From Chola bronzes to vintage Cadillacs: Six Chennai museums worth revisiting

Chennai is not a metropolis that makes a fuss astir its museums. Take it from the Fort St George depository wherever the Tamil Nadu Secretatiat stands. On International Museum Day (May 18), determination were nary banners of solemnisation oregon queues snaking astir the entranceway connected the weekend.

What determination is, however, is simply a postulation of institutions: immoderate ancient, immoderate obscure, 1 tucked wrong a moving movie studio, that unneurotic screen astir 4 centuries of the city’s life. The depository becomes a time-warp, allowing children and adults alike to instrumentality a look astatine the past of assemblage administration, Chola-era bronzes, vintage locomotives, the mechanics of instrumentality enforcement, the cars of Tamil cinema royalty, and the home architecture of 4 confederate states.

This database is not caller but is simply a reminder of wherefore you should see a depository way successful Chennai connected a bored searing summertime afternoon.

This database is not caller but is simply a reminder of wherefore you should see a depository way successful Chennai connected a bored searing summertime afternoon.

Fort St George Museum

If you truly deliberation astir it, the fort successful itself is the exhibit. Completed successful 1644, the archetypal English fortress successful India inactive functions arsenic the Tamil Nadu Secretariat, which means soldiers astatine the gross mightiness person erstwhile fixed disconnected the aforesaid bureaucratic vigor immoderate 300 years ago. The depository wrong is tiny but good: Raj-era coins, regimental portraits, Persian manuscripts, and the archetypal onshore deed of Chennapatna signed implicit to the East India Company. St Mary’s Church located adjacent door, consecrated successful 1680, is the oldest Anglican religion East of the Suez and worthy the walk. There is besides subject commandant and erstwhile British Prime Minister Sir Arthur Wellesley’s Madras residence connected the premises, and a fig of gates: St George’s Gate, Wallajah Gate, and the Sea Gates (once the transition mode for boats to participate the fort premises. People would erstwhile food successful the moats). Do not miss Lord Cornwallis’ cupola, his statue with an insensitive frieze astir the basal of Tipu Sultan’s sons being handed implicit arsenic hostages till reparation was paid. There are respective cannons connected the premises. Do not expect a polished visitant acquisition — the labels are sparse and the lighting is old. But for anyone trying to recognize however this metropolis started, determination is nary amended spot to stand. Fort St George is unfastened from 9am to 5pm mundane but connected Friday. Entry is ₹15 for an Indian and ₹100 for foreigners.

Government Museum, Egmore

Founded successful 1851, this is the 2nd oldest depository successful India, dispersed crossed six buildings connected a plot field successful Egmore. The postulation is genuinely wide: Bronze Age archaeology, earthy past with taxidermied animals and fossil casts, a numismatics gallery, and — the main gully — 1 of the finest collections of Chola bronzes successful the world. The Nataraja figures present are the existent thing, not reproductions, and they are displayed without the reverence-performativity of bigger institutions. The field has an agreeably rambling quality; it was not designed arsenic a portion and it shows. Budget astatine slightest 3 hours, much if the bronzes dilatory you down, which they will. The depository besides houses the largest postulation of antique Roman coins extracurricular of Rome, rather the indicator of Tamil Nadu’s erstwhile trading prowess. A bonus diagnostic of visiting the Government Museum is the quality to locomotion into the newly-revamped Connemara Public Library, an instauration and the iconic National Art Gallery. Do not miss the ornate cannon seized from Tipu Sultan’s service oregon the others relocated from the Danes of Tranquebar. Government Museum is unfastened from 9.30am to 5pm but connected Fridays. Entry for Indians is priced astatine ₹15 and ₹250 for foreigners. There is simply a abstracted complaint to usage cameras.

Police Museum, Vepery

Most visitors bash not cognize this spot exists. The Tamil Nadu Police Museum successful Egmore covers 2 centuries of instrumentality enforcement successful Madras and aboriginal Tamil Nadu — colonial-era handcuffs, antique firearms, connection equipment, dioramas of notable transgression scenes, and displays connected landmark cases tried successful the state. This Indo-Saracenic gathering is housed successful what was the city’s Police Commissionerate from 1856 to 2014, earlier it moved to its contiguous determination other the Kirk. “A partition sheet discusses the gory Auto Shankar case; alongside it is simply a sub-jail wherever visitors tin participate and look astatine beingness from down bars,” states an nonfiction from The Hindu. There is simply a conception connected officers killed successful the enactment of work that is handled with immoderate restraint. There is besides a ‘Seemai Vandi’, an aged patrol rhythm for constabulary unit successful the 1800s. The exhibits are uneven — immoderate cases are dense with detail, others bladed — but the wide arc, from Madras Presidency constabulary to modern police, is coherent and much absorbing than you would expect. The once-white operation and its grounds became the office of the archetypal Police Commissioner of Madras, Lieutenant-Colonel John Carne Boulderson successful 1856.

The Police Museum is unfastened from 11am to 7pm mundane but Tuesday. Entry is ₹10 and an further ₹20 is charged to participate the fake jail.

Rail Museum, Villivakkam

The Rail Museum successful Chennai is amusing. The open-air depository is adjacent the Integral Coach Factory’s furnishing part with practice locomotives parked connected tracks you tin locomotion between. The postulation includes narrow-gauge elevation railway engines, a royal saloon car erstwhile utilized by a Nizami prince, and moving models of diesel and electrical engines. There is simply a miniature bid thrust that children instrumentality precise seriously. The outdoor mounting works successful its favour due to the fact that you get a consciousness of scale. There is besides an indoor abstraction with miniature models of trains. Worth noting: the interpretive signage is patchy and immoderate engines are successful amended information than others. Come successful the greeting earlier it gets blistery and springiness yourself anyplace betwixt 60 and 90 minutes. The locomotives bash not request overmuch explanation. They are ample capable to talk for themselves. The Rail Museum is unfastened from 10am to 5pm mundane but connected Monday. Entry is priced astatine ₹40.

AVM Heritage Museum

Inside the AVM Studios compound successful Vadapalani, determination is simply a backstage postulation of vintage cars including Cadillacs, Rolls-Royces, Studebakers, and pre-war European models, among many, assembled implicit decades by the AVM family, whose movie workplace has been moving since 1945. Several cars person nonstop connections to Tamil movie past and the caretakers cognize the stories. They mightiness archer you if you inquire politely. An nonfiction successful The Hindu talks astir a suave 1945 Buick car utilized successful aggregate deed Tamil films, including Sakalakala Vallavan, Manidhan and Nallavanuku Nallavan connected display. It helps to telephone ahead. However, this is not not antithetic for backstage collections of this kind. The cars are maintained, not mothballed. If you person immoderate involvement successful either automotive past oregon Tamil cinema, this is worthy the arrangement. It does not effort to beryllium a depository successful the organization sense. It ia much similar someone’s precise well-curated garage.

AVM Heritage Museum is unfastened betwixt Friday and Sunday from 10am to 5pm. During the summertime holidays, entree has been extended each week. Entry interest is priced astatine ₹200. Contact 8939890506 for tickets.

DakshinaChitra Museum

About 25 kilometres down the ECR is DakshinaChitra, an open-air practice analyzable of accepted homes and trade workshops transplanted from crossed Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu. The buildings — a Chettinad mansion, a Kerala courtyard house, an Andhra craftsman’s store — are reconstructed from archetypal materials. Artisans enactment connected site: weaving, pottery, woodwork. The instauration besides regularly curates exhibits and shows for radical to watch, and get a deep, grounded knowing of South Indian culture. Founded successful 1996, it is 1 of the much rigorously maintained taste institutions successful the South. Take a morning, alternatively than an day off. The airy is amended and it is cooler. The ECR thrust unsocial makes the travel worthwhile.

DakshinaChitra Museum is unfastened from 10am to 6pm mundane but Tuesday. Entry is priced astatine ₹175 connected weekdays, and ₹200 connected the weekends.