April 12, 2008

Scindia Museum

The Jai Vilas Palace about which I had written in this post houses the Jivaji Rao Scindia Museum that was established in 1964 and is said to be managed by a trust.

The Museum is known for its vast collection of treasures that gives an indication of the lifestyle of the Scindias. There is a lot of paraphernalia of the Scindia dynasty that can be found there.


Visitors get fascinated about a silver train with cut glass wagon that is known to be serving guests as it chugs along on the table on a miniature railway line. I would have been too, but only if I had seen it in action, so I'll wait patiently till I get an invitation from Jyotiraditya Scindia!

There was a room (or two) of jungle scenery with stuffed tigers. That sight, and that of the hunting trophies, was something that I did not enjoy.


There are cut glass ornaments, art works, coins, bronze sculptures, woodworks, ivory works, carpets and rugs, musical instruments and a large number of stuff belonging to the Scindia kinsfolk and their portraits too.


There are many items of gifts received from VIPs around the world, whether it was during the trips of Scindias abroad or during the visit of dignitaries to the Jai Vilas Palace. Also on display are personal mementos of past members.

The Museum has two huge chandeliers hanging from the ceiling supposedly weighing 3.5 tons each! An enthusiastic guard nearby (who volunteered to be a temporary guide) narrated to me how seven elephants were made to march non-stop for seven days on the roof of the Palace to test its strength before those heavy chandeliers were made to hang freely from the ceiling.

There are other trophies and a lot of weapons displayed including swords said to be used by Aurangzeb and Shah Jahan.

Travellers who are interested in exploring the opulence of the princely state can visit the Scindia Museum. I had just a quick look around and was eager to move on to my next destination.

14 comments:

GMG said...

Hi Celine,
This week it took me more than a hour to catch up all your (great) posts.
The Italian Gardens look beautiful, though you had a sad story on your way there… ;(
The Jai Villas Palace is stunning. Gwalior was already on my list, but I keep adding new items to the stock! So, how long did you stay there? This Palace looks incredible!
And in the end comes Goa. As you may believe, that’s a place I’m particularly interested on. And after reading your two posts, I feel I have a serious, well balanced description of it, that matches some of the impressions I got ten days ago while dining with some friends (visitors to Goa last February) at the restaurant Casa de Goa (House of Goa) in Lisbon, whose Chef SebastiĆ£o Fernandes (born in Goa) is an old friend…
Hope to confirm it in the future…
Thanks for your comments at Blogtrotter
Have a great week!
Gil

Anonymous said...

Very interesting! Unfortunately, I no longer cover musuems during my sojourns to different cities, thanks to my impatient five year old daughter.

indicaspecies said...

Gil,

Thank you for your warm words. I have more posts on rest of MP coming up. I stayed less than 48 hours in Gwalior.

Regarding your interesting comment on Goa, I am glad you got to hear more on Goa directly from your friends. Did you enjoy the food at Casa de Goa? I'll look forward to hearing from you. :)

indicaspecies said...

Shantanu,

Five year olds are smart enough to lead you to the right places. ;)

As you may have got the indication from my post, I am not much fascinated with museums myself. I prefer outdoors - nature, wildlife ..etc. :)

Unknown said...

beautiful and so informative, am learning lots here :)

indicaspecies said...

Kate,

Thank you. :)

Lakshmi said...

This looks opulent and grand ...I love the pictures ..incredible wealth and heritage our country has .Im quite overwhelmed .
lakshmi

Anonymous said...

Here comes the sun...Beautiful stained glass window.

indicaspecies said...

Lakshmi,

Not just the Museum, if you take a leisure walk through the streets of the city, you will discover old 'havelis' with beautiful carved doorways and windows and, as you know, the musical traditions have survived there as well - all that's a wealth of India's rich culture and heritage.

I'm delighted that you liked the pictures. :)

indicaspecies said...

chewy:

Thanks Darlene. :)

Indrani said...

Seven elephants marching for seven days to check the strength...
amazing story.
They gave you permission for photography inside the museum, in Aurangabad, Chatrapati Shivaji's museum we were denied the permission to photograph. :(
Nice pictures all of them.

indicaspecies said...

Indrani,

Thank you for your kind comment. :)

Sameera Ansari said...

Awesome flashback into our country's rich past! :)

indicaspecies said...

Sameera,

Opulence of the princely kingdoms. :)