CHENNAI: The ground floor of the Contemporary Art Gallery building at Government Museum, Egmore, donned a new look on Thursday. Intricately carved wooden structures which were once part of age-old temple cars — the chariots used to carry deities in festival processions were on display at the newly-built exhibition hall. As part of an initiative to bring lesser-known antiquities to public view the Department of Museums and Department of Archaeology is conducting a month-long special thematic exhibition ‘Enchanting Temple Car Wood Carvings’.
The exhibition was inaugurated by Minister K Pandiarajan. T Udhayachandran, principal secretary, Department of Archaeology and director (FAC), Department of Museums and Kavitha Ramu, director-cum-mission director, Integrated Child Development Services, presided over the event. “This is a one-of-a-kind exhibition. One cannot find such an extensive curation of temple car wood carvings anywhere else in south India,” said a museum official. The hall will be used in the future to conduct periodic special exhibitions on various themes. The rear side of the space houses an extended gallery where contemporary paintings by artists including KCS Panicker, RB Bhaskaran, and AP Charles Raj are on display.
A spectrum of other initiatives including the installation of a holistic water management system with a bifurcated sump of 50,000 litres capacity and an overhead tank of 50,000 litres capacity along with a motor pump set, distribution connectivity and a RO dispensing unit under the CSR initiative of MUFG Bank — executed by the Public Works Department; floor projection system at the Children’s Museum; touch screen kiosks and 3-D virtual reality projection; upgraded Musical Instruments Gallery at the Anthropology Gallery building; internship for college students to provide hands-on experience on antiquities; and revamped Department of Archaeology website, were also launched. The department’s new publication Keezhadi - Vaigai Nadhikarai Nagara Nagarigam, was released. Another notable initiation was the bi-lingual Chennai Museum mobile application. “The app can be downloaded and accessed by the public. We can add more plug-ins and links to enhance it,” said an official. The app currently has a floor tour, upcoming events, details on different museums across Tamil Nadu, facilities and a detailed, well-researched database of different exhibits in the museum.
Talking to CE, Udhayachandran said, “The idea was to establish a connection between heritage and modernity by packaging and presenting our antiquities to the young generation. A lot of work in terms of the development of the museum campus has been taking place. We have sought funds from the Government of India to improve the entire gallery. The Art Gallery building is in the final stages of renovation and will be open in a month or two. We are trying to address the needs of youngsters by reaching out to them.”
The Chennai Museum app can be downloaded on Play Store.