MANGALURU : Nestled in the Canara High School campus in Dongarkeri, Mangaluru, is a quaint-looking house-like structure. The building is a repository of historical, heritage-filled stories, the likes of which one would never hear elsewhere. This relatively unknown museum is called the ‘Mahatma Gandhi Museum’.
But, like museum director Payyanur Ramesh Pai corrects, the name of the museum differs from the hundreds of Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Museums, because this one was inaugurated by the Father of the Nation himself, during his visit to Mangaluru in 1934. It was Mahatma Gandhi’s third and last visit to the coastal city. While preliminary work on the museum began in 1917, it was officially inaugurated in 1919 as a museum with a library.
The foundation of Sree Krishna Mandira near the campus was laid by Gandhiji himself, with a silver trowel gifted by local merchants. The trowel is still on display at the museum, with its tale recounted several times to visitors.
The exhibits are a microcosm of metropolitan museums, but the familiar suddenly turns magical, when backstories come tumbling out. Unlike most recreations of Mohenjo Daro’s ‘Bearded Priest’, the one in this museum has a colourful past. This statue is one among a few copies that were made immediately after the original excavation, displayed by pre-Independence Rawalpindi Museum, and later brought into this museum.
A treasure trove
Museum director Pai talks about the difference between his role and that of a curator. “A curator is someone trained in museology, who knows how to treat and maintain materials in the museum, whether it is paper, metal, wood or anything else. I am just an enthusiast,” he said. Apart from Pai, there is a woman staffer to maintain this mausoleum of artefacts.
A former banker, Ramesh Pai is a seasoned traveller and museum enthusiast who has visited museums across the globe, like the ones at Portland, USA, and Abu Dhabi, among others. His personal favourites are the car museums at Abu Dhabi and Dharmasthala. He has a story for every item, and a WhatsApp group called ‘Museum Updates’ to relay the stories behind various artefacts.
Joining the museum in October 2023, he oversaw final stages of the renovation going on. The museum reopened its doors to the public on December 24, 2023, and the International Museum Day celebration on May 18 was its first public event ever since. On this day, a record crowd of NSS volunteers, foreign visitors, teachers and journalists was at the museum, agog with wonder over this hitherto undiscovered treasure trove.
Vandalism is a major menace in most museums, but according to the director, that hasn’t been a problem here so far. Of course, there is a tendency to touch and lift unlocked pieces, but there is enough warning signage. Measures have been taken to restrict any physical contact.
Mangaluru, known for its celebration of all things cultural, should give this museum the footfall it deserves. A delight for philatelists and numismatists, it houses a massive African elephant skull, palm manuscripts and forgotten items from local households.
Pai aptly calls it the Museum of Natural History: the first floor with animal specimens holds good as the literal meaning, it also means that the building houses things that show human beings at their most natural: collecting, creating, connecting and curating.
The museum is shut on Sundays, while people are welcome from Monday to Saturday.