Through eyes like yours

 Pradhan Mantri Sangrahalaya 

Passing through corridors of power and policy

12.11.22

Located in Delhi's Teen murti Haifa road is the newly (not exactly) inaugurated museum of Delhi.It is situated in Pandit Nehru's teen murti bhawan.Earlier the entire premises was dedicated to Nehru.But as part of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav it was decided that it should include all the former prime ministers of India.Great though! Whoever thought this must be given a raise, don't tell me it was Modi ji!

The area is well packed with every important government building. Different embassies and UPSC bhavan are the charm of the area.We spent almost an entire day in the museum but still a lot of things couldn't be covered.It's a mine of knowlegde about post independent India.Half of the time my reaction was .' inke bare me toh maine political ki book me kahi padha tha!' Getting a glimpse of the lives of people about whom we have read only few lines is really fascinating.

Firstly, we visited the 1949-50 era, sounds like a time travel! I mean the section dealing with constitution making and interim government.There were various documentaries running on various big screens.My favourite was the one about the female members of constituent assembly for very obvious reasons :) There was a copy of constitution and AI generated user friendly screens( i don't know what exactly it is called).

A gift from Vladivostok to Nehru.

Nehru ji's section comprised of his office and residential space.It was according to the traditional type of museum where all the rooms were kept in their original condition with a glass screen for visitors to sneak peak.Looking at his collection of books made me feel that Nehru was certainly a man of wisdom! I'm ready for criticism.There was an elderly man with his wife showing her young Indira gandhi's picture in Nehru's living room.To which I fondly said Indu priyadarshini, they looked at me and smirked.

Young Indira

There were original speeches and letters of Nehru.The famous Tryst with destiny which was originally written as Date with destiny was the centre of attraction.

After spending a considerable time in Nehru's section we went to the new building which has been built after spending crores of money to make it up to date with computer generated fun activities.It was like a time machine.There was a kind of a ramp where there were pictures of prominent events after 1947.It was perhaps the best part according to me though my sister will argue saying it was boring! 

 After Nehru there have been 13 PMs. Each one had a dedicated corner.But Shastri ji and Indira ji' s was a big one.The important events were portrayed through various news articles and doc films.They were all AI powered.Tbhi toh crores of paisa lag gya.

Emergency period 1975-77 was given a special emphasis with dark lights.The message was clear to prove that it was the darkest phase of indian democracy.

The coalition era saw many governments and hence there were many new faces.My favourite among them was Atal Bihari Vajpayee. His charismatic personality made him a distinct figure in indian politics.

So, all in all its a great place.One can spend several days there if not months or years...You can watch the plethora of material available there, listen or make memes.If you would ask me what did I like the most, the instant answer would be everything.And yes the message for 2047 part was cool.Thought provoking too! Here is what I wrote-

The day ended with a pilgrimage to India gate :) crowd of thousands of people where one is constantly thinking of one's own identity.A couple started singing, 'kho gaye hum kahaan' and I completed 'rangon sa ye jahan' mann me(obviously).

ASMITA