India is a place of historical importance where literally every nook and corner of the country has something to story tell. It is either depicted in the form of monuments or museums. A country that boasts of many museums which houses work dating back to BC, it is worthwhile to visit them.
One such museum is Rani Durgavati Museum of Jabalpur (Madhya Pradesh) dedicated to the erstwhile Queen of Jabalpur who fought bravely against the Mughals. The museum not only shows the life story of the Queen in pictures, but houses many more things that are more popular - Ancient Sculptures of Hindu Gods and Jain Tirthankars, Chausath Yogini idols, coin collection in chronological order which dates back to Gupta Dynasty (2nd century BC), depiction of Gond Tribe of MP and some very old writings known to mankind.
Fees - 20 INR for Indians and 100 INR for Foreigners
Still Camera - 100 INR
Video Camera - 200 INR
Sculptures
Beautiful Collection of statues that have been excavated in and around Jabalpur have been displayed in this hall. It is the first area when you enter the museum. Since the statues are as old as 5th Century AD, some of them have been damaged or were found damaged during excavation. However, it does not at all lower the thrill of admiring the intricacies that were carved on this hard stone.
The statues are of Hindu Gods - Vishnu, Ganesha, Maheshwar, Bhairav, etc. It also has many related to Jain Tirthankars like Adinath (Known to be the first Jain Tirthankara) and others.
Coins from BC to AD
The second floor of the museum starts with an amazing collection of the coins that have been a part of the human race since civilisation. The history of the usage of coins is fascinating in itself. From the barter system to metal, the museum gives a history on the same. One can find the coins from Gupta Dynasty (2nd century BC) till the modern Scindia dynasty of Madhya Pradhesh (19 century AD). A small room with coins in chronological order will interest you in delving deep into history. The oldest coins comes in various shapes and are totally unreadable. As and when we move ahead, the clarity increases (owing to the newness) and once can see the evolution of this financial system. Slide across to see some of the visuals:
The Gond Tribe
The Gond tribe is as old as 1200 AD and is known to originate from Madhya Pradesh. It resembles closely to Dravidian era and was earlier spread across MP, Chhattisgarh and Southern parts of the country. The tribe is now reserved as ST as per the Indian constitution and the people are mostly confined to eastern MP. The museum depicts the lifestyle of this age old tribe.
The room adjacent to this is the ones where you can find ancient scripts in Sanskrit which goes back to Before Christ era. One can also see the earlier chalk art that people did on stones. It is intriguing to know how archaeologists and historians are able to figure out the writings and translate to today's understandable languages.
The museum is spread in a relatively larger area and is maintained well. The compound has more excavated statues that makes one think about the enormous kingdoms and artistic capabilities of earlier times.
If you have time and are interested in some history, this museum is strongly recommended.
Check out the below link to know more about Jabalpur and interesting places to visit: