A Silent Affair

However nominal,there was still a price to enter the museum. Despite May 18 being International Museum Day (IMD),when more than 30 countries were offering free tours of their museums.

“Museums might not have celebrated IMD but the museum culture in India is slowly improving,” said historian Sharada Dwivedi. “It’s not as strong as it should be but it is heartening to see museums like the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya taking the initiative to organise so many events and activities.”

Incidentally,the CSMVS was one of the few museums in the city that celebrated the IMD by organising a lecture by the director of CSMVS,Sabyasachi Mukherjee,on the Tata Collection in the museum. It was followed by a visit to the exhibition ‘East Meets West’ ,which showcased a selection of Asian and European Art from the Tata collection in the CSMVS.

“We organise activities like seminars and film screenings around the year so we didn’t feel the need to arrange anything special for IMD,” said Meghshyam T Ajgaonkar,the executive secretary of Mani Bhavan,the house converted into a museum in commemoration of Mahatma Gandhi.

Unlike in Mumbai,the day was celebrated internationally with pomp and ceremony. The theme for this year’s IMD,as defined by the Advisory Committee of the International Council of Museums,was ‘Museums for Social Harmony’. Twenty museums in Singapore will hold a museum carnival from May 14 to 23,centered on the theme ‘I love Museums—Kids’ edition’. The week-long cultural extravaganza will feature storytelling sessions,performances and craft workshops. Museums for social harmony in Moscow started ICOM Russia programme for children including ‘Museum Routes’—a huge game for children that tested their knowledge of Russian museums.

Visitors might not know about IMD but that didn’t hinder their steady flow into the institutions. Museums like CSMVS get approximately 3,000 visitors a day,especially in the summer. Winter months see a spike in the number of tourists and foreigners. Even a relatively new and smaller museum like the RBI Monetary Museum (a first of its kind museum exploring the history of Indian coinage and the idea of money) which opened in 2005 claim to get 200 visitors a day. According to Renu Jathar,assistant curator,CSMVS,visitors of most museums fall into three categories: school and college students,researchers and foreigners.

“We do our best to make the museum community friendly,” said Jathar. She cited the example of the audio guide available at the museum in eight languages,the International Hall built in 2002 and a state of the art conservation studio meeting international standards. The CSMVS is also in the process of digitising their entire collection and making it available online. The Dr Bhau Daji Lad Museum has increased awareness of upcoming programmes and activities through social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook. “We need to be up-to-date with the latest technological innovations and keep reinventing ourselves to remain relevant,” said Preema John,assistant curator of the Dr Bhau Daji Lad Museum.

The one museum that seems unaffected by the ravages of time is Mani Bhavan. But that seems as it should be as technology — one feels — would only muddy the unadorned charm of the two-storied brick house.