A VISIT TO CHHAUNI MUSEUM
Introduction
of Chhauni Museum
The National Museum of Nepal (Rashtriya Sangrahalaya) is a popular attraction of the capital city of Kathmandu. About a century old, the museum stands as a tourist
destination and historical symbol for Nepal. Being the largest museum of the
country of Nepal, it plays an important role in nationwide archaeological
works and development of museums. For the residents of Kathmandu, the monument serves to relive the battles fought on the
grounds of Nepal. The main attractions are collection of historical artworks
(sculpture and paintings) and a historical display of weapons used in the wars
in the 18-19th century. The museum has separate galleries dedicated to statues,
paintings, murals, coins and weapons.It has three
buildings — Juddha Jayatia Kala Shala, Buddha Art Gallery and the main building
which consists of natural historical section (collection of species of animals,
butterflies and plants), cultural section and philatelic section.
Our Field trip to Chhauni Museum
After this
short introduction of Chhauni museum, I would rather get more focused on what
we students of Grade 9 of Jagat Mandir Higher Secondary Boarding School learned
and experienced after the field trip to Chhauni Museum. As a student, we barely
get to see such amazingly created sculptures in real life. Most of the time of
a student is literally spent only on the theoretical part of it. It is an
amazing effort made by our school management and our Social teacher who didn’t
just only focused on theoretical part but made us accessible to the practical
vision of this ancient architecture, artifacts and most importantly the
metallic and stone sculptures.
We students of grade 9 headed towards the Chhauni museum at 10:30 am immediately after little celebration of Khem Sir’s birthday organized by our class was ended. As taking time on focus, our teachers wanted every second to be counted as a piece of view on certain art. As been taught to every student, we were representing our school in such a huge place so discipline was one the most important thing to be taken care of. We reached there at 11:15 am. As much as fast as possible our teachers booked our tickets and we headed towards the first building of the National Museum known as Juddha Jayatia Kala Shala which was initially established by Rana Prime minister Juddha Shumsher as a piece of representation of Nepali architecture and sculptures.
We students of grade 9 headed towards the Chhauni museum at 10:30 am immediately after little celebration of Khem Sir’s birthday organized by our class was ended. As taking time on focus, our teachers wanted every second to be counted as a piece of view on certain art. As been taught to every student, we were representing our school in such a huge place so discipline was one the most important thing to be taken care of. We reached there at 11:15 am. As much as fast as possible our teachers booked our tickets and we headed towards the first building of the National Museum known as Juddha Jayatia Kala Shala which was initially established by Rana Prime minister Juddha Shumsher as a piece of representation of Nepali architecture and sculptures.
Juddha Jayatia Kala Shala
The
Art Gallery exhibits metal works, wood and stone carvings. Prominent among the
stone images is the one of Licchavi King Jayavarma of the 2nd
century. This large statue found in Handigaon stands majestically after being
restored by an Italian project. Four stolen sculptures — the head of the 12th
century Veenadharini Saraswati from Pharping’s Kamalpokhari; the 9th century Buddha from
Bhinchhe Bahal, Patan; the 14th century Surya from Panauti’s Triveni Ghat
and the 10th century Garudasana Vishnu from Hyumat Tole, Kathmandu —
received from a Los
Angeles based art-collector, have remained artifacts of great
interest. These objects are kept in the stone work section of the gallery.
Nritya Devi is a restored wooden
sculpture of a dancing goddess of the 15th century stored in the wood-carving
section. Intricate motifs, carved on teak, sal or rose wood, on mountable
window frames give a sense of refinement in woodcarving. A series of paintings
depicting Krishna's
miraculous deeds known as "Krishna Lila" are important artwork and
covers major part of the gallery in the painting section.
Buddhist Art gallery
The Buddhist Art Gallery stores Buddhist paintings,
sculptures and ritualistic objects. To provide a glimpse of the Buddhist art of the kingdom
of Nepal, this gallery has
been divided into three sections: the Terai, Kathmandu Valley and northern Himalayan sections. The Terai section is adorned with photographs
of Lord Buddha’s birthplace in Lumbini. Chaityas (stupas),
statues of Buddha and Bodhisattva cast in bronze comprise the Kathmandu valley section.
The northern Himalayan section reflects the influence of Tibetan Buddhism, which apparently
developed many rites and rituals. Therefore ritualistic objects like phurpa (magical dart
used especially for the ritual slaying of human effigy of foes) and dorje (represents
thunder bolt) are found in this section. Thangka paintings
made on cotton canvas or silk, Tibetan amulets and religious objects, also adorn the gallery.
Appealing images of Manjushri (the deity of wisdom), yantra of the 19th
century (showing chakras of the body), Dipankara Buddha are other
important parts of the Buddhist collection.
This gallery was established with the
assistance of the government of Japan, and was inaugurated by Prince Akishino
of Japan in February 1997. It houses special displays in galleries marked
Southwestern Terai, Northern Himalayan, and Kathmandu Valley, plus a corridor
gallery, a special display of mandala art, and a lounge area. The purpose of
this large gallery is to provide visitors a glimpse of the Buddhist art of
Nepal, its origins and its various manifestations. The significance of the
southwestern Terai gallery is that that was where the Buddha was born, at
Lumbini, and was raised, at nearby Kapilvastu, in his father’s palace.
The Historical Museum Building
The oldest building
in the museum complex is the historical palace of Bhimsen Thapa. It houses a
Natural Science Gallery, an Historical Gallery, a Philatelic Gallery and a
Numismatics Museum. The armaments display is extraordinary, with many old
weapons such as swords, khukuris, shields and battle armor dating back several
centuries, as well as leather cannons captured from the Tibetans during the
first Nepal-Tibet War (1792), and a variety of relics dating to Kathmandu’s
Great Earthquake of 1934. The natural science displays are equally interesting
(though somewhat worn looking) of birds and wild animals from the jungle. The
coin and stamp collections are of special interest to collectors. There is even
a display showing what the typical rural mail runner used to wear, up until a
few decades ago, including a turban and his spear and bell to both scare off
wild animals and protect himself from attack.
After
all this, we headed back to the school at 2:10 pm. On the way since plenty of
time , we decided to go to Swoyambhunath. All of us had to walk those
staircases and all of us were tired. But after all Who would miss the
chance of going to that amazing place? We all went there and enjoyed our trip. I rolled the dreamer rolls for three times and then enjoyed the amazing view of Kathmandu Valley.To sum up, our field trip to Chhauni Museum ended up as an amazingly authentic experience that we shall never forget.I would love to go back to the Museum. I still remember the mirrors with differently coordinated reflections. We had spent so may minutes just walking back and forth enjoying those reflections and laughing as hard as we could until our belly started paining. And one of the most amazingly managed was those class covered small mannequins which wore national clothes of their country which represented their cultural diversity. I just love the way we got to experience those creative innovations of Nepali Architecture as well as sculpture!!
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