After a week of increased activity, footfalls and some interest in the neat, polished exhibits housing centuries-old artefacts, the halls of Seemanthi Bai Government Museum in Bejai have returned to being lifeless.
A day after the end of the International Museum Week, the ticket books are full, the parking lot empty, and the museum seems to be slipping out of public memory. In the past one week, as a result of a sudden surge of publicity and free entry (even the nominal amount of Rs. 2 for adults and Rs. 1 for children was waived) more than 600 people entered the 54-year-old museum, said Shejeshwara R., curator of the museum.
“Surprisingly, a lot of locals visited us. Many visitors and even municipality officials said they had not heard of a museum like this in the city,” said the curator.
The week represents a significant jump from around 100 people who enter the museum weekly. According to museum officials, only 1,723 people (of which more than 1,060 are children) have visited since January; or roughly, just 15 visitors a day.
Museum officials cited lack of publicity and lack of a proper access road (the road from the Bejai-KPT has been severely weathered) as reasons for the low turnout. “Over the past week, Mangalore City Corporation officials have said they will put up nearly 25 boards across the city, while, a road would be relaid after the monsoon. We hope this will increase the footfalls,” said Mr. Shejeshwara.
However, for the museum to be more educative, officials said there should be an “archaeological base” in the district. They said only one college (in Shirva, Udupi) offers a course in the subject, hindering research into local artefacts at the museum.
The “ship-shaped building” — opened on May 4, 1960 — was the residence of V.R. Mirajkar, a medical officer in the British Indian Army who donated it in the name of his mother, Seemanthi Bai. His collections — from China, Japan, Brazil, erstwhile Czechoslovakia, and Tibet— dot the top floor of the museum.
