June 16, 2011

As you enter the gates leading to the Sree Manthibai Memorial Museum, an intimidating cannon gun greets you. The museum, located on a hill at Bejai in Mangalore, is a massive two-storied bungalow built by Colonel V R Mirajkar, when he retired from the army where he’d served as a doctor. Its architecture is strongly influenced by the buildings the colonel saw in Lahore when he served there during World War II. He had built the stunning edifice for his mother, Sree Manthibai. She died in 1944 and 11 years later Col Mirajkar handed the bungalow over to the Indian Government.

There were no museums in Dakshina Kannada district at the time and the government decided to convert this bungalow into one. It was easy for the government to start off as Col Mirajkar had a huge collection of exotic items from his days in the army. These included lamp stands and tepoys from Kashmir, Lahore and various other places.

The museum opened in 1960 and celebrated 50 years of preserving India’s great cultural heritage, in 2010. The museum has an ethereal and nostalgic atmosphere. One can get lost in the past that the museum so effortlessly manages to bring to life.

Apart from the collections of Col V R Mirajkar, the contributions to the museum have come from Padmanaban, a former District Collector of Dakshina Kannada and various local residents. The State Archeology and Museums department is responsible for the rest of the collections.

The museum has a collection of rare coins dating back to the early 19th century. These coins were used during the British Raj. Sculptures of gods and goddesses stare at you through glass panels. These exquisite works of craftsmanship date as far back as the 16th century.

The museum is also home to various paintings by artists like K L Bhat, N Hanumesh and so on. The paintings are ‘Still Life’, portraits and abstracts. These masterpieces have been procured by the Art Purchase Committee.

On display was an impressive collection of weapons like long and short swords, scythes, pistols, axes and rifles. Also on display is a small cannon gun, with shots of various sizes. The eye catcher in this section is the magnificent semi circular war trumpet called ‘Khale’. It transports you to the mythical world of battles between local kings. The museum houses a collection of old musical instruments, including a very large conch shell.

As you keep walking through the corridors, large wooden sculptures gaze down at you. These life size wonders date back to the 16th century. One sculpture that stands out is the ‘Trimukha Nandi’. It is wooden behemoth consisting of a bull with 3 heads and a person sitting on it. The oldest items in the museum date back to the 2nd and 3rd centuries. These are sculptures of a man and woman as well as a bust of Buddha. The intricacy of these ancient pieces of art is spellbinding.

The staircase leading to the second floor is lined with old photographs of various places in the state. Pictures of the Mysore Palace, Krishna Raja Sagar, the Cathedral in Mangalore and the Light House at Kapu, all in black and white are sure to create a feeling of nostalgia in the old timers.

The second floor of the museum takes us on a world tour. Wooden screens from China with dragons carved on them and ornately carved tepoys greet you. There is also a very curious pipe like object made by blind boys in Jerusalem. Other curiosities include a cigar box made from a hippopotamus’s foot, an ashtray made from a rhinoceros foot and a walking stick made from giraffe bones. There is also a huge collection of porcelain articles from China, Japan, Persia, Denmark, Czechoslovakia and England.

The next section of the museum is dedicated to the collections of Col V R Mirajkar. These include lamp stands, sculptures, vases and other items the Colonel collected during his days in the Army. This museum is unique because of its collection of old Yakshagana dolls and palm leaf manuscripts in Tulu which you won’t find anywhere else.

The curator of the museum Shejesaara said that the museum got a makeover around 6 months back and that he is hopeful that more developments will happen in the future. He added that the museum receives a good number of visitors during summer. During the other months mostly school children come to the museum on educational tours. He also said that research students from the Mangalore University and other universities study the museum’s collections.

The museum is a unique chronicler of the history of our district and tells us a lot about how we interacted with the rest of the world. But the road leading to the museum has not been maintained and is littered with garbage from the nearby buildings. The authorities need to take necessary action in this regard. Also there is a need to make the public aware of this treasure trove of our past, and create a desire to understand the various antiques that offer us an insight into our roots.