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History to come alive at Rashtrapati Bhavan’s museum
"A new building will be raised close to the entrance of Rashtrapati Bhavan for this purpose. Animated statues of important personalities would occupy those chairs to enable visitors get a glimpse of near replica of historic events," says museum advisor.
Imagine Louis Mountbatten, Jawaharlal Nehru, Ballabhbhai Patel, J B Kripalni, Mohammad Ali Jinnah, Abdul Haleem Gaznavi, Liyaquat Ali Khan and Baldev Singh discussing Partition of India sitting on ornate Raj era furniture, exactly as they did on June 3, 1947.
In a few years, visitors to a new museum at Rashtrapati Bhavan can walk into the same room where it happened – a transformation to the tragic moment of history with statues of the participants in animated pose.
Another moment that will be created is the oath taking ceremony of the first President, Dr Rajendra Prasad on January 26, 1950.
The massive 1 lakh square feet history-telling museum’s furniture would be used to create ‘theatre stages’. “A new building will be raised close to the entrance of Rashtrapati Bhavan for this purpose. Animated statues of important personalities would occupy those chairs to enable visitors get a glimpse of near replica of historic events,” Saroj Ghose, museum advisor to the President, has told HT.
“President Pranab Mukherjee is keen on engaging people with the Rashtrapati Bhavan on a broader scale. He not only wanted to make the coveted collections at the Rashtrapati Bhavan available for public viewing but also wanted the museum to be interactive with the viewers,” Ghose said.
Also, a small museum is being prepared and it should open in another four months. This museum would house various presents and souvenirs received by various Presidents, besides other collectibles. There would also be an audio-visual presentation showcasing the history of Rashtrapati Bhavan from the time of the Viceroys.
