Apr 8 2023 6:05PM
Shimla, Apr 8
Bhuri Singh Museum is the oldest museum in Chamba region. The artefacts and historical documents present here are also a center of special attraction for researchers and tourists to get acquainted with the rich tradition and glorious history of the district.
Museum chairman Narendra Kumar and Technical Assistant Surendra Thakur says Bhuri Singh Museum is one of the oldest museums in India which was established in 1908 by the then Director General of Antiquities John Philip Fogle who came to Chamba on the request of Raja Bhuri Singh.
Bhuri Singh Museum was established on 14 September 1908. Raja Bhuri Singh was the Raja of Chamba from 1904 to 1919. He donated family portraits and many royal objects of archaeological importance to the museum.
Seeing the heritage culture of Chamba, he suggested to the king that it is necessary to have a museum in the area in which these ancient heritage items can be preserved.
In this museum, objects from the second century till date have been preserved. He told this museum is unique in itself in which Bhuri Singh Museum has the largest collection of Pahari Manachar paintings among all the museums in North India.
Bhuri Singh Museum currently has 6 galleries for visitors. Told that in the last 4 years, two new galleries have been established in the museum, which include currency and anthropology gallery.
Presently there are six galleries in the museum, in which there are separate galleries like Archaeological Gallery, Miniature Paintings Gallery and Anthropology Gallery, Wood Art which can be seen separately in the museum.
The museum has preserved more than 65 hundred different types of oldest historical material which reflects the rich folk art and culture of Chamba. These include ancient inscriptions, copper plates and manuscripts written in Sharda, Tankari, Bhoti, Gurmukhi and Persian scripts.
Apart from this, miniature paintings, Chamba Rumal, the oldest coins from the 1st century to the 18th century, artefacts, Pahari ornaments and musical instruments etc. are included.
More recently, on 14 September 2022, the world famous Bhuri Singh Museum celebrated its 114th Foundation Day.
John Philip Vogel, the initial founder of Bhuri Singh Museum Chamba, was the then Director General of the Archaeological Survey of India. The basis for the establishment of this museum was established by combining the products of Raja Bhuri Singh’s Doordarshil and Chamba’s handicrafts full of local arts.
This museum is one of the earliest museums in India. It is a regional museum. Presently six galleries have been made for the tourists in this museum.
In the first archeological gallery, stone statues brought from the entire Chamba principality and samples of stone art used in temples have been kept. Which shows the time and art from the 2nd century BC to the 20th century and the Panghat rocks enhance the beauty of this gallery.
Coming to the other Chamba Galleries, they are a mini museum in themselves. In which miniature pictures, weapons and weapons of kings, precious gifts presented by foreign guests, painted walls and doors brought from Rangmahal and a thousand-year-old deodar statue made of Mahatma Buddha have been kept.
Along with this, the world famous Chamba handkerchief has also been kept here for tourists to see. In the third miniature painting gallery one can see paintings by various artists from 17th century to 20th century.
Bhuri Singh Museum is famous not only all over India but all over the world for its collection of miniature paintings.
On the first floor of the Bhuri Singh Museum, there is the Historical Documents Gallery where you can see historical documents written in different scripts on stone, metal, paper.
Whether it is the Mughal court or land agreement with the neighboring kings by the local kings, all kinds of documents are seen in this gallery. The special
