Visit to National Museum in New Delhi - Essay Example

I visited the museum on the third of July. There were many people who had turned up to visit the museum as it was a pleasant day and a holiday. People had arrived with their children and there were also many elderly people who were present. There were also present children from a school who trooped along the pathways, viewing the artifacts curiously. Amidst this entire hullabaloo, the exhibits in the museum stood out for their beauty and their historical and aesthetic value. Walking through the museum is an interesting experience as one is surrounded by objects of great value but one does not feel crowded as the building is constructed in an architecturally sound manner.

The different pieces that are present in the museum include sculptures made by contemporary artists in stone that grace the lawns of the museum. While these are in themselves pleasing to the eye and unsettling to the senses in some ways as a result of the daring ideas behind the innovation that characterizes them, what lies inside the museum is much more interesting as it showcases the different aspects of Indian culture. Paintings of various kinds and schools are housed in the museum’s gallery.

Here one can find Madhubani and Mughal art alongside the work of a modern maestro like Amrita Shergill. The importance of this mix lies in the fact that it reflects the way Indian society operates at this point in time- it is a mix between the traditional and the modern and there are often clashes between the two that do not allow co-existence. The paintings seem to send a message of harmony to the people who visit this gallery.What catches one’s eye the most in the museum, however, is a statue of the Buddha, sculpted according to the Gandhara School’s principles.

The statue reveals the Buddha in a pose of nirvana and the viewer is able to find the rich detailing of the features of the Buddha. This is a characteristic feature of the Gandhara School (Sekhar, 2007). The main body of the statue is placed upon a plinth and there is a halo around the head of the Buddha, indicating the fact that he is the enlightened one. The standing Buddha also presents a contrast to the normal statues that often preset him in a seated pose. Thus, many factors combine to make this statue one of the most interesting exhibits in the national museum.

Another extremely interesting exhibit in this museum is a toy that dates back to the times of the Harappan civilization. The toy reveals intricate craftsmanship and reveals the mastery over such arts that was possessed by people of this civilization. The toy has wheels and can be moved by a child if it is attached to a string. Made of clay, this piece has the head of an animal that seems like a ram at its front. This leads one to believe that people of this civilization not only gave great importance to the arts but also to the care of their children.

The exhibits at the museum thus serve to demonstrate the cultures and values of civilizations that existed in the past of India that has resulted in the cultural variety that is found in India in contemporary times. They also reveal a linear chain of causality that may be deciphered and analyzed by a student of history following a thorough inspection of the artifacts.