The Museum in the Indian Culture
Dr. Ofra Keinan
It is a pleasure for me to thanks all the friendly ,wonderful people in the NMI in Delhi who were so helpful and gave me the opportunity to be with them and learn so much from them, during my scholarship visit in India. Special thanks to R. D. Choudhury, V. C. of NMI, to Dr. Sharma, Assistant Registrar, and above all to the friendly Dr. Arputharani Sengupta, Head of History of Art department.
When I first arrived in India to begin my research into museums in the subcontinent, with the kind assistance of National Museum Institute of India, I had no idea of how highly evolved this field was there, and how exciting and fascinating it would be to explore . As I was aware ofthe unique Indian culture, I had previously asked myself how this magnificently rich culture and the museum culture could live together. This assay is an attempt to find the answer.
On the inauguration of National Museum Institute of India, on the 18th of December 1960, the honorable JawaharlalNehru, first Prime Minister of India (1947-64)said:
Museums are not just places to see odd things or Ajayabghars, as they used to be called. They are or should be an essential part of the educational system and cultural activity of a country. What is more, they are places of public education. Private houses may have works of art and beauty, but they are not open to the public. It is important that every city possesses a museum and, I would add, even villages have their small museums wherever possible (N. R. Banerjee, 1990: 8).
This statement could perhaps explain the importance that India, at least official India, ascribes to museums and museum culture within modern Indian culture.
The Museum World in India today is large and very diverse: 400 museums, spread all over the subcontinent, supporting a wonderful educational system and high level of museum studies.
This paper presents the main questions that arise in Indian Museology literature concerning the Museum Institute as means for heritage preservation (See: Venugopal, B. 1999; Gupta, without date: 239-242) .
However, while there are heritage preservation characteristics in the Indian culture (see later), many questions arise in the Indian Museology literature on the museum way of preservation. Articles and papers like: “Why should we have museums in India” are common. They hint at the conflict between the traditional Indian heritage ways of preservation and the Museum way, and between India’s cultural values and the museum values.
The main point of conflict as expressed in the Indian Museology Literature is the principal question attempted to be answered in this assay.
We will explore two main points:
- Why should have museums in India? The confrontation of essential Ideas & values between the museum and the Indian culture
Introduction
The ‘Museum World’ of India is based on
- The British mandate during which the Museum World in India was founded.
- The British and localrulers that truly supported the preservation of local heritage.
- Commercial and philanthropic companies that commissioned interesting collections, which later became the basis for museums collections.
- The India Archeology survey that supported the establishment of site museums, and spread museums throughout the subcontinent (N. R. Banerjee 1990: 17).
1. The ‘Museum Movement’ in India is strongly associated with the foundation of ‘The Asiatic Society of Bengal’ by Sir William Johns in 1784 (Subita Punja, 1991: 21-25). He was devoted to the study and exploration of many aspects of the India’s natural history and culture: “He dreamt of a center for Asian studies including almost everything concerning man and nature within the geographical limits of the continent” (http://www.indev.nic.in/asiatic/History/index.htm).
The history of museums in India can easily be divided into several distinct periods:
1. The Foundation: 1757-1858.
2. The Victorian period: 1858-1901
3. The period of Lord Cruzan and John Marshall: 1901-1928
4. Pre independence India: 1928-1947
5. Post independence India: 1947-1987
6. Current Time: 1987-now (N. R. Banerjee,1990: p. 17).
In 1814, ‘The Asiatic Society of Bengal’ accepted Dr. Nathaniel Wallace's proposal to establish a Natural History Museum, and the Indian Museum in Calcutta, the first public museum in India, was opened.(http://www.indianmuseum-calcutta.org/wallich.html).
Some years later the Museum of Economic Geology in Madras was established[1]; in 1857, some 12 museums were to be found all over India.
Lord Curzon[2], as Governor General of India and Sir John Marshall, Director of the Archeological Survey in India, were the founders and initiators of new museums all over India, especially Site Archeology Museums, which later became the most common process for the spreading of museums in the subcontinent (N. R. Banerjee 1990: p. 17).
In 1936, pre World War II, there were 105 museums in India (N. R. Banerjee, 1990:24). At the end of the second millennium, there are some 400 museums in the subcontinent, from many types[3]. The Museum World of India includes a highly developed faculty for Museum Studies, which awards high degrees including PhDs[4]. There is an educational system, which consistently attempts to utilize museums as a useful tool for teaching and education (About the museum training in India see: Venugopal, B. 2003?).
Why should we have museums in India?
The role and task of museums in the modern and postmodern society is a question of high priority in the Museology literature. Sharon Macdonald asks how the museums will be respected in the contemporary world (Sharon Macdonald 1996: 7). Martin PrÖsler emphasizes the role of the museum in the process of nation building, (Martin PrÖsler, 1996: 21-45; Gordon Fyfe, 1996: 203-228). Stephen E. Weil in the first chapter of his “Rethinking Museum” asks “Enough Museums?” and answers that
“The museum is an important institute for cultural heritage preservation when humankind has so mastered time that it no longer takes any toll, when the young are content to accept without change the world. And when the last migrant has settled on the last frontier, certain in the knowledge that no place better might lie beyond. In that best of all possible worlds, no more museums will be needed” (Stephen. E. Weil, 1996: 3-7).
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The same conclusion was expressed in the UMAC Conference in Glasgow 2000. The conference was called: “The Death of the Museum?” and dealt with the question of the role of museums in the third millennium.
Tomislav Sola claims: “As Dignified of a broad heritage-preservation profession museum curators, although somewhat changed, will continue their existence” (Tomislav Sola, 1992: 112).
In India these questions are much more significant. India has to deal with the essential existence of the Museum Institute within Indian society and culture, which suffers from lackof crucial contributions, and the fact that the Museum Institute is basically a western institute.
Many Museologists in Indian Museology, as much as in Museology literature all over the world, argue the importance of the Museum Institute as means for heritage preservation as well as critical for educational and cultural processes.
Some reasons for this are provided below:
1. India is one of the most significant cultural reservoirs of humankind. It includes varieties of natural and human creativity collections. To collect, document, preserve, research and display these, is of great importance for all of humankind.
2. A risk exists, that these cultural riches will be taken to other parts of the world, mostly western countries, and India could lose its own culture.(Smita J. Baxi and Vinod P. Dwivedi, without date: 3-10).
3. As the Indian society is going through significant changes, it is of great importance to collect, preserve and research the hidden culture before it is lost forever.
4. The Indian Museology literature ascribes great importance to museums as an educational tool for the people of India and for the exploration of Indian culture and natural history.(Ajai Shankar, without date: 61-68).
5. The Museum differs from schools, which open their gates for children, or young people, in that it is an institute for the entire public. Everyone, whether educated and uneducated can enjoy their culture. In India, where many people are illiterate this fact is of great importance (Smita J. Baxi and Vinod P. Dwivedi, without date: 3-10).
The confrontation of essential Ideas & values between Museum and the Indian culture
Heritage preservation is an integral part of the Indian culture. It consists of thousands of years of collection, preservation, documentation and ways of display of this heritage. The Museum format, a western method of preservation, added a layer to the traditional ways (Amal Kumar Ganguly, 2002: 13).
The long-standing tradition of Chirsalas or Chitrakathis prevalent in this country did not give rise to the idea of museums in the region. Some of the movements, which have come down to us from the past, can at best serve as components museums, but did not constitute museums by themselves (N. R. Banerjee, 1990: 13).
Some examples:
- In the western Deccan, men from a caste called the Chitrakathis traveled from village to village showing their paintings of Hindu myths and telling their stories in song and verse. These pictures are rendered in a rugged linear style native to the region.[i]
2. The early 11th century temple of Brihadisvara at Thanjavur is not merely one of the best preserved monuments in India with a rich assemblage of sculptures installed in an architectural setting, and enclosed by a cloister provided with lofty gateways and richly documented with inscriptional record, but one that comes nearest to a concept of museums (N. R. Banerjee, 1990: 13).
3. This view is disputed by others on ground that even in the 4th century B.C., there existed In India a number of picture galleries and painting halls though not of type of modern museums, (Amal Kumar Ganguly , 2002: 12).
4. The Buddhist monasteries in the Ladakh region… Not only did they not expect any state help but even opposed any such help perceived as a clear interference. This is as if principals of New Museology, which encouraged members of a particular society to take care of their own heritage, inspired them,(J.L. Bhan, without date: 56-65).
- At the end of the first millennium A.D., there evolved many kinds of Museum in our country. The Ananda Niketan Kirtishala is one of these, situated in the heart of rural West Bengal, (S.K. Chakravarti, 2002: 5).
These examples illustrate the claim that the Indian culture has its own ways for keeping and preserving its own culture. On the other hand the question of the museum as a cultural way of preservation becomes more clear and significant. "Must cultural Heritage be preserved in a museum way? (Baidyanath Saraswat, without date: 10).
Other questions concerning the confrontation of the values of these two cultures are expressed by Indian’s Museology:
According to Baidyanath Saraswat:
At the highest level of understanding of the cosmic order, the ultimate reality is formless and all the earthy forms are manifestations of that formless reality. The 64 arts (Kala), which include painting, music, dance, weaving, pottery, smithy, woodwork, sculpture, architecture, etc. were cultivated and preserved in and around the Hindu temples. Metaphorically speaking, the temples have been Indian’s traditional ‘museums’.(Baidyanath Saraswati, without date: 7).
The Indian temple, unlike the museum, preserve “Real objects”, meaning objects that have some kind of meaning, objects that lose their own life when they lose the meaningful surrounding.
Moreover, according to Indian tradition, loosing of spirit makes the object lose it's his material significance. ”In the Hindu Vision and tradition the body (kashtra) is sacred only so long as kshetrajna (soul) resides in it” (Baidyanath Saraswati without date: 6).
The object, according to this view, loses its body significance and existence in an unholy place. Its life and soul stems from the holy place where it is posted, and the ‘right’ ritual it is used for[ii]. Moreover, the Temples do not display objects that lose their “Life”. The museum on the other hand does not give any attention to those criteria and displays “Lifeless objects”. Accordingly,Indian cultural objects in the museum are losing there significance, uniqueness and their basic purpose (Baidyanath Saraswati, without date: 6-9).
Another argumentillustrates the totality of the Indian vision, is the respect given to the arts in the universe. The Indian culture has to represent the five basic elements of universe: Soil, Fire, Water, Sky and Earth. The latter includes the culture and rituals. The Key Stone of the Indian culture, the unity of the universe has to be witnessed all the time and in every instance.
“Such totality of vision is attempted in every work of art, however simple or sophisticated. If one were to qualify this as a conceptual philosophical dictum which is the keystone of Indian art- The notion of the universe, with all its variety and contrasts as one harmonious, happy whole in which human beings are”(Subita Punja, 1991: 35).
The museum, in contrast to that vision, attempts to catalog arts by types: Painting, Sculpture, Textile, Wood-made etc. appearing in the different disciplines. This classification, in itself, hindersthe artistic value, making it lose its ability to express its artistic inner truth.
Another conflict between the Indian values or ideas and those of the museum is in the credit given for the creation. According to Indian tradition the human being is not the “Real” creator of the object, whether artistic or functional. Every art has its own “Devine” source, and IT is the real creator. In the Museum World, the significant importance is place on the human creator of the object; the objects are divided by creators, the group it was created in and the historical period.
The maker of pots is Prajapati, the creator God, the Celestial architect is Vishvakarma and all objects of art are the replicas of the transcendental models” (Baidyanath Saraswati, without date: 7).
Conclusion
Heritage preservation has a significant place in the Indian culture. Moreover, according to Prof. Bedekar, preservation of cultural heritage is one of the significant ways for the creation of the Indian Identity:
All of us who take legitimate pride in ourselves as Indians first, must protect our national heritage because it reinforces our feeling of oneness (V. H. Bedekar, 1988: 1)
Some scholars undermine the Museum way as a meaningful way for heritage preservation. They show the Temples as the real “Museum” of the Indian tradition, which collect, document, preserve and display the magnificent cultural objects. The Temples were and are ‘live’ Museums, which are deeply involved in the creation and preservation of India’s arts and culture (Haku Shah, without date: 11-24). From this point of view, the Indian society must give precedent to this kind of creativity and to make the museum a secondary means of cultural preservation (Baidyanath Saraswati, without date: 7).
Furthermore, the Museum by its own definition contradicts the Indian faith, argue some Indian scholars. The collection of ’lifeless' objects, the cataloging of objects according to the art types, and the significance placed on the human creators by museums, oppose the Indian values and ideas.
In spite of all the above, most of the Indian Museologists consider the museum as an institute of great importance for the preservation of heritage. As Indian society and culture is rapidly changing, the museum could and should be an important tool in keeping this heritage from disappearing and keeping it within the Indian subcontinent.
However, the Museology World in India acknowledgesthe role of museums in the Indian society, both as educational as well as the role it plays in the community (Asesh Ranjan Misra, 2002: 29-34); (Tarapada Santra,2002: 35-38) the museums are very important institutes in India.
The highly developed Museum World of India: many museums of all kinds, spread out all over the country, a strong educational museum system and the high level of museum studies and research, is the best reply to the paper main question – the Museum is one of the best agency for cultural preservation in India.
Note:
Bibliography:
[1]This Museum established in 1857, is undoubtedly one of the country's finest Museums. It is includes sections of Geology, Archeology, Anthropology, Numismatics, Botany, Zoology and Sculpture. In addition devoted to there is a good collection of Arms and Armor as well as several other specimens of Anthropological interest. The museum exhibits items from the Stone and Iron ages, exquisite carvings and a fairly large collection of South Indian musical instruments and jewelry. The bronze gallery has a superb collection of Chola art. http://www.allindiatourtravel.com/hot_spots/chennai/government_museum/
[2] George Curzon, the eldest son of Baron Curzon, was born on the 11th of January, 1859. In November, 1891, Marquis of Salisbury appointed Curzon as his Secretary of State for India. Curzon lost office when the Earl of Rosebery formed a Liberal Government in 1894.
After the 1895 General Election, the Conservative Party regained power and Curzon was rewarded with the post of Under Secretary for Foreign Affairs. Three years later the Marquis of Salisbury granted him the title, Baron Curzon of Kedleston, and appointed him Viceroy of India.
Curzon introduced a series of reforms that upset his civil servants. He also clashed with Lord Kitchener, who became Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Army, in 1902. Arthur Balfour, the new leader of the Conservative Party, began to have doubts about Curzon and in 1905 he was forced out of office.
Curzon was appointed Foreign Secretary in 1919 and when Andrew Bonar Law resigned as Prime Minister in May, 1923, Curzon was expected to become the new Prime Minister. However, the post went to Stanley Baldwin instead. He continued as Foreign Secretary until retiring from politics in 1924. George Curzon died on 20th March, 1925. http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/PRcurzon.htm
Last updated: 20th May 2002
[3] See: V.P. Dwwivedi (Ed.). Museums and Museology: New Horizons, Agam Kala Prakashan. Delhi.
[4] For example the NMI: The urgent need to initiate a Museum University was felt in 1983 specifically for the beginning of advanced teaching in the field of Art-covering its History, conservation and its Museological and parameters, leading to post-graduate and doctoral degrees.
As a first step, it was the late Dr. L.P. Sihare, the then Director of the National Gallery of Modern Art and later Director General of the National Museum, who conceived and conceptualized a Post-Graduate Diploma course in the History of Global Art including modern art along with a conservation project called 'Restoration of Oil Painting'.
These projects were first started at the National Gallery of Modern Art in 1983 and later on shifted to the National Museum in 1985. Subsequently, the parameters of these projects were enlarged to make it more intensive and universal. Here the embryonic stage of a Museum University took its shape. Consistent efforts were made to start an Institute for awarding Post-Graduate as well as Doctoral degrees in the faculties of History of Art, Art Conservation and Museology.
This was to facilitate the Museums all over the country in obtaining trained professionals. With the recommendation of the University Grants Commission, the Department of Culture, Ministry of Human Resource Development took a decision to establish the National Museum Institute of History of Art, Conservation and Museology (NMIHACM) on 28.5.88 and to accord the status of a deemed to be university as an autonomous organization. As a follow-up to the Government’s decision, the Society of the National Museum Institute of History of Art, Conservation and Museology was duly registered with the Registrar of Societies, Delhi Administration, on 27th January, 1989 under the Societies Registration Act, XXI, of 1860. Subsequently regular teaching program under the three faculties began on May 1990.
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2. Amal Kumar Ganguly. “Ananda Niketan Kirtishala: The History of Evolution in a Capsule”. Amula Kumar Chakraborty (ed.). Ananda Niketan Kirtishala: A rural museum. Ananda Niketan Kirtishala. Bagnan. (2002?). Pp. 9-16
3. Asesh Ranjan Misra. "Retrieval, Collection & Display at different mini Museum”. Amula Kumar Chakraborty (Ed.). Ananda Niketan Kirtishala:A Rural Museum. . Ananda Niketan Kirtishala. Bagnan. (2002?). Pp. 29-34.
4. Baidyanath Saraswati. "Preserving Cultural Heritage: The Museum Way”. A.K. Das (Ed.). Text and Context Documenting Folk and Tribal Art. National Museum Institute. Janpath New Delhi. P.7-10.(Without date)
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8. Chakravarti, S.K.“Foreword”,Amula Kumar Chakraborty (Ed.). Amula Kumar Chakraborty (Ed.). Ananda Niketan Kirtishala:A Rural Museum. . Ananda Niketan Kirtishala. Bagnan. (2002?). p 5.
9. Gordon Fyfe. “A Trojan Horse at the Tate: Theorizing the Museum as agency and structure”. MacDonald & Fyfe (Eds.). Theorizing museums. Blackwell Publisher, Oxford and Malden 1996. pp. 203-228.
10. Haku Shah. “Live Museum”. A.K. Das (Ed.). Text and Context Documenting Folk and Tribal Art. National Museum Institute. Janpath New Delhi. Pp. 11-13.
18. Kaplan E. S. Flora (Ed.) Museums and the Making of “Ourselves”: The Role of Objects in National Identity. Leicester University Press. London and New York.. 1994.
19. Macdonald, Sharon. “Introduction”. MacDonald & Fyfe (Eds.). Theorizing museum. Blackwell Publisher. Oxford and Malden 1996. p.7.
20. Martin PrÖsler. “Museums and Globalization”. MacDonald & Fyfe (Eds.). Theorizing museums. Blackwell Publisher. Oxford and Malden 1996. pp.21-45.
21. Nayanjot Lahiri. 'Coming to grips with the Indian past: John Marshall's early years as Lord Curzon's Director-General of Archaeology in India - Part I'. South Asian Studies 14 (1998) 1-23;
22. Nayanjot Lahiri. 'John Marshall's appointment as Director-General of the Archaeological Survey of India: a survey of the papers pertaining to his selection'. South Asian Studies 13 (1997) 127-39.
23. Smita J. Baxi and Vinod P. Dwivedi. “Why should we have museums in India”. Modern Museum: Organisation and Practice in India. Abhinav Publication. New Delhi.pp. 3-10.
24. Stephen. E. Weil. Enough Museums?. Rethinking the Museum and other meditations. Smithsonian Institution Press. Washington and London 1990 pp.3-7
25. Subita, Punja. Museums of India. Odyssey Guides. Hong Kong 1991.
26. Tarapada Santra, “The Creative Role of the Museum in Rural Life”. Amula Kumar Chakraborty (Ed.). Ananda Niketan Kirtishala : A Rural Museum . Ananda Niketan Kirtishala. Bagnan. (2002?). Pp.35-38.
27. Tomislav, Sola. "Museum professionals –the endangered species”. Patrick Boylan (ed.). Museums 2000. London-New York. 1992. p.112.
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