewellery
section. The first floor contains a varied collection of Indian miniature
paintings from different schools, Mughal, Rajasthani and Pahari. Also
catch a glimpse of simple stone neolithic Tools (3,000-1,500 BC) and shell
and bone jewellery excavated from the sites of Mohenjodaro and Harappa
belonging to India's earliest civilization- the Indus Valley (2,500 BC).
Carved pillars and statues of the Mauryan dynasty can also be seen over
here. Bronzes from South India, an impressive collection of stone
sculpture, miniature paintings, textiles, coins and tribal art from part
of its extensive collection.
The next floor is perhaps the best one, with a terrific display of
weapons and costumes of the historical periods. There is a sales counter
and library on the ground floor Another section of the gallery has a
display of over 300 musical instruments.
There are film shows on the art heritage of India on weekdays at 2:30 pm,
on Saturdays and Sundays at 11:30 am, 2:30 pm and 4:00 pm.
Guided Tours : Daily 10.30am, 11.30am and at Noon from 2.00pm &
3.00pm