Revamped Patna Museum with extension wings likely to be inaugurated in November

The historic Patna Museum – home to a rich collection of ancient artefacts and rare paintings – will soon be closed to visitors to undertake restoration and revamp of its 95-year-old building as part of a redevelopment project, officials said.

The celebrated British-era landmark in the Bihar capital endowed with Indo-Saracenic architecture and fondly referred to as 'Jadu Ghar' by locals was completed in 1928 with two identical ornate gateways named, the 'In Gate' and the 'Out Gate'.

A project on redevelopment and extension of the museum building located on the old Patna Gaya Road, is currently under way, whose foundation stone was laid by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar in August 2020.

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Work on the construction of new wings tracing an arc around the old museum building, covering the southern, western and northern portions of the old museum campus, is nearing completion, following which renovation work on the heritage building will begin soon, a senior official of the Bihar government said.

"The Patna Museum will be closed temporarily to undertake the renovation work. The galleries in the old heritage building will be curated in a new way. Some portions of the rare manuscripts that scholar Rahul Sankrityayan brought from Tibet, and later donated to the Patna Museum, will also be displayed," Bihar government’s Art, Culture and Youth department secretary Bandana Preyashi told PTI here.

She attended the inaugural function of the three-day International Museum Expo being hosted at Pragati Maidan in Delhi from May 18-20.

"The old artefacts will be kept in storage till the renovation is completed. And, then our plan is to have the entire redevelopment project finished in the next few months, so that by early November, it can be inaugurated and people can return to the Patna Museum, and see it in a different avatar," she said.

Other galleries in the old building would be based on themes, including (first president) Rajendra Prasad gallery, arms and ammunition gallery, coins, art like old paintings and contemporary work and natural history, another senior official told PTI.

The art section will also have on display some of the specimens of Patna Qalam paintings.

The new galleries will be placed in new single-storey wings, telling the story of the rise of the city of the erstwhile Pataliputra and the civilisation on the banks of the Ganga, he said, adding, the budget for the redevelopment project is Rs 158 cr.

"The new galleries are yet to be set up, and these will be audio-visual galleries, and may include models or virtual walkthroughs of say, the ancient city of Pataliputra or the evolution of the city. These will be called 'Ganga' and 'Patali' galleries," the official said.

As per the plan, after entering through the main gate, the navigational direction for visitors would be, to see the new galleries first, starting with the south wing, followed by the west wing and then through a staircase or a lift, they would go to the first floor of the old building of the museum, and after seeing exhibits on the first and ground floor, they would exit from the main door leading to the portico, he said.

"So, the current entry point of the museum (old portico) will become the exit point. The gardens in front of the museum building would also be refurbished," the official added.

He said, a "small portion" of the interior of the current auditorium, located on the western side of the old building, will make way for construction of the staircase and a lift, and "its exterior will not be touched".

Sources said the auditorium, which was added a few decades after Independence, was earlier planned to be "removed".

The majestic old building of the museum was designed by Rai Bahadur Bishun Swarup, and its architectural elements include Rajput styles such as 'jharokhas', 'chhatris', ornate domes and a courtyard with an old fountain at its focal point.

The Patna Museum was established in April 1917, five years after Bihar and Orissa were carved out as separate provinces from Bengal in 1912.

The museum began functioning in April 1917 out of a section in the northern wing of the Patna High Court building, before moving to the new building which was inaugurated in early 1929.

When asked about the damage suffered by the 'Out Gate' during the course of the redevelopment project, the official said, he will "look into it". Many heritage lovers have expressed anguish over the damage caused to the 95-year-old heritage gate and appealed to authorities to restore it.

The 'In Gate' which is the main entrance gate and the 'Out Gate', were built as mirror images of each other, placed symmetrically on the northern and southern sides of the museum's fence with old grill works.

Patna Museum is a veritable treasure trove, and one of its most famous occupants till a few years ago was the Didarganj Yakshi or the Chauri-bearer.

It remained one of the star attractions of the Patna Museum until the sculpture was moved, along with a large number of antique items, to Bihar Museum on Bailey Road.

A digital version of the Yakshi is among the 75 "star objects" exhibited at the ongoing International Museum Expo here. Yakshi was found on the muddy banks of the Ganga at Didarganj on the outskirts of Patna in 1917, the same year the Patna Museum was founded.