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The residence of Late Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime
Minister of India was converted into a museum after his death. The museum
is a fascinating place to learn about the history of the Independence
Movement. There are several photographs of the erstwhile Prime Minister,
giving an account of his life. Besides this, the colonial building is also
equally interesting, with its teak paneled rooms with high ceilings,
spacious verandas and well kept gardens.
Nehru Museum was once used to be the official residence of the
Commander-in-Chief of the British forces in India before independence.
After the departure of the last Commander-in-Chief, it became the official
residence of the first Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru. Nehru
lived here for 16 years until his death on May 27, 1964. Soon after his
death the Government of India decided that Teen Murti House should be
dedicated to his memory and should house a museum and a library.
A Personal Museum
The museum at Teen Murti has been primarily developed as a personal
museum, with some of the rooms, such as the bedroom, the drawing-room and
the study been preserved as they were at the time of Nehru's death. The
museum portrays through visual media the life and works of a man who was
the leader of India's struggle for freedom, the architect of modern India,
and a passionate champion of world peace.
A part from highlighting his achievements, the visual display describes
Nehru's Kashmiri lineage, reconstructs his childhood and youth, his years
at Harrow and Cambridge, his budding career as a barrister and his
activities as a young radical who entered nationalist politics in 1917 by
participating in the Home Rule Movement.
A display of popular interest is the Gifts Gallery, which has some of the
priceless gifts received by Nehru during his travels in India and
overseas. Among the exhibits is the Bharat Ratna medal awarded to the late
Prime Minster in 1955.
An object of great interest to visitors is the Jawahar Jyoti, the eternal
flame, which is kept burning day and night. The 'jyoti' symbolizes the
ideals for which Jawaharlal lived and worked during his lifetime. A
massive granite rock put up in the front lawn is inscribed with short
extracts from the historic tryst with destiny speech delivered by Nehru in
the midnight session of the Indian Constituent Assembly on August
14th-15th, 1947.
Take A Peak Inside History
Guides are available for conducting groups of visitors. The "son-et-lumiere"
shows, with Hindi and English commentaries, arranged in Teen Murti House
every evening throughout the year, except during the rainy season, lend
colour and splendour to the story of Jawaharlal Nehru's life.Sadly this
has been discontinued now.
The Library
The Nehru Library's collection consists of material on religion, culture,
sociology, economics, politics and development in India. It also includes
books,
pamphlets, newspapers, periodicals, more than 5,500 microfilm rolls of
private papers, missionary records, newspapers and old and rare journals
and 4,480 microfiche plates of research material.
The museum and library boast of an excellent manuscript collection, which
can be divided into two categories: institutional records and papers and
correspondence of individuals. The collection began with the precious
nucleus of the Nehru family papers of the pre-independence days. From more
than 300 individual collections are the papers of eminent politicians,
administrators, diplomats, jurists, scientists, educationists and
industrialists.
The Planetarium
Among Nehru's passions was astronomy. An interest that can be seen in the
planetarium situated in the formal grounds of the house. The Planetarium
is a great place to learn about the Space Program of India, the Universe
and to see the Capsule that took Rakesh Sharma to space. Daily astronomy
shows are held over here with special programs for school children
Nehru Memorial Museum
Entrance Fee Admission is free
Closed on Mondays
Planetarium
Timings : English shows - 11:30am, 3.00pm/ Hindi shows - 1:30pm,
4.00pm