Mumbai Zoo, Mumbai
About
George Wittet designed this Indo- Saracenic
style building, which houses the Prince of
Wales Museum. It also houses a priceless collection
of art, sculpture, a fine collection of miniature
paintings and much more. Amid the hustle and
bustle of Mumbai stand some stately buildings,
remnants of the British Raj. Among them is
the Prince of Wales Museum, named after Prince
George (Later George V) who visited India
in 1905 and laid the foundation stone of the
building. Through the arch the Prince made
his royal entrance to India as King George
V for the Delhi Darbar in 1911. This four-tiered
goliath houses a priceless collection of over
2000 miniature paintings from various stylistic
schools in India. Among other artifacts feature
a sizeable number of relics of the Indus Valley
Civilisation and instances of Tibetan and
Nepalese art.
History
This building was completed in 1914 and converted
to a military hospital during World War I.
Finally it was opened in 1923 by Lady Lloyd,
the wife of the then governor of Mumbai, Sir
George Lloyd.
Architecture
The facing is done in yellow and blue stones
quarried from the Mumbai region. The dome
is modeled after the Gol Gumbaz in Bijapur
- Karnataka. It incorporates a variety of
details from different Indian styles; Saracenic
arches with Muslim jalis as fillers, semi-open
verandahs and Rajput jharokhas. The structure
forms a long rectangle of three storeys, raised
in the centre to accommodate the entrance
porch. Above the central arched entrance rises
a huge dome, tiled in white and blue flecks,
supported on a lotus-petal base.
Galleries
There's a lot to see in the Museum. It’s
a disservice if one rushes to see it all in
one go. To walk around the key gallery is
like experiencing 5,000 years of Indian art
in a capsule. The plan of the Museum is simple,
with a central hall from which the staircase
leads to the two upper floors with galleries
branching out on the right and left. An extension
on the right-hand side of the main building
houses the natural history section. The second
floor houses the Indian miniature painting
gallery-the pride of the museum, and next
to it is galleries of decorative art and,
to the left of the central well of the staircase,
the gallery of Tibetan and Nepali art. Above,
on the second floor are the European painting,
armoury and textile galleries. An excellent
collection of Indian miniature paintings occupies
much of the second floor. Some superb examples
of the 19th century Pahari School of painting
displayed in the museum are Shiva and Parvati
(Kangra), Uma worshipping Shiva. One can see
Shiva and Parvati, where Parvati is offering
Shiva a garland of skulls. Krishna with the
Cows Herds (Garhwal, 18th century) and the
work drawing of the holi Festival shows Krishna
and his friends throwing colour on Radha and
her companions to celebrate the spring festival
of Holi. Other paintings of importance on
display include Aurangzeb reading the Quran
(Pahari, Jammu), the painting of Raja Balwant
Deva with his Barber (Jammu, 18th century),
one can almost read the barber's thoughts,
the painting of the Lady with an Attendant
and a Peacock (Pahari, Kangra, 1775) is remarkably
beautiful and lyrical work. There are some
typical examples of Deccani School of paintings
having pale green, mineral-coloured backgrounds
with figures placed squarely in the foreground.
The collection of paintings from Bundi, of
the 18th century, in this gallery deals with
the theme of love. This floor also has fine
examples of Nepalese and Tibetan art, including
a beautiful 12th century Maitreya, with his
head surrounded by a halo, slightly inclined.
The Tata family, a large industrial house
with interests in the sciences and the arts,
donated the collection displayed in The Nepal
and Tibet gallery. The Buddhist and Hindu
images in metal are gilded, and studded with
gems. Statuettes of Tara-the Buddhist goddess
of compassion, Vajradhara-Lord of the Thunderbolt,
and of Lakshmi Narayana are studded with turquoise,
ruby and diamond. The tiny Avalokitesvara
from Nepal, of the 17th century is the most
beautiful one.
Glass and Jade collections
The gallery on the second floor presents an
extensive collection of art objects donated
by Sir Ratan Tata and Sir Dorab Tata and its
interesting for those interested in glass,
jade and porcelain. The collection includes
objects carved in rock crystal, metal ware
and lacquered woodwork. There are samples
of Indian jewelry and object in silver, enameled
jars and hookah stands. Some jade objects
and samples of Bidri work are also on display.
Fine examples of elaborate ivory work from
Japan, like the Cock on a Tree, with feathers
of ivory are also seen. There is also a section
devoted to porcelain and glassware-much of
it from China. It also contains two galleries
of largely European oil paintings, including
three murky Constables, a Bonnington and a
Gainsborough. On entering this area it immediately
becomes clear that European art historians
dubbed Indian paintings 'miniatures' because
they were familiar with. Rather charming are
the two portraits of Lady Ratan Tata and Lady
Dorabji Tata, which, if viewed from a distance
look exactly like portraits of English ladies,
complete with gloves and fans, dressed in
the fashion of their British rulers. On the
mezzanine level, is a small gallery devoted
to Indian prehistory and protohistory, consisting
largely of primitive tools and ornaments excavated
by Sir John Marshall in Mohenjodaro in 1922.
On the first floor central balcony of the
museum are displayed objects of decorative
art in ivory, silver and wood of the late
18th and the 19th centuries. Some paintings
have also been displayed in this area, leading
the visitor into the picture gallery. The
paintings, donated by various patrons, from
one of India's best public collections of
work, representative of many styles and schools.
At the entrance of the gallery, to the left,
in the first cubicle, is an illustrated manuscript
of the Kalpasutra and the Kalikacharyakatha
of western India, dated to the end of the
15th century.
The Natural History Section
The Society houses spectrum of preserved flora
and fauna. At a nominal fee, you can gain
access to the old nature books in the Society
library. The Natural History Section was added
to the museum from the collection of the Bombay
Natural History Society. This section has
a large selection of Indian birds, a low-tech
but educational exhibit on snakes, and stuffed
examples of the usual suspects ranging from
rhinos to monkeys and lions to deer. The highlight
is definitely the freakish 20-foot-long saw
fish that must have shocked fishermen when
they hauled it up in their nets in the waters
off Government House in 1938. All the exhibits
are well labeled.
Timings
10.15 a.m. to 6.00 p.m. Closed On Mondays.
The dome was designed consciously to add to
the variety of the skyline and to provide
a landmark at ground level.
In Vasai, 55 Kms from Mumbai By road, it is
77 Kms along the Mumbai-Ahmedabad highway.
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