Fascinated by the history of Madras? Then head to the Government Museum, Egmore to sample their special exhibition organised as part of Madras Day celebrations. The week-long exhibition that began on Wednesday has a wide variety of exhibits ranging from imperial bushel measures to miniature cannons used by Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan.
Black and white photographs capturing the essence of Madras were the highlight of the exhibition. Mount Road, vibrant markets of Kothaval Chavadi, George Town of the 1850’s and a stunning view of the Chepauk Palace in 1799 were all frozen in snapshots.
Miniature models of water carts, miniature cannons used by Hyder Ali, unexploded shells and shell fragments from the German ship Emden and ancient coins were other items on display. About 25 sketches of heritage buildings by artist S S Manian dotted the walls.
One particular display that drew all eyes was the display of two megalithic burial urns, excavated from Chennai’s Kilpauk area in 1914. Interestingly, the plaque beside it says that the unassuming urns were excavated along with six pairs of legs.
In addition, the museum also dug out special exhibits like bushel measurements from its storage for display. S S Jawahar, Principal Secretary and Commissioner of Museums, said, “This is the first time we are displaying the bushel measurements.” Bushels measures were the standard unit of measurement in England till the metric system was put in place, said museum officials. D Jayakumar, Speaker, Tamil Nadu Assembly inaugurated the exhibition along with N R Sivapathy, Minister for Sports and Youth Welfare and Chennai Mayor Saidai S Duraisamy.
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