MUSEUMS AND LIBRARIES AND THEIR CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT
The Government of India set up and have been administering a chain of museums and libraries, each with its distinguishing features. They have also been extending substantial financial assistance to a few others, considered to be of great importance. Besides, they have been following a few schemes relating to their conservation and development. An account of the activities in this field during the year is given in this chapter.
A. MUSEUMS National Museum, New Delhi.-The National Museum as the premier museum in the country continued to develop its activities relating to acquisition, conservation, preservation, exhibition of art objects and provision of educational programmes.
Acquisitions.-While art objects worth Rs. 4.5 lakh were purchased by the Museum, 1267 objects were received as gifts from various sources. Significant among the gifts are three classical Gupta stone sculptures and one sculpture of medieval period from Smt. Pupul Jayakar, six inscribed guns from M/s. Delhi Armoury, two manuscripts, Tantransara diagrams and Devistotra (Bengali) from Shri H. N. Ray, three stone sculptures by Dr. Lokeshchandra, ten paintings from the Nawab of Loharu, and a large collection of stone sculptures, bronzes, coins, textiles, arms and paintings, etc. from Shri C. L. Bharany.
Exhibitions.-The following exhibitions were organised in the Museum :
(1) Exhibition of miniature paintings in honour of the international seminar on Amir Khusrau;
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(2) Exhibition of Rajput paintings and books on Dr. A. K. Coomaraswamy on the occasion of the centenary celebrations of Ananda Kentish Coomara- swamy, organised under the joint auspices of the Lalit Kala Akademi and the National Museum; and
(3) 'Dig, Discover and Preserve 1976', organised by the Archaeological Survey of India in collaboration with the Museum.
Educational Programmes.-Under the Plan scheme, 'propagation of culture among students in schools and colleges' kits were prepared jointly by the National Museum and the University of Delhi. The kits were distributed among such educational institutions as had deputed their teachers to attend this refresher courses organised at different places in India on the appreciation of fine arts.
A large number of cultural educational programmes consisting of illustrated lectures, film shows, seminars and courses, etc. were organised at the Museum.
The mobile Exhibition Van mounted with an exhibition 'Architects of India's Glory', was circulated to a large number of schools and colleges in Delhi.
The modelling section of the National Museum continued to prepare replicas of master-pieces of Indian sculptures, bronzes and terracottas from the Museum collection for sale to Visitors as well as supply to the educational and cultural institutions.
Conservation.-The central conservation laboratory of the Museum continued to advise and, assist museums in India and abroad in conservation and preservation of art objects in their collections.
A nine-mouth training course on conservation of cultural property was organised from March, 1976 to November, 1976. Seven students participated in this course, including one from Malaysia and the other from Sri Lanka.
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National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi.-During the year, 108 works of art were acquired and added to the collections. of the National Gallery of Modern Art.
Educational Programmes.-4,000 students of different schools. and colleges from all over India were provided planned guided tours of the galleries. During summer vacation, three art appreciation programmes for students and adults were arranged. The art appreciation programmes were also conducted for the benefit of the trainee-teachers of the two institutions, viz., Manav Bharati Teachers Training Centre, and B.Ed. and drawing teachers of Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi.
A special art appreciation programme for art students was started this year on each Saturday from August onward.
Exhibitions and Seminars.-The exhibition titled, 'Selected Landscapes by J.M.W. Turner and John Constable' was displayed in the bus and sent to various schools.
The following exhibitions and seminars were arranged :
(1) German Expressionist Original Graphics
(2) Exhibition of Recent Gifts or Works of Art
(3) Photographs by Henri Cartier Bresson
(4) Sixty Works by Ram Kinkar Vaij
(5) Exhibition of six original paintings by six well-known masters of British art
(6) Exhibition of Paintings, Drawings and Graphics by Bulgarian artist, Boris Georgiev
(7) Seminar on, 'German Expressionism and Its Impact on Modern Art'
(8) Seminar on 'Photography as an Art and the Indian Situation'
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Dr. Zakir Husain Memorial Museum, New Delhi.-Dr. Zakir Husain Memorial Museum was formally inaugurated by the President of India on 3rd May, 1976 in Jamia Nagar, Now Delhi. The Museum contains, among other things, the personal belongings of the late President, Dr. Zakir Husain, including his collections of geological specimens. The museum started functioning under the over-all supervision of the National Museum, New Delhi.
Indian War Memorial Museum, Delhi.-The Indian war Memorial Museum, located in the Naubatkhana building of the Red Fort, Delhi, remained closed for the public during the current year due to major repairs of its building, undertaken by the Archaeological Survey of India. The repairs were nearly completed and arrangements were being made to re-display the exhibits of the Museum.
Nehru Memorial Museum and Library, New Delhi.-A new permanent pictorial and documentary display on the Indian struggle for freedom, covering the pre-Gandhian era, and pertaining to the intellectual, social and political ferment in the country between 1885 and 1917, was added to the Nehru Museum from 14th November, 1976.
There was a sizeable addition to the research resources of the Library during the period. The number of books added to the shelves of the Library was 2197, bringing the total holdings to 62,759 volumes, including 3957 volumes of old newspapers. The Library's microfilm collection was further enriched by the acquisition of 96 rolls of microfilm of the Civil and Military Gazette (1906-1924), the Journal of Poona Sarvajanik Sabha, (1876-79, 1890-97, 1916-18), 15 rolls of India, London (1890-1921), and ten microfilm copies of unpublished dissertations on modern Indian history. The Photo Library acquired 1890 new photographs. The collection of photographs as on 30 November, 1976, had 46,448 photographs.
Among the institutional records acquired during the period, notable were : papers of the Textile Labour Association, Ahmedabad, and the Indian Merchants Chamber, Bombay. Among the
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private papers acquired were those of Jamnadas Dwrakadas, M.A. Master, Kamlashankar Pandya, S.A.S. Tyabji, Brij Krishan Chandiwala, Miss Padmaja Naidu, Pandit Din Dayal Sharma, Seth Sudarshan, Bejoy Krishna Banerjee, S. Nagasundaram and Krishna Kripalani.
The report of the Millowners Association, Ahmedabad (1924-25) were microfilmed. Among the old newspapers microfilmed for the Library. were Pioneer (1896-1930), Bande Mataram (1920-1926), Nation (1948-1950), Assamiya (Weekly) (1926-1954), Assamiya (bi-weekly) (1930-1941.), Assamiya (Daily) (1946-1949), Maharashtra (1936-1950), Leader (1957-1961), Amrita Bazar Patrika, (1941-45), Andhra Patrika (1933-1940) and Bhavishva (1931-1932).
As part of the Oral History Project, 66 interviews with 20 persons were recorded. Among those interviewed were Sardar Hukam Singh, Shri Durga Das Khanna, Shri B. K. Acharya, Dr. C. L. Katial, Shri K. P. S. Menon and Shri Rakhal Chandra Dey. By the end of November 1976, 1981 interviews with 670 persons had been conducted.
A number of, lectures, and. seminars bearing on the nationalist movement and the history of modern India were held. Two books, 'Indian Women: From Purdah to Modernity' and 'Science and Technology in India, were brought out. The Hindi translation of 'Jawaharlal Nehru: Thoughts, on Women' was also published.
Gandhi Darshan Samiti, Rajghat, New Delhi.-The Gandhi Darshan Exhibition which was set up on the 2nd October, 1970, under the, management of the Gandhi Darshan Samiti, continued to draw a large number of visitors.
A number of special programmes were organised on various Occasions of national importance like, Gandhi Nirvana Day, Jallianwala. Bagh Day, Gandhiji's birthday and Nehru Jayanti.
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The following temporary exhibitions were also organised on various occasions :
(1) Vaishnav Jan
(2) Life and Work of Kasturba Gandhi
(3) Jallianwala Bagh
(4) The Fingers That Moved Millions
On-the-spot-essay competitions for the students of 8th, 9th, 10th and 11th classes were organised on 2nd October, 14th November and 12th December, 1976 respectively in which 1110 students from different schools of Delhi participated.
A number of books and publications by Dr. B. G. Kunte on Gandhiji were received As gifts from the Prime Minister's Secretariat.
Facilities were provided to the Indian Council for Child Welfare for holding their annual 'Learn to Live Together Camp' for children from all over the country, in Gandhi Darshan from 10th to 20th November, 1976.
A set of 70 photographs were prepared for an exhibition 'Non- Violent Resistance Movement (Satyagraha) launched by Mahatma Gandhi in South Africa and Freedom Movement in India, on a request from the Ministry of External Affairs. This exhibition would be put on display in Ghana.
Indian Museum, Calcutta.-The Indian Museum, Calcutta, which is administered by a Board of Trustees, comprises six sections of which three cultural sections, viz., Art, Archaeology, Anthropology are under the Museum Directorate and the remaining three scientific sections, viz., Geology, Zoology and Industrial (Eco-Botany) are under the administrative control of the respective surveys. Three new galleries, viz., (i) Chinese (ii) Japanese
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(iii) Nepalese and Tibetan Art, taken up under the developmental plan scheme of the Museum, were almost ready and were to be made open to the public by the end of the year. Arrangements for a terracotta gallery were completed and this new gallery is also likely to be opened for the public in the near future.
Publications, viz., picture folders, multi-colour picture cards, guide books, children's books series were brought out by the Museum. Two catalogues on Tibetan Tankas and Bidri objects were prepared. Notable among the publications undertaken by the Museum during the year are : (i) Second Supplementary Catalogue to Vol. I for Coins of Ancient India, and (ii) A monograph of Bharhut Railings, which were in the press.
The Museum supplied a number of photographs of objects of historical and cultural value to many educational and cultural, institutions like Ashutosh Museum of Calcutta University. One complete roll of colour transparency was prepared for the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.
The Library of the Museum continued to develop as an eminent centre of research of art, archaeology, anthropology and related subjects. About 200 new volumes were added to the Library during the year.
As a part of the educational programme of the Museum, the exhibition bus of the museum took extensive tours throughout the State of West Bengal.
Victoria Memorial Hall, Calcutta.-The Memorial is well on the way to re-orientation as a Period Museum of Modern Indian, History (1700- 1900). In accordance with its intended new role, the Memorial was engaged in collecting original documents. and papers with bearing on the period, and received from the High Court, Calcutta, Calcutta Corporation and Bar Library, Calcutta, original papers, reports and documents of immense historical value and, from individuals, rare paintings, books and manuscripts.
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In addition to popular lectures, mostly on museum objects and relevant for the period, the Memorial, as part of its normal academic activities, organised special exhibitions, particularly meant to serve the needs and stimulate the interest of students at different levels of study. The exhibitions displaying (i) Select views of India as seen and drawn by W. Hodges and Daniell nearly two centuries back, and (ii) Glimpses of Sikh history with the aid of contemporary documents, paintings, engravings, relics and maps, were largely attended.
Steps were on for formulating research projects based on such untapped source-material as Justice Hyde's Notes and Reports (1775-96) and Notes and Reports on the cases heard before the Supreme Court (1796-98), recently acquired by the Memorial.
The publications selected for the year include Annual Bulletin, a brief Guide of the Memorial in English, coloured folio and picture post-cards and an illustrated and documented booklet on the Nawabs of Bengal.
A sub-committee of the Trustees was working on the detailed plan of remodelling of galleries in the context of the recommendations of the Committee of Experts on the reorientation of the Memorial as a Period Museum.
The activities of the Memorial have thus been oriented so as to make it an active medium for stimulating interest in and knowledge of events and personalities of Indian history in the 18th and 19th centuries.
Salar Jung Museum, Hyderabad.-The most important event during the year was the Silver Jubilee Celebrations of the Museum on December 16- 31, 1976. On the occasion, the All-India Museums Conference held its session in Hyderabad. A seminar on 'Cultural Assimilation in Art-East and West' and talks on the topic, 'Reminiscences on Nawab Salar Jung Bahadur' were organised.
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The collection of the Salar Jung Museum consists of art objects drawn from all over the world. In this sense, the Salar Jung Museum is very different from other museums; of India, which have largely Indian collections.
The Museum had already a gallery of fine arts of South India. From this year a gallery for the minor arts of South India was. organised in the, Museum. This gallery had on display wood carvings, metal work, bronzes, Kalaunkari painting on cloth and silver wire work and ivory work for which South India is justly famous.
The Museum received some notable gifts during the year. These include a life-size image of the goddess, 'Saraswati' by an organisation of bamboo workers of Calcutta and 44 gifts from the collections of late Miss Padmaja Naidu.
The educational services of the museum continued to provide free guided tours to the visitors. An achievement of the educational services of the museum in 1976 was the training of lectures and teachers in museum subjects.
A temporary exhibition organised during the year consisted of 'Glimpses of Rajasthani Art', pertaining to the art objects of Rajasthani origin in the museum. An exhibition on the 'Ragmala Paintings' was also organised.
B : LIBRARIES National Library, Calcutta.-The National Library, Calcutta, was established in 1903 as the Imperial Library. At present, the Library is a subordinate office. of the, Department of Culture. The National Library of India, Act, 1976 (No. 76 of 1976) received President's assent and was expected to come into force shortly. The Act provides : (i) to establish an autonomous broadbased board for the administration of the Library, consisting of eminent persons holding high Positions in academic and administrative fields of education and culture; (ii) to give the National Library a premier position as adviser on library matters to the
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Central and State Governments and to other libraries in the country; and (iii) to re-name the Library as 'The National Library of India'.
To provide better services in the field of learning to readers and scholars of the Library, the following schemes included in the Fifth Five-Year Plan were approved for implementation during the year under review :
(i) Bibliography of Indology Project
(ii) Strengthening of Book Preservation Laboratory
(iii) Programme for Foreign Languages Division
(iv) Programme for Indian Languages Division
(v) Retrospective Cataloguing of Indian Official Documents
(vi) Construction of Boundary Wall
(vii) Vertical Extension of Reader's Hostel
(viii) Construction of Recreation Hall
(ix) Construction of New Annexe Building.
This Library, which has exchange relations with 122 institutions, in 43 countries, entered into exchange relations with 11 new institutions of different Asian and European countries. The Library thus acquired a considerable number of publications from foreign countries.
Central Reference Library, Calcutta.--The Central Reference Library has been publishing the Indian National Bibliography since the last quarter of 1957. During the year under review, the following various roman script issues were compiled and published :
(i) 5 monthly issues July to December, 1975
(ii) 8 monthly issues of 1976 from January to August,
(iii) 2 annual volumes. viz., Annual Volume 1968 and 1974 were cumulated.
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Besides the roman script issues of the Indian National Biblio- graphy, the Central Reference Library has been compiling the langauge fascicules of the Bibliography in respective language scripts in order to help the development of regional languages and the official language. The language bibliographies were being printed by the State Governments. During the year the following bibliographies were compiled and published :
(a) Malayalam Bibliography 1975 (Desiya Granth Suchi Malayalam Vibhag 1975)