Going by recent notifications, we should soon be having a museum in practically every corner of the older parts of the city. Museums are the flavour of the day. From a time when anything old was looked down upon and dismissed as ‘colonial’, we seem to have come a long way. Which is to the good. What however is not so good is rushing headlong into setting up museums without any plans for attracting footfalls.
Museums of Many Kinds
Take just the area that is now being spoken of as Central Square, namely the Central Station neighbourhood. If all plans were to fructify, we should be having a museum at VP Hall, another one dedicated to the Corporation at Ripon Building and a third in the proposed Central Tower of 27 floors fame, focusing on the way the Metro has been designed for our city. A little further down the road is the yet-to-take-shape museum of the Madras Medical College. And if you go down Beach Road, Humayun Mahal will soon have a Freedom Museum and further south, there is a museum planned at the Agri Horticultural Society gardens.
The city itself does not lack museums. The Government Musuem at Egmore is perhaps the best known but there are numerous others, ranging from the Fort Museum (it is interesting that after nearly eight decades in existence, very few know of it and when they do, ask if permission is needed to go in) to a specialised one dedicated to the eye inside the Regional Institute of Ophthalmology. The footfalls of all these together will not amount to very much.
Existing Museums with no crowds
Looked at from one angle, this is better than contemplating the demolition of all the heritage buildings in which museums are housed. But is the State Government even thinking of how these places are to be managed and become live venues with active public interest? The present museum rush is akin to what happened a few decades ago when it was decided to construct one at each district headquarters. Opened with much fanfare, they all fell flat when it came to quality of exhibits, displays and other amenities at the premises. Most present a derelict appearance today, with hardly any visitors.
Museums worldwide are changing
Worldwide, museums are under pressure. For a generation whose entertainment is on the phone, these spaces are becoming increasingly irrelevant. Many have professionalised their management and are now events focused. It is also realised that static displays, while an important aspect of such facilities, are not enough and there have to be periodic spotlights on special objects and themes of focus. There are also efforts to attract specific target groups. And most such museums are active on social media. Can any of the Chennai museums (or for that matter those across India barring an exception or two) claim to have taken any of these steps?
Need for professional management
What is needed is for the museums to be freed of the clutches of the Government when it comes to day-to-day running. While the State will remain the owner, the active management must be in the hands of professionals. The various departments of the Government planning their own museums should also think of hiring full-time archivists and historians. This will not only increase the demand for admission to these courses in colleges and universities but also help in conserving relevant historic objects and artefacts, and documents. That way, when it comes to displays there will be something more meaningful when compared to the present practice of grabbing visuals from the internet and printing them on flex sheets.
My book on Chennai can be ordered here
This article appeared in The Hindu dated July 31, 2024 and can be read here – https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/many-museums-on-the-anvil-but-how-good-will-they-be/article68463486.ece