or the people of Bezwada and later Vijayawada, the century-old Victoria Jubilee Museum on M.G. Road is a structure that reminds them of the country’s glorious past.
It is a place where artefacts were collected, preserved, interpreted and displayed.
This heritage structure - a protected monument- was built in 1877 to commemorate the Golden Jubilee celebrations of Queen Victoria (1837-1901).
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It was designed according to the Indo-European style and showcases collections from pre-historic times to the 20th century in various forms.
The collection is spread over two floors of the heritage building and a building just behind it. The garden displays several sculptures and architectural marvels of the Satavahana and post-Vijayanaganara periods.
The museum came under the control of the zamindars of Nuzvid, District Board and the zilla parishad of Krishna. In the year 1962, the Department of Archaeology and Museums took over the building and converted it into an archaeological museum.
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In 1921, the All India Congress Committee meeting was convened here, and Pingali Venkayya of Munagala Samsthana presented the Tri-colour to Mahatma Gandhi in the presence of national leaders including Motilal Nehru, Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Vallabhai Patel, Lala Lajpat Rai, Babu Rajendra Prasad and Tanguturi Prakasam Pantulu.
THE SHIFT TO VIZAG
To the Tri-colour, Gandhi added a ‘chakra’ in the middle and declared it the Indian National Congress flag, which was later declared as the National Flag by the Constituent Assembly on July 22, 1947. In fact, Andhra University functioned from the museum for a brief while before it was shifted to Visakhapatnam.
While Ayyadevara Kalesarawara Rao wanted the university to continue functioning from Bezwada, it was educationist C.R. Reddy who opposed the move and played an important role in shifting it to Visakhapatnam. It is believed that Mr. Reddy said Bezwada had “only agriculture but not culture”. Among the major attractions at the museum are a huge statue of Buddha made of granite and a white limestone statuette of the standing Buddha. Both statues are from the 3rd to 4th century AD, and they were found at Alluru, a small town, which is an archaeological site.
There are also objects such as the striking sculpture of Lord Siva.
The museum attracts visitors, especially those who are interested in history and archaeology, as it houses a worthy assortment of art and artefacts such as sculpture, paintings, idols, pottery, jewellery, tools and weapons from different periods as well as cutlery and inscriptions on tablets and manuscripts.
There are also relics from the Neolithic age. Carefully conserved Buddhist artefacts, which are more than 2000 years old, are also showcased here.
In the garden are statues of Hindu gods and goddesses and inscriptions, and also placed in a circle are tombstones of some Dutch people who died here in the 17th century.
The Archaeology Department and the Archaeological Survey of India are responsible for most of the treasures found here.
Makeover in progress
At present, hectic activity is witnessed at the museum, thanks to the construction of a coastal museum to house all preserved monuments from the coastal region. The museum will be named after renowned film personality ‘Bapu’. The century-old Victoria Jubilee Museum will be considered as a protected monument.
The open space in the four-acre site will also witness orderliness for the benefit of visitors and students. Several sculptures and monuments strewn over the garden will be aesthetically landscaped.