It arguably has the most potential of being a green space in Chennai. But the Government Museum, Egmore, is a promise unfulfilled. The museum’s buildings and galleries, some in the charming red-brick Indo-Saracenic architecture, are surrounded by verdant spaces, with trees lining the campus. Set on 16.25 acres in the heart of the city, the museum has spaces for different users: walkers, children and their parents, students, casual visitors, tourists, and others. But all of these could use a large dose of vim and vigour, in maintenance.
The proposal for a museum at Egmore, the museum’s website says, was mooted by the Madras Literary Society in 1846. Governor Sir Henry Pottinger got sanction from the Court of Directors of the East India Company in London to accept from the Society a gift of its geology collection on condition that the government would start a museum.
Officer appointed
In January 1851, Edward Balfour, Medical Officer of the Governor’s Bodyguards, was appointed as the First Officer in charge of the Government Museum. The notification in the Fort St. George Gazetteer dated April 29, 1851 contained the first announcement on the opening of the Madras Government Museum.
Originally, according to a report from the archives of The Hindu, the museum was located in the Old College, which stood on the premises of the present office of the Director of Public Instruction. In 1854, it was moved to a building called the Pantheon, also known as the Public Rooms or Assembly Rooms, previously used for banquets, balls, and dramatic performances by the British. Incidentally, the road on which the Museum is located is Pantheon Road.
For R. Anusaya, who had brought her two young sons for a visit, it is a place of excursion for children — the life-size fibreglass T. Rex and the Stegosaurus sitting on a lawn outside the children’s section are instant points for delight. But the children’s play area, meant to be a science park, is in a bad shape. “So much of the equipment is damaged here that there is not much to play with. It can do much better with upkeep and cleaning,” the 28-year-old pointed out. Swings hang in disrepair, the coat of paint is peeling off most of the equipment, the ground is muddy, benches for parents are broken, covered in fungus, and there is overgrowth everywhere. In one section, gaping holes where cement blocks have been removed pose a hazard.
‘Not child-friendly’
The boards naming the science equipment and how to use them are in a poor shape, leaving children and parents unable to effectively use what could otherwise have been an educational space. “The maintenance is not up to the mark and it is not very child-friendly or inclusive,” said Sinna R., who had come with his wife, young son, and a friend. Walk further up along the path and there’s the Connemara Public Library, with students spilling out, wandering into the small garden opposite, studying under trees and chit-chatting on the grass. One of the oldest libraries in the country, this is also one of the four National Depository Libraries, which receive a copy of all books, newspapers, and periodicals published in India. It houses over 8,50,000 books, says its website, including centuries-old publications.
Further up are sculptures around a huge garden. An elephant and a rhinoceros occupy the other patches of green. Circle the buildings and there is a canon, ‘taken by draper Manilla’ in 1762, occupying the pride of place on another little garden near the entrance.
For senior citizens S. Vishwanathan and his wife Sasikala, the museum grounds are a peaceful space for an evening walk. But as lush and quiet as the surroundings are, the pathway could do with repairs, they said. “As a walking space, it is good; but the tiles on the path are broken at several places. When you take a walk around, there is a bad smell emerging from one section. The toilets are also not clean,” Ms. Sasikala said. And, as with many other open spaces in the city, several stray dogs can be seen.
Nehru’s plea
In November 1951, the museum celebrated its one hundredth year. Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru inaugurated the centenary celebrations. In his speech on the occasion, as recorded by The Hindu, Mr. Nehru underscored the need for the appreciation of beauty. It is good to have beautiful objects for people to look at, he said, because more and more people seem to have lost all ideas of what beauty is and what is beautiful and surround themselves with articles that are certainly not beautiful, he said. He also urged parents to train their children in appreciating beauty from their childhood.
Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru opened the centenary celebrations of the Government Museum at Egmore on November 29, 1951. | Photo Credit: The Hindu Archives
The Government Museum premises are certainly lovely. Every building has lush greenery outside, trees shade visitors from the ever-scorching heat, and the chirping of birds is a constant hum in the background — a rarity in the urban centre of the city. Outdoor artefacts abound, parrots flit between trees, children skip along the path or loll about on the immense staircase. But if it is appreciation of beauty one is looking for, the museum has a long way to go.
Published - September 08, 2024 11:10 pm IST
