Salar Jung Museum,Hyderabad ,India

Internet Giant Google's Cultural arm recently announced that they are planning digitizing yet another Indian Heritage Salar Jung Museum of Hyderabad to add to their online Museum.They plan to add more museums to their online collectIon. They are,Victoria memorial Hall, Kolkatta,Dastkari haat Samiti,Devi art foundation,Kiran Nadar Museum of Art,Academy of Fine artscand Literature,Kalakriti Archive,HeritagecTransport Museum,Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centres & Ashrams and Remani iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute. There are 5 National Museums in India.They are 1)national Museum New Delhi2)National Museum of Natural History Museum New Delhi.3)Indian Museum ,Kolkatta,4)Salar Jung Museum,Hyderabad and 5)Allahabad Museum,Allahabad. The Salar Jung Museum ,Hyderabad is perhaps the best I have seen in India.This one is now being digitized by Google. Let us have a look at it.Salar Jung Museum is the third largest and perhaps the best National Museum in India A person who visits Hyderabad must visit SalarJung museum.This is one of the Best places we visited in Hyderabad whenever we had been to Hyderabad.This Museum housesa Ancient collection of Manuscripts,Sculptures, Textiles,Paintings and clocks,Ceramics,Carpets and Metalic Artifacts. Out of these the Most popular attraction is the Clocks at the Museum most of which are collections from European countries There is one bracket clock here which is of British origin.This is a Bracket clock with a Mechanical device which wouldremind Perunthachan's toy.It has a miniature toy Figure which comes out of an enclosure and strikes a conga at every hour.At 12 PM the toy comes out and strikes 12 times .So this is a special attraction for everybody especially children.So at 12 PM every day one can observe a big crowd in front of the Clock just as in the case of Cheeta run at 4-30 Pm in San Diego Zoo,USA when a trained Cheeta, under the direction of Expert trainers Run in front of the crowd very close to them.At 4-30 all visitors gather at this place making a big crowd every day. Daggers belonging to the period of EmpreSS Noorjahan,Emperor Ahangir and Emperor Shahjahan are found in the Museum among antiques. The Ancient Artifacts held at the Museum belong to the Salar Jung Family.These collections dates back to The First Century. Under the Salar Jung Museum Act of 1961,the Museum is being maintained by a Board of Trustees,the ex- Officio chairperson is the Governor of the State. Apart from The Thirtyeight Galleries containing precious Artifacts,the Museum also has a Cafteria,Library and a Reading Room. This Great Museum is being visited by 10 lakh people on an average every year. The Salar Jung Museum boasts of Collection of Artifacts by the Nawab Mir yousuf Alikhan Salar Jung|||,who was the former Prime Minister of the 7th Nizam of Hyderabad.He spent an ample amount of money for almost 35 years for acquiring the collections.People believe that some of the Nawab Properties were misappropriated when the items were shifted from Dewan Devdi,the place of the Nobles to it's current place.About 50 Thousand booksand 40 Thousand artifacts were believed to have been collected by N.M.Y.A.Khan Salar Jung 111,but a few of these are Featured in the Museum now. The Salar Jung Museum houses the Nawab's prized ancestral collection which are beautifully Displayed in this Museum. These collections are inclusive of the beautiful Paintings by famous Raja Ravi Varma,Tipu Sultan's Wardrobe,Ancient Daggers crafted with Gems which are believed to be belonging to the Kings and Queens,Aurangazeb'sSword and Jewel boxes .There is also ancient furniture collection of 14th and 17th century. Every items have been notified with labels for the visitor to recognize.Besides,there are wood cut paintings The statue of' Veiled Rebecca',Mugal miniatures,euro Ian Sculptures, Chinese PorCelain,Embridery works,Metal ware,Jade carvings,Japanese silk paintings,and elegantvivory works are added attractions in this museum. The other items of Admiration are famous "Mestophiles",And "the Lady with the Lamp"Which are considered to be the unique collections in this museum. Coming to the building ,architecture and infrastructure of this Museum,There are Thirtyeight Galleries,Which are spread on two floors.therecare Twenty Galleries on the Ground Floor,and Eighteen on the First floor.Each gallery exhibitsArticrats under separate headings. The Salar Jung Museum is one of the most highly visited place besides the Birla Mandir,Ramoji Film City and Nehru Zoological Park and the Charminar in Hyderabad. This IT City is worth visiting with family especially children during Holidays and Vacation to admire and enjoy our Heritage and ancient civilization. Sreedharan.Mundanat 14th September,2015