Government Egmore Museum in Chennai
Timings: 9:30 AM to 5:00 PM; Weekly Holiday: Friday
The Government Egmore Museum in Chennai is really a huge museum with six separate galleries, each having different types of exhibits. The above photo was taken near the entrance (of gallery 1) and I must mention that this museum is quite neatly maintained. The entrance fee is fifteen rupees per head, and there were boards outside every gallery asking us not to use the cell phone camera. Well, ok. I will just publish the photos that I took outside the museum galleries! I think, they are allowing foreigners to use cameras with special permission and huge fee.
Each gallery has a specific theme. The first gallery contained a lot of sculptures that were found during ancient periods (mainly from the South Indian geography). There were some interesting information like the origin of South Indian languages, Dravidian-Aryan cultures, etc. When I went, they had kept an exhibit of an ancient coin counting machine. This was a wooden slate with a lot of circular holes. I guess, they used to spread coins all over the plate till coins settled in all the individual holes. Then they could count the whole batch as a fixed value.
The other galleries had an exhaustive collection of flora and fauna. There were so many stuffed animals, reptiles, fishes, birds and even skeletons. There was a huge skeleton of a dinosaur, that was hanging above and also a skeleton of an over grown elephant. There were separate galleries for ancient bronze statues and medals/coins belonging ancient South Indian empires. These two galleries were air-conditioned.
There was a separate section for different types of stamps released by the Indian Government. There were stamps honoring Albert Einstien, Srinivasa Ramanujam, Various Government bodies, and what not. There was even a collection of foreign stamps donated by somebody. There was a cross-section (I think from Pondicherry) of a huge tree that was displayed along with its time-line and looks like that tree had survived more than 250 years!
There was a separate gallery for crafts, music instruments, decorative items and other things that were used by Kings and Queens. There was even an art gallery that contained huge paintings of various Englishmen and general artistic subjects. There was a children’s gallery, but since I was no longer in that category, I did not get into it. I guess they have converted a palace into the Egmore Museum, and the buildings themselves were interesting exhibits!
Click here to see the photos of different Nataraja statues collected from various locations and belonging to various centuries, displayed in this museum.
Destination Infinity
Looks good 🙂
Bikram’s
Thanks, Bikram. This museum is good from the inside, as well.
Destination Infinity
I had visited this place many years back when it was not maintained properly. Now, it looks clean and new. Will definitely visit shortly.
Thanks for introducing me to my own treasures in the backyard!
I too had visited this museum when I was very young – Maybe in 3rd or 4th Standard. I remember seeing the Dinosaur skeleton from then, its still there! Its a nice place to visit casually.
Destination Infinity
Good to know that Chennai has a nice museum. The one in Mumbai is lousy!
I am quite impressed with the collection by the museum here. Its really big, especially when compared to the museums I went to, in Coimbatore.
Destination Infinity
Another place I am yet to visit in Chennai… good photos 🙂 🙂
Do visit when time permits Kanagu, a nice place to spend a couple of hours… I wish they allow us to take photos inside the galleries. These photos were taken outside the actual museum galleries!
Destination Infinity
DI – You are the chronicler of posterity! I’m sure, years from now, a lot of us will come back to your posts, because then, they would represent history and a lot more!
Our meeting has been long overdue – this past month has been very turbulent……..as you would have noticed, I haven’t blogged too, for sometime now…… hopefully I should be back to shape soon! And we will need to meet up!
Yeah, Rak. Even the non traveler in me has started to like these chronicling activities – they provide a good opportunity to be away from my laptop! 🙂
No probs, Rak. Just mail me when you are free of all burdens. Its better to meet when we feel more relaxed, like the last time. Yeah, I got your latest post, and please continue. We don’t want to lose one more blogger to circumstances.
Destination Infinity
Hey… you should have gone to the children’s section. It would have been amazing. 😀 C’mon, there is a child inside all of us. Isn’t there?
The method of counting coins which you have described is interesting.
This seems to be a nice place to visit 🙂
Ok, the truth was – I didn’t have time 🙂
Destination Infinity
Nice museum. It’s a reminder that I need to visit one, soon 😀
Yeah, do visit museums, but at leisure. Don’t hurry up like I did – it takes the pleasure out of such visits!
Destination Infinity
Hey DI, how about combining your idea with mine and make a thing worth being in museum.
I am talking about the never ending stairs. You can contribute your zero energy car travel technique. And what do we get? A saw type of stairs which visually appears to be going down always though the four corners are at the same level !!
It was a joke. Nothing serious.
Ok, but I didn’t know that you have a blog till now. Seems like you have many blogs, as listed in your Blogger profile!
Destination Infinity
Wow so good & nice post, thanks for sharing useful info about Government Egmore Museum in Chennai, very beautiful place.
Sure, Thanks to you too for the comment Mr. Praveen.
Destination Infinity
Nice..looks like an interesting place
Yeah it was an interesting place. But one needs some time to go through so many exhibits.
Destination Infinity
Hi i was searching for some valuable information as egmore museum is a part of my subject MUSEOLOGY ….. Thaank uuuuuu::: INDIRAPRIYADARSINI… TIRUPATI
I could have put up a lot more information, had they allowed photography inside the museum. Anyway I am glad that it helped you.
Destination Infinity