New Delhi
11 August 2006
The family papers and drawings of Edwin Lutyens, the Indian
Tricolour presented by American President Richard Nixon to the people of India after it
was carried to the moon during Apollo XVII mission in 1972, the ashes of Mahatma
Gandhi and the symbols of Indian democratic heritage have all come under one roof for
the first time at the Parliament Museum. President APJ Abdul Kalam will inaugurate it on
Monday.
Visitors to the 16,000 square feet museum will be able to, literally, walk down memory
lane and join Mahatma Gandhi on his historic Dandi March, thanks to virtual reality
simulation and "animatronics" (derived from animation and electronics). A computerised
pneumatic-controlled animation will show Jawaharlal Nehru delivering -- in his original
voice -- the historic "Tryst With Destiny" speech at midnight between August 14 and 15,
1947.
Dr Saroj Ghose, who was instrumental in conceptualising, designing, scripting and
developing the "hi-tech story-telling" museum on a budget of Rs 4.5 crore, said that the
museum depicts the continuum of democratic heritage of India. "We have showcased
how self-governing democratic societies evolved in India ... democracy did not come
about in 1947 but much before that," he observed.
Dr Ghose said the museum has 25 computers and 20 large screen plasma and LCD
(liquid crystal display) projection systems. Work on the museum began on September 1,
2005. It was completed before the August 15 deadline with help from the Archives
Division and Audio Visual Unit of the Lok Sabha Secretariat and All India Radio (AIR).
"The AIR helped us procure the patriotic songs in Santhali and Bodo because we wanted
to showcase all the 22 languages," Dr Ghose recalled.
The museum houses the letters and notings of Herbert Baker and Edwin Lutyens,
architects of Parliament House and Delhi, respectively. On display are the "germinal
sketch plan and elevation of Government House" (Rashtrapati Bhawan) dated June 14,
1912 by Lutyens and Baker's letters sourced from the manuscripts collection of the
British Architectural Library and the Royal Institute of British Architects. One can also
browse the Constitution of India.
The museum is housed on two floors. The ground floor depicts events up to 1952
including the period settings of Ashoka's peace mission and Akbar's Ibadatkhana
(religious assembly hall where Akbar formed his new religion Din-i-Illahi) to demonstrate
how the concept of peaceful coexistence and pluralist society in free India have drawn
inspiration from these two emperors.
On the mezzanine floor, which depicts the post-1952 history, the visitors can enter the
recreated settings of the Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha and the central hall of Parliament. The
museum does not forget to remember the martyrs of the December 13, 2001 terrorist
attack on Parliament of India. Nine persons lost their lives in the 45-minute gunbattle that
tookplace at 11.40 am after both Houses of Parliament adjourned for the day.
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