The Ten Fascinating Museums Of Kolkata

Victoria Memorial

The Victoria Memorial is a famous tourist attraction in Kolkata. The beautiful marble building, dedicated to Queen Victoria, was built between 1906 and 1921. The building now hosts a museum that hosts several galleries that feature the portraits of several royal figures, arms, and armory, rare paintings by famous artists, collectibles uses by the royal family including Queen Victoria, and more. Rare and antiquarian books like Omar Khayyam authored Arabian Nights and Rubaiyat, as well as some works of William Shakespeare, are preserved in the museum of the Victoria Memorial. The works of the artist Thomas Daniell is also exhibited here. The newest gallery, the Calcutta Gallery was added in the mid-1970’s to feature the visual display of Calcutta’s rich history. The surrounding well-kept gardens and water features make the Victoria Memorial one of the most photographed locations in Kolkata.

Indian Museum

The Indian Museum is not only the largest and oldest museum in India but also one of the oldest in the world. The museum, located in Kolkata, hosts six sections with over 35 galleries. The exhibits range from cultural artifacts to scientific collections. The museum was founded in 1814 by a Danish botanist, Nathaniel Wallich. It grew over the years to house rare collections of fossils, mummies, skeletons, antiques, ornaments, armor, Mughal paintings, and much more.

The six sections of the Indian Museum are labeled as Art, Anthropology, Archeology, Economic Botany, Geology, and Zoology.

Sabarna Sangrahashala

The Sabarna Sangrahashala is a museum in Barisha, Kolkata, that was established in 2005 and is dedicated to the history of the Sabarna Roy Choudhury family and Kolkata. The history of the family and that of the city are intertwined together. The Sabarna Roy Choudhury family were the original landowners or zamindars of the area that is now modern-day Kolkata. The family leased their land to the British East India company on November 10, 1698. The Sabarna Sangrahashala thus stores several important historical documents that cater to the need of students conducting research on Kolkata’s history. Some of the rare and interesting collectibles of the museum include a huge earthen rice pot of 1840, a metal candle stand from 1795, grinding wheels of 1845, a metal hookah from 1878, and more. Rare stamps, coins, and documents are also preserved here. The historic judgment of the Kolkata High Court regarding the dispute on Kolkata’s founding day is also present here in the written form and states that unlike popular belief, Job Charnock did not establish the city which was already a flourishing religious and trade center prior to Charnock’s arrival. The museum also hosts a library with a rare collection of journals, travelogues, papers, and books with many concentrating on the history of the city, its origins, the Mughals, and the Sabarna Roy Choudhury family. Every year, an International History & Heritage Exhibition is hosted at this venue that teaches about the importance of preserving historical resources.

Asutosh Museum of Indian Art

The Asutosh Museum of Indian Art is an art museum hosted within the main campus of the University of Calcutta located in Kolkata. The museum is named after an important academician, Sir Ashutosh Mukherjee, who served as the Vice-Chancellor of this prestigious university for several terms. The museum exhibits a collection of specimens representing Indian art, especially the art of Bengal. The museum was established in 1937. It holds the record of being the first public museum to be established within an Indian university.

State Archaeological Museum

The State Archaeological Museum, located in Behala, Kolkata, was established in 1962. The museum hosts a unique collection of tools and artifacts belonging to the Stone Ages, sculptures, terracotta artifacts, artifacts from the Gupta, Maurya, Pala, and other eras of Indian history, ancient textiles, wood-carvings, etc. 

Academy of Fine Arts

The Academy of Fine Arts in Kolkata is one of the country’s oldest fine arts academies. It was founded in 1933 by Lady Ranu Mukherjee, the wife of the famous industrialist Sir Biren Mukherjee. The Academy was first founded in a room loaned by the Indian Museum. Later, in the 1950’s, the efforts of Lady Mukherjee and the patronage of the then Chief Minister of West Bengal, B.C. Roy, and the Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru, the museum was Academy of Fine Arts was shifted to a much larger space on Cathedral Road.

The art galleries of the Academy displays the works of some famous artists like Jamini Roy’s Shiva with Ganesh and Gaganendranath Tagore’s Saat Bhai Champa. The Academy of Fine Arts also hosts a theater auditorium where an annual theater festival is hosted each year.

Gurusaday Museum

The Gurusaday Museum hosts a collection of folk arts and crafts including more than 3,000 artifacts such as masks, musical instruments, images of deities, paintings, woodwork items, textiles, manuscripts, etc. The collectibles displayed at the museum are the results of a lifetime of collection by the famous Bengali folklorist, writer, and civil servant, Gurusaday Dutt. The museum was established on the recommendation of Birendrasaday Dutt, the son of Gurusaday Dutt.

Jorasanko Thakur Bari

The Jorasanko Thakur Bari is the ancestral home of the Tagore’s of Bengal. One of the members of this reputed family of Bengal was Rabindranath Tagore, the famous poet who was the first non-European person to receive a Nobel Prize.

Tagore was born in this very house and also spent most of his childhood days in Jorasanko. This 18th-century mansion today hosts a museum that displays the way of life of the Tagore’s in the 18th century. The museum also holds manuscripts, documents, paintings, and artifacts that provide a vivid detail of the history of the Tagore family and the history of Bengal during the Bengal Renaissance. Regular cultural programs are organized throughout the year to celebrate various events associated with Rabindranath Tagore.

Marble Palace

Marble Palace is a palatial mansion established in the 19th century in north Kolkata. This elegant house is famous for its white marble facade. The house was built in 1835 by a rich Bengali merchant named Raja Rajendra Mullick. Mullick had a passion for collecting objects of art. Today, the Marble Palace houses elegant works of art including paintings by renowned Indian and European artists. Western sculptures, ancient clocks, magnificent chandeliers, mirrors that stretch from floor to ceiling, massive urns, Victorian furniture, etc., are among the many exhibits of the Marble Palace. Since the palace is privately owned by the Mullick family, special permission is required to visit the Marble Palace.

Nehru Children Museum

The Nehru Children’s Museum is an interesting museum in Kolkata that, as the name says, is meant to provide entertainment of children. However, that never means that adults will not enjoy a visit to the museum. The Nehru Children’s Museum is a four-storied building that was established on November 14, 1972, a day that is celebrated as Children’s Day in India. The museum hosts an amazing collection of dolls from different nations of the world. Toys from different parts of the world are also displayed here. Stories from the famous Indian epics of Ramayana and Mahabharata are visually displayed here using clay models. The museum also arranges for various workshops and courses for the children to develop their skills in different fields of extra-curricular activities.

Birla Industrial & Technological Museum (BITM)

The BITM is a scientific and technological museum that is located at the Gurusaday Road in Kolkata. The museum is managed by the National Council of Science Museums. The museum has several galleries with exhibits aimed to educate school children and science enthusiasts on scientific inventions, latest scientific technologies, and more.

Some of the galleries here include Biotechnology, Fascinating Physics, Metals, Mock-up Coal Mine, Popular Science, Television, etc. 3-D film shows, coal mine show, sky observation, and other scientific shows are regularly held here.