Footfall still a far cry for city’s niche museums
Ketan
Tanna
I TNN
Mumbai: Sex, money, cops. Mumbai has museums dedicated to these niche subjects that are generally associated with the city and more. Unfortunately, due to poor marketing and publicity, the museums have found few takers and have consequently been relegated to the sidelines of the city.
Just opposite Alexandra Cinema near Mumbai Central is India’s only sex museum called Antarang. There is talk of it now being shifted because the museum is located near the red-light area which apparently has discouraged Mumbaikars from visiting it.
The museum was started in October 2002 and has attracted 16,000 plus visitors so far. The ground floor of the building has India’s oldest STD clinic while the first floor houses the museum which has an entrance designed in the shape of the Kamasutra book.
The museum uses excerpts from Kamasutra to describe the sexual relationship between man and woman. Minimalist drawings, paintings and wooden blocks educate the visitor on the basics of human sexuality. There is even a section that debunks sexual myths. The exhibits focus on condom use and safe sex, and discuss the dangers of unprotected sex and the prevalence of HIV/AIDS in India and its social stigma. The museum is a collaborative venture by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation and the Mumbai District AIDS Control Society.
Initially, when it was started, there was a lot of media hype but over the years, the number of visitors has dwindled. “In 2006 we had 2,158 males and 2,752 female visitors. This year we have had 1,171 males and 912 female visitors. A family visiting the museum is rare though recently we did have a couple come in with their teenage children. I was pleasantly surprised because the father was educating his children during the entire tour of the museum,’’ says Dr M G Vallecha, chief medical officer in the BMC and currently in charge of the clinic and the museum. Entry is free and one can visit it on all working days till 4 pm.
Another museum that seems to have few takers is the RBI Monetary Museum at the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) headquarters that has an amazing coin collection besides having a representative collection of over 10,000 exhibits of Indian coinage, paper currency, financial instruments and monetary curiosities. The museum was inaugurated on November 18, 2004 and has been open to the public since January 1, 2005. The first of its kind in the country, the museum exhibits original coins and currency notes (around 1,500) and is divided into sections on the basis of various themes such as Curiosities & the Idea of Money, Indian
coinage, Coins to Bank Notes, Indian Paper Money, Know Your Currency and finally a section called the RBI and You.
“It is an attempt to demystify and unravel the mysteries of money,’’ says Alpana Killawala, chief general manager, Reserve Bank of India. On an average, it gets about 30 visitors daily. So far the museum has had 20,000 visitors. “It naturally attracts only those who are interested in Indian Numismatics. Publicity is mostly through word of mouth. We have, however, made efforts to include a visit to the monetary museum in the itinerary of MTDC and ITDC,’’ says Killawala.
A couple of kilometres away is yet another set of displays based on a theme of specific interest. The Mumbai Police Museum, located at the police headquarters near Crawford Market, attracts anywhere between 15 and 20 visitors daily, who are provided a fascinating insight into the history of the Mumbai police.
Besides original firearms and uniforms that were used by the city police throughout its history, the museum focuses on the evolution of the force. But poor upkeep and little publicity means the museum hardly sees a flood of visitors, whether they be Mumbaikars or tourists.
There is also the Framjee Dadabhoy Alpaiwalla Museum, a community museum, which exhibits a collection put together by Alpaiwalla, a Parsi businessman. The museum is a storehouse of material related to Parsi history and archeological artefacts. An original firmaan given to Dadabhoy Naoroji’s ancestors by the Moghul Emperor Jehangir is one of its unique attractions.
ketan.tanna@timesgroup.com
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