National Museum: When it all began

On the eve of India’s independence, Sir Maurice Gwyer, an Englishman of manifold distinctions, headed a committee that proposed a National Museum in the Capital. Credited as the founder of New Delhi’s Miranda House college and one of the owners of the famous publishing house Faber & Gwyer (which later became Faber & Faber), Gwyer was also the first chief justice of the then federal court. Following his initiatives, a large exhibition of Indian arts and crafts travelled to London, UK, in the winter of 1947-48, and had a major impact on Western audiences.

By the time the objects returned to the country, it was 1949. The dispensation had changed, and Jawaharlal Nehru, a visionary head of government, had assumed charge of newly independent India. As part of the nation-building process, he would soon start an ambitious programme of cultural consolidation, which included the founding of institutions related to Indian arts and letters—Lalit Kala Akademi, Sahitya Akademi and Sangeet Natak Akademi—in the 1950s. But first he ensured that the objects that had been part of the London show were displayed to the public in the state rooms of Rashtrapati Bhavan, before a plot was acquired on what is now Janpath and the foundation stone of the National Museum was laid in 1949.

The visual display is complemented by the showcasing of a range of publications—catalogues, pamphlets and books—that the museum has produced over the years, exhibited in glass vitrines. The museum is currently hosting an outstanding survey of the body in Indian art across several thousand years, curated by art historian Naman Ahuja.

National Museum: Down Memory Lane is on till 12 June, 10am-5pm (Mondays closed), at the Ground floor Rotunda, National Museum, Janpath, New Delhi (23792775).