UNPACKING WELLNESS IN INDIA
Episode 45
Location: The Bihar Museum, Jawaharlal Nehru Marg, Patna, Bihar 800001
Explore The Bihar Museum here
Explore Taj City Centre Patna here
Back in 1917, two years after the British separated Bihar from Bengal, they founded a museum in the new territory’s capital, Patna. Their aim was to share with the public their stupendous finds in the newish field of archaeology - which was revealing this area to have been the hub of north India’s history from very early times. Locals soon dubbed it ‘Jadu Ghar’, House of Magic. It grew and grew….
Jump to 2011. Only a tiny number of the museum’s masterpieces could be on display in the outdated though much-loved building. Something had to be done. A new museum was built. Japan-based Maki & Associates (founded by Pritzker Prize-winner Fumihiko Maki), with their Indian partners OPOLIS, designed a low-lying, elegant building sprawling over 13 acres; Lord Cultural Resources designed the exhibitions in the nine permanent galleries.
About 30,000 objects from the Patna Museum, dating from prehistory up to 1764, moved house. (1764 is not a random date: that year the East India Company defeated the Mughals at the Battle of Buxor, a turning point in India’s history.) Their new home was light-filled, inviting, spare, calm, functionally precise. Display cases were top quality, the lighting superb. Every object sparkled to its best advantage. A happy, uplifting place where learning and visual fulfilment come easily.
In sum, a world class museum displaying a tip top collection had arrived in a state that just a few years ago would be on noone’s hit list apart from Buddhist pilgrims en route to Nalanda and Bodh Gaya. Today, it is a must-visit for anyone interested in classy Indian art, particularly sculpture.
How to navigate this new ‘Jadu Ghar’ without getting art indigestion?
Start by looking at the time line spread across a whole wall. A third of it is BC. It makes you realise you are dealing with copious history. Then, choose your galleries, which are sensibly chronological and have colour-coding so you can sort your BC Sungas and Kushanas from your AD Guptas and Palas, and see just how arriviste the Mughals were. There is also a choice selection of contemporary art, some of Bihar’s Mithila folk paintings and a room for the story of Bihar’s diaspora. Small panels give useful, often intriguing, context; maps are where you need them, labelling ignores tradition. ‘It’s all about stories’, says Sri Anjani Kumar Singh, the museum’s director who has nurtured the project from early days.
Perhaps the solution is to do a walk-though, then backtrack to get to know a few of the big sculptures that caught your eye. One will surely be the sumptuous super-star Didargani Yakshi (see pic above). Made of polished sandstone in the 3C BC, possibly during the Maurya emperor Ashoka’s reign, she was found near the banks of the Ganga at Didarganj the year the museum was opened. Villagers had long used her base for scrubbing clothes – a good story.
Must-do wellness experience: hanging out with Didarganj Yakshi
The Bihar Museum buzzwords: ‘Another masterpiece! How can this go on?’
This serene, monumental Buddha carved in the round was made in the 11C during Pala rule. His right hand is in 'bhumisparsamudra', calling on the world to witness his enlightenment. The museum's rich sculpture holdings of this high quality is eye-watering.
The elaborate headdress of this lady in her jaunty dress testifies to Hellenistic influence in north India during Mauryan rule (4C BC to 2C AD). Their illustrious capital was Pataliputra where this terracotta was found, and where visiting Hellenistic reported home with awe. This is where Patna stands today.
Northern Bihar is known for its centuries-old Mithali, or Madhubani, painting tradition, full of detail and daily life. The artist Godawari Dutta depicts the popular Hindu legend about the elephant Gajendra, whom Vishnu (centre) saved from the attacks of a giant crocodile. Celestial beings celebrate all around, while Gajendra waves a trunkful of lotus flowers.
'The cafe is a gallery too, serving authentic Bihar food', says Sri Anjani Kumar Singh with glee as we tucked into our Maithili thali with steaming spinach puris. Dessert is irresistible saffron boondi in hung-curd.
See previous episodes here
Learn more about my team in India, Quo Vadis, here