The homes of history: The general public’s indifference to museums needs to be changed

Aamirah Thayibah

When was the last time you went to a museum for leisure? To the majority of us, museums evoke strong memories of mandatory school trips. According to Joyoti Roy, an outreach consultant at the National Museum, in New Delhi, the most popular of museums get anything between 2,500 and 3,000 visitors per day, closer inspection shows us that a majority of these tend to be foreigners and academic tours.

Museums that operate at a more local level garner a scanty 100 visitors a day. These are meagre estimates when compared to that of foreign museums which easily boast, despite the recent travel restrictions, of millions of visitors a year.

Ironically enough, the line outside these same foreign museums in the west such as the Louvre in Paris or the numerous museums in London, are dotted with an enthusiastic crowd of Indian tourists despite their pricey fees.

This goes to show that we as Indians do value culture and heritage but the question arises — do we value our own culture and heritage? Knowing one’s history is essential to nationbuilding, not only in terms of spirit but also museums have the potential to be high revenue earners. They add a consumable aspect of Indian culture to tourists and others hoping to learn more about the diverse peninsula.

“Museums feel like most government enterprises do, there is a lack of theme and curation that would make a museum experience different from reading a book,” says Akanksha, a university student who has a penchant for history and the arts.

In 2010, UNESCO brought out a report on the terrible conditions at India’s top eight museums, citing sub-standard maintenance, lighting and signage, among other issues. Despite the changes brought on after the report, almost a decade later, we find our museums no better than they were before.

This exact sentiment is echoed by Australia-based museologist and conservator Vinod Daniel who has been working on restoration projects in India for a while now. He emphasised the need for a permanent director with a vision that spans beyond five years, with the right staffing, museums can be altered to tell a specific story and attract a consistent audience. Daniel reiterates that staffing based on skills and knowledge in the field will be more fruitful than that based on UPSC. Additionally, museums must be granted a level of autonomy that gives them the freedom to operate in a unique manner.

Farwah, an interior design student, feels that most Indian museums tend to follow the same narrative, which is a pity in a country as diverse as India. “Museums need to play a more proactive role in including the intangible aspects of a culture such as a language and song, through their displays,” she says, adding that “I can always look on the internet, I need museums to offer something more”

Tejashvi Jain, a museum professional, writes in their blog, that there’s is a general lack of knowledge around the arts. The Indian obsession with science and math poses arts and culture as some sort of pass-time, detaching it from what it can teach us. They also add that leisure and variety can act as a magnet to attract crowds to these cultural hubs. The addition of cafes, movie screenings and amenities for children blur the line between education and entertainment.

RaReeti, an initiative set up by Jain, curates experiences that it hopes would bring families, schools and students to museums. In 2019, they set up the Janapada Loka, a folk museum in Ramanagara, some 50 kilometres from Bengaluru, which was one of ReReeti’s first initiatives. During the event, it discussed puppetry traditions, with an emphasis on Karnataka’s leather puppets. When the participants were told they had to work with the puppets and tell a tale, they realised how difficult puppetry can be. Despite the fact that these first initiatives were not successful, they assisted ReReeti in determining the path in which it needed to go in order to pique the public’s interest in art.

Many more organizations such as The Heritage Lab, Eka, Museums of India, Museums of Ahmedabad are challenging barriers at every step of the way- from attracting a crowd and making them stay to making them want to come back.

Overall, all these steps will only prove fruitful if the governments take the necessary steps to firstly enhance the quality of the collections in the museums. as more and more people begin to appreciate native culture and arts we need more unplugged experiences that can get people involved and invested in the first person.

An appreciation of the history of native practices not only helps us be less ignorant of the past but also helps us be more hopeful of the future. So next time, ditch the mall, the museums of India need you to get the ball rolling.