Oldest museum in Mumbai: Insider's guide to Dr Bhau Daji Lad Museum

The director of Dr Bhau Daji Lad Museum, Tasneem Zakaria Mehta, gives us an unusual tour.

Did you know that Dr Bhau Daji Lad Museum – the oldest museum in Mumbai – was the first public institution built to honour Queen Victoria? For years, it remained ill-maintained. But from 2003 to 2008, it underwent extensive restoration. Today, it stands proud, with spacious halls, Minton-tiled floors and old-world shutter windows.

Did you know:
It was the first colonial structure in the city built to serve as a museum (according to www.bdlmuseum.org). Built in 1855, it is one of the rare British-era buildings in India to combine Palladian and High Victorian architecture.

The museum was funded by the citizens of Bombay. Dr Bhau Daji Lad, a physician and an educationist, collected Rs 1,16,141 from patrons across the city. The museum came to be named after him.

Minton tiles were used only on the stairs and the first floor. That’s because the ship from England carrying the tiles for the ground floor, sank.

--> The Star of David — a design element on the museum’s roof — is an ode to its Jewish benefactor, David Sassoon.

--> The artefacts in the pottery installation were made by students of the School Of Art, Bombay (now Sir JJ School Of Art), in the 19th century.

--> (LEFT) The replica of the carpet from Bijapur had a man-sized hole pre-restoration. Naturally dyed yarn was imported from Iran to restore the carpet to its former glory. Artisans from Kashmir were invited and additional help was provided by the inmates of the Yerwada jail in Pune. (RIGHT): This is the former Victoria And Albert Museum. So a palindrome of V and A (for Victoria and Albert) is welded into the railings. The cast iron used in the construction of the railings and the columns was shipped from England

(HT photos: Satish Bate)

Video: For this week Insider’s guide, we take you through the oldest museum in Mumbai