Going back to the roots

Spread over 23,000 sq ft,and set in the lush grounds of the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) in Pusa,this museum inaugurated in 2004,is a specially designed building that documents the development of agriculture in India from prethe -historic period to the modern era. Upholding Jawaharlal Nehru’s view that “everything can wait but not agriculture”,this two-storey building houses 150 exhibits displayed in 10 sections with the purpose of providing a detailed understanding of the state of agriculture in India.

As you enter the museum on the first floor,six steel pillars greet you. They symbolise the six factors that agriculture is dependent on—soil,water,climate,tools,farmers and seeds.

The next section takes you through agricultural India during the British Raj. If you find the literature on each exhibit boring to read,try the high-tech touch screens that adorn the walls.

At the second floor,I meet the curator,Dr Sushila Kaul,who guides me through exhibits that are more ‘lively’ than those at the floor below. You may ignore the non-descript map on the wall but the several red buttons at the side of the map attract your attention.

Kaul says,“Our aim is to make the entire experience interactive not just for children but all visitors.” She presses the button marked ‘black gram’ and the map lights up highlighting the states where the pulse is grown.

The next exhibit is even more interesting. With an audio track accompanying it,the display is that of the Chalcolithic age where models of the neanderthal man to present day homo sapiens are arranged.

This time,Kaul prods me to press the button on display. The audio walks me through the evolution of man.

The museum gets its share of visitors. Just last week,420 children from various schools visited the museum in just one day. Today,among the visitors are two archaeologists from Uzbekistan on their fourth visit to India.