The year was 1290 . A crowd had gathered around a clearing, where broken down pillars marked the presence of an ancient temple, now long gone. A young boy, just 14 years old, leaned against one of those pillars, deep in thought. Then, he began speaking, and the crowd fell silent, listening to his every word. He spoke without any notes, translating the Bhagavat Gita, from Sanskrit, which only the pundits knew, to the language everyone in the village knew and spoke – a variety of Prakrit which developed into the Marathi language. Even as he spoke, one of the men in the audience realized how momentous this event was, and how important this composition would be. He began writing down the words the young boy spoke, and this composition was named by its author and composer, the Bhavartha Deepika – the enlightening meaning (of the Bhagavat Gita). Now, the ancient, holy text, was no longer restricted to the pundits, but accessible to all, understood easily by them, composed as it was, in their...
“Sangrahalaya?
Woh kya hota hai?” (“Museum, whats that?”) asked a bewildered gentleman, when I asked him
directions to the museum at Raipur.
By now, we had gotten quite used to the
refrain - “Aapko ghoomna hai, toh
Sirpur Jaiye, Bilaspur Jaiye, yahan toh kuch bhi nahin hai” - “If you want
to go see something, go to Sirpur or Bilaspur. There is nothing here in Raipur.
” It was with great perseverance that our fellow journalists, Aruna and
Susheela, with years of experience behind them, had drawn out of an exasperated
receptionist at the hotel that there was indeed a museum at Raipur. Me and Sid had happily tagged along, eager to see at least something of Raipur before we
headed to Sirpur for the Music and Dance Festival for which we had been
invited. A local share auto had brought us to Ghadi Chowk, the central area of
Raipur marked by a clock tower. Our share auto driver, unable to get us to pay
anything more than the usual fare, had grumpily moved away, leaving us to
figure out the location of the museum ourselves. Our questions had begun
collecting a crowd of locals, wondering what on earth we tourists wanted to see
in their town. Eventually, it was another auto driver who came to our aid,
pointing out the museum, which was just down the road.
After
that experience,
our hopes, I must admit were rather dimmed. The museum therefore, came as a big
surprise. To begin with, it was huge, surrounded by lawns and gardens, with an
art gallery in one corner, and sculptures all over the place!
 |
| Narasimha, 10th Century |
The
museum was set
up Raja Mahant Ghasidas, the ruler of Rajnandgaon, in 1875. This was soon after
Lord Cunningham of the Indian Archaeological Service discovered the ruins of
Sirpur, and other sites in the region in 1872, and thus served as the perfect
place to display the exhibits discovered. The museum has an astounding
collection of sculptures, pottery, as well as etchings in stone and metal.
 |
| Raja Mahant Ghasidas, founder of the museum |
 |
| This would have been part of a simple decorative toran, but I love the detail and the depth of the work! |
The
pottery section
was interesting. It showed evidence of trade with Rome as well as other
civilizations, and the stone edicts pointed to a recorded history we see little
of. However, to be honest, the sculptures were what I enjoyed the most. I have
already written about the first sculpture (or rather a replica) I saw there, of
Rudra Shiva. Here then, are some more really interesting pieces from the museum….
This
seems to be a pillar, but very interesting are the figures of Vishnu on Garuda on each face.
Made from a single piece of stone, can you imagine how impressive it would have
looked, in the temple it originally stood in?
This
one was titled ‘Uma Maheshwara, 10th Century, Karitalai, Jabalpur’. While I loved the
expression of total love on Shiva and Parvati’s faces, more interesting were
the figures below… Ravana, lifting Kailash, and on either side, Ganesha and Karthikeya!
This is so like the sculptures I have seen in Ellora and Southern India!
Which
brings me to
the next one, of Karthikeya…
Note the
six faces, the peacock vehicle, and the cock near his hand. Then, look down and
see the woman kneeling by his left. Those of you from Tamilnadu will recognize
her as ‘Avvayyar’, one of the most ardent devotees of Karthikeya, far down
south, well removed from Chhattisgarh! An interesting discovery dating back to
the 10th century from Gomri near Bilaspur!
And
then there is
this…
Sheshasayee
Vishnu,
reclining on a serpent, Brahma sitting on a lotus emanating from the navel,
Lakshmi by his feet, sages and Garuda gathered around. Now take a second look.
Above him are twelve figures, 10 of which depict the Dashavatar (the ten
avatars of Lord Vishnu) and two depicting devotees. Below him are even more
figures. The layer just below him shows Naga Kanyas, women from the world of
serpents, the wives of Adishesha, on whom the Lord rests. On the lowest layer
are depicted the Navagrahas – the nine planets. Again, I have seen similar
depictions more often in the south!
In the
same series,
here is another sculpture of Vishnu, holding a chakra. The conch seems to have
broken, but the rest of the sculpture is in great condition.
Ready
to move on?
Wait. take a second look. Can you see the Dashavatar hidden in this sculpture? We couldn’t, till they were
pointed out to us! Let me help you out…
Finally, here are two more interesting sculptures….
Brahma..
And Raja
Purusha…12th
century, Ratanpur near Bilaspur…
I
found their depiction really interesting…. The beards, their headgear! What do you think?
Apart
from this, the
museum also has a natural history section, and a folk art section, both of
which were under repair when we visited. Besides, the museum also holds regular
workshops for artisans as well as laymen, in folk art and craft.
The museum also has an enthusiastic woman in
charge, who guided us through the museum, and pointed out interesting details
we had missed. After all the trouble we had finding the museum, it was a relief
to see that there still were people like her, so immersed in history and
heritage. Sid had a long conversation with her while we immersed ourselves in
the sculptures, and you can read all about her here.
The
museum can
easily take up two to three hours, so if you are visiting Raipur, take time off
and go see this museum and its incredible artifacts!
Information:
- Raipur is easily accessible from all parts of India, by road, train and air.
- There are also lots of options for accommodation. We stayed at the Babylon Inn.
- The Museum is located on Ghadi Chowk, though you might need to ask the auto drivers for help locating it.
- While in Raipur, take the opportunity to explore the old city and the temples and markets there. I hear the experience can be an interesting one.
- Try out Raipur’s Samosas and Jalebis! Just walk along the Railway station road, and you will find lots of places selling them.
I visited Raipur en route to Sirpur to attend the Sirpur Music and Dance Festival on invitation from the Chhattisgarh Tourism Board.
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