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Some of
the finest museums of India are in Delhi. The National Museum
on Janpath is the premier repository of antiquities. Built in 1960,
it has an extraordinary collection representing the entire span of
Indian civilization from pre-historic times. Its galleries include
finds from the Indus Valley Civilization, superb sculptures in
stone, and bronzes from the Chola period, the largest collection of
miniature paintings in the world, manuscripts, a Buddhist Gallery,
including relics of the Buddha from Piprahwa, the exquisite Jewelry
Gallery, the Anthropological Gallery of tribal art; galleries
devoted to decorative and applied arts, Maritime Heritage and
Pre-Columbian art, and the Central Asian Antiquities, Gallery of
Auriel Stein's finds along the ancient Silk Route (the great murals
however, are on display at the adjacent Archaeological Survey of
India).
The National Gallery of Modern Art, housed in the residence of
Jaipur's former maharajas has a superb collection of paintings
dating from 150 years ago to the present day. Company School
paintings of the 19th and early 20th centuries and the works of
Rabindranath Tagore, Jammi Roy and Amrita Sher Gil hold pride of
place amidst exhibits, which give an overview of the evolution of
modern Indian paintings and sculpture. The National Museum and the
National Gallery of Modern Art periodically organize special
exhibitions |
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The Rail
Transport Museum is a must for rail buffs. Its vintage display
includes the oldest locomotive in the world-still working; the
Viceregal Dinning Car (1889) and the Prince of Wales Saloon (1876).
Children can enjoy a ride on the miniature rail track.
Th e
Nehru Memorial Museum is at Teen Murti House where Jawaharlal Nehru
lived for 16 years till his death in 1964. its special charm is that
the rooms have been preserved as they were. Not far from here is the
Indira Gandhi Memorial where one gets a glimpse of the life of the
late Late Prime Minister.
The Ghandi Memorial Museum has a collection of memorabilia on
Mahatma Gandhi. The Crafts Museum at Pragati Maidan has galleries
displaying India's rich tradition of handicrafts. An added
attraction is the presence of craftsperson who are bought here from
different parts of the country to demonstrate their skills. In this
central part of the city are also located the National Philatelic
Museum of Natural History, Mandi House, and the Malliah on Deen
Dayal Upadhyaya Marg.
The Tibet House Museum on Lodi Road has a fine collection of tankhas,
jewellery and ritual objects. En route to Old Delhi are the
Shankar's Dolls Museum of Archeology related to the Mughal era, and
the Museum of Arms and Weapons which traces the development of arms
from the Mughal age to the First World War |