Review of the Oldest Museum of India: The Indian Museum of Kolkata

Abstract

A museum is more than a collection of art, sculptures or treasures. Rather it is a repository of the history of extinct species and their cultures. “Real museums are places where Time is transformed into Space.” (Orhan Pamuk, ,2008) Museums organise the world according to how we view it changing, such as from colonialism to modernism. The Indian Museum in Kolkata is the world's oldest and biggest multidisciplinary museum, serving not just the Indian subcontinent but also the Asia-Pacific area. This museum was established as early as 1814 as the seat of colonial power, and was planned throughout time as a mother-institution that would host a representative Indian collection. As a result, the museum has grown into the largest centre of its kind in the world that reflects national heritage and pride and is highlighted as one of the national infrastructure institutions in the Constitution of the Republic of India.