Bhau Daji Lad Museum: Reconnecting with Mumbai's cultural heritage

In the heart of Mumbai’s Byculla district and next to the city’s botanical gardens and zoo, lies the Dr Bhau Daji Lad Museum, a structure steeped in Indian history and culture. A Palladian building with high interiors and Victorian pillars, its original design was conceived by George Birdwood, the museum’s first curator, in the 19th century. While it was opened under the Victoria and Albert name in 1872, it was built with the patronage of wealthy Indians such as Sir Jamshedji Jeejeebhoy and Jagannath Shankar Sheth. The museum soon became a storehouse of information on Bombay’s industrial arts and various communities. It was renamed in 1975 after Dr Bhau Daji Lad, the gentleman who spear-headed its fund-raising drive. Today, the building, having undergone significant renovation, tells the story of Bombay, as well as Mumbai. 

Tasneem Mehta, the convenor of the Mumbai Chapter of the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH), which is responsible for the museum’s renovation, says, “At that time the population of the city wasn’t more than a lakh (100,000) but we used to get about 3,000 visitors a day. There was no other entertainment. There were no movies. Today we get 2,500 people on weekends because we’re right next to the zoo. The museum was also a place for the scientific study of the city’s people, flora and fauna. It was important, especially for the history of the city.” 

Restored and revamped

Byculla, an overcrowded corner of Mumbai, was once an elite area. Mehta says, “The Governor’s house was here. This was considered to be exclusive.” Today the beautiful old textile mills that once surrounded the museum have given way to building complexes. Signs of the 19th century are almost long gone.

In 2004, the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai, INTACH and the Bajaj Foundation came together in the country’s first public-private tripartite partnership in the management of an important cultural institution. The museum building, whose colors and detailing were effaced, Burma-teak doors painted over, iron pillars separated from their walls, and display objects broken, took four years to restore. In 2005 the museum beat the Beijing Palace for the highest award in conservation -- UNESCO’s Asia Pacific Heritage Award for Cultural Heritage Conservation. Today, it stands resplendent in a brand new coat of celadon green, a color widely seen in 19^th century European buildings. Minton tile floors pave the way for visitors, stucco and stencil work embellish its walls and ceilings, and 23.5 carat gold gilding adds a sheen to the museum's surfaces. 

Connecting past and present

The various galleries such as the Industrial Arts Gallery and Bombay School Paintings, the Origins of Mumbai Gallery and the Kamal Nayan Bajaj Mumbai Gallery are great reminders of the city’s past. While the first houses a fine collection of 19^th century paintings and pottery from the city along with other objets d’art, the second showcases Mumbai’s evolution from a group of seven islands in Roman times into a distinguished and charming city. Maps, watercolors, lithographs and photographs from the museum’s rare glass negative collection take visitors back to a time when the museum was built to showcase the importance of Bombay as Urbs Prima in Indis. The third shows the genesis and expansion of the city in the 18^th, 19^th and 20^th centuries through dioramas and models, that also depict the secular nature of this flourishing city.

The idea of the museum, however, has always been to stay connected to the contemporary as well. Says Mehta, “I feel that it is important to maintain a connection with the contemporary city. New forms of expression, different art forms, contemporary artists, and reviving the link with the city’s Sir J.J. School of Art are all very important to us.” 

Acclaimed performance artist Nikhil Chopra’s Yog Raj Chitrakar, Memory Drawing X, Part 1, which includes drawings, video and photographs of the artist's exploration of the city during a 48 hour walk from North to South and back is currently on display. Future exhibitions will include a contemporary photography exhibition from the V&A London, entitled, 'Something That I'll Never Really See: Contemporary Photography from the V&A'. This will be followed by another V&A exhibition, 'A Century of Olympic Posters,' which opens in January 2011.

The BDL Museum was originally established as the Victoria & Albert Museum in 1855 as a treasure house of the decorative and industrial arts. It was renamed Dr Bhao Daji Lad Museum in 1972.

This statue of Queen Victoria, dedicated by His Highness Maharaj Khanderao Gaikw

Kids are more than welcome in the Museum. BDL also runs a program specifically designed to educate kids on the museum artifacts and Indian history.

Hanging Brass lamps designed for the European market by Indian artisans in the 19th century.

A sea shell carving from around the 19th century.

A marble bust of David Sassoon, who was the treasurer of Baghdad between 1817 and 1829 and then the leader of the Jewish community in Bombay. Sassoon became a naturalised British citizen in 1853. Sassoon was a middleman between British textile firms and Gulf commodities merchants, and later invested in valuable harbor properties.

Sculptures showcasing the different hats and turbans worn by different communities living in Mumbai.

A bird's-eye view of the museum's ground floor.

A diorama illustrating an Indian woman worshiping holy basil. These dioramas, portable miniature models, were made due to a lack of or high costs of photographic material. They were often taken to England by the British to illustrate Indian living styles and culture to Queen Victoria and her subjects. From the 19th century.

Memory Drawing, an installation art piece by contemporary artist Nikhil Chopra Kamala Nayan Bajaj, Special Exhibition Gallery, Second Floor.

A peek at one of the library's shelves of the BDL Museum.

The Elephanta elephant. Two of these stone sculptures once stood at the gates of Elephanta Island. They was carved out of the rocky surface in 540 CE. In 1864 the British tried to carry the elephants back to England, however, the crane broke and shattered the sculptures. Only one of the two sculptures was saved and reintegrated by Sir George Birdwood, then the curator of the museum.

Tasneem Mehta, the current curator of the BDL Museum.

Dr Bhau Daji Lad Museum, Rani Bagh, 91/A, Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Road, Byculla – East, Mumbai 400027. Open from 10 am to 5.30 pm. Closed on Wednesdays and some public holidays.