Bhopal might be known for its lakes but even the way its galleries document the history and culture of the country is exemplary, says Kushan Mitra
As you drive into Bhopal from the airport road, you enter the city driving along the northern shore of the Upper Lake. At night, with the beautifully-lit waterfront and the bright lights of the small but impressive Raja Bhoj Setu, the city looks wonderful. It also helps that the wide boulevard of VIP Road has relatively orderly traffic by Indian standards. Across the water on the Upper Lake, you see a neon sign that reads ‘Welcome to the city of lakes’. And with the Upper Lake and several other large reservoirs which dot the city and the surrounding countryside, Bhopal indeed is one of the prettiest cities in India. And it is taking advantage of all the water features by training the next generation of Indian water sports’ athletes in kayaking and rowing. And every evening on the southern bank of the Upper Lake, thousands of locals gather to walk up and down the shore front, with street food vendors, performers and horse-drawn buggies all competing for one’s attention (and money).
Yet, at the end of the shore front on the southern bank lies the lower entrance to the Rashtriya Manav Sanghralaya, which translates as the ‘National Museum of Man’ although a more appropriate English translation should be the National Anthropological Museum. Whatever the name, this is an eye-popping place and not just because it offers an idyllic location for jogging and walking. It has one of the largest and most impressive collections of any museum in India. Painstakingly put-together replicas of houses of various regions across India and a wonderful collection of sculptures depicting traditional tribal myths of India’s myriad indigenous peoples make the several outdoor sites a must-visit for every Indian. This is particularly true at a time where we worry about homogenisation in this vast country when it comes to culture, food and languages.
It is such a vast space that it makes one return for a second time just to see the fabulous indoor collection. Let me just talk about one room in the indoor museum. That is the reserve collection room. The collections in this one room can fill up entire museums in other nations. If you travel abroad you would happily spend tens of Dollars or Euros to visit such a place, yet in Bhopal one room in a museum outdoes entire museums. This room is fantastic and you can see aspects of life from across the country, from clothes, cookware, sickles, threshers and weapons. Of course, there are separate individual rooms in the museum where specific collections are kept and often rotated, like the room of masks right now. This is where you can see the role masks have played in story-telling across different regions of India. You see how different, yet how similar masks across this vast nation of ours are. Visiting this museum is a truly humbling experience and you would be happy if this was the only major museum in this city.
But no, after driving out in the all-new Hyundai i20 from the upper exit of the Manav Sanghralaya, a quick drive takes you to the twin state museums. The Madhya Pradesh Tribal Museum and the Madhya Pradesh State Museum. In an ideal world, each of these should have a story of its own, but the twin museums run by the state are both extraordinary as they are different. First, the more modern Tribal Museum, in one of India’s larger states and one that has historically had a huge number of indigenous tribes, is a celebration of tribal culture. What is remarkable about the collection here is that few pieces are ancient but most of the artifacts are newly created by tribal artisans and, on that front, the museum doesn’t just bring these stories to life but it ensures the continuity of the knowledge, the legends and the skills required in making sure that these traditions sustain. Sure, the lights inside the museum are a bit funky and there are times you think that you could be a fancy nightclub of sorts, but some of the pieces -- such as the exaggerated ceremonial bangle and the amazing story of ancestors, the so-called ‘Bbbilala Myth’ — are pieces that could adorn any modern art museum in the world.
The second museum, the Madhya Pradesh State Museum, rather the third one, is another brilliant museum. It isn’t modern and the entire place could use a lick of paint and better lighting as well as more information about the artifacts, but what a collection. It reminds us that history is all around us everywhere in India and we just have to scratch the surface to see what all there is. The vastness of the collection at this third museum means that you cannot really finish it off in a single day but, if you have any interest whatsoever about the history of our great country and landmass, this is one museum you must come and visit.
There are a lot of things to do in and around Bhopal other than museums, the city has some fantastic sites and in the Old City, there are some great places to eat as well as more contemporary historical sites to visit. It isn’t the most ‘happening’ city when it comes to nightlife, but it is one that every Indian should make a point to visit.
