10 must see artifacts at National museum Delhi

It is that time of the year when our kids stay at home and we try to find ways to keep them occupied. Instead of making them addicted to TV and smartphones we wish that they would do something which is much more fruitful. How about taking them to the National museum and showing them some of the brilliant artifacts available there? Let us have a look at the key attractions present there.

• Dancing girl of Harappa- Firstly we will talk about  the famous dancing girl of Harappa. She is housed in the National museum but you would be surprised to see its height. It is only 4 inches tall and you have to actually bend to see her exact posture. Made from the lost wax method there are two such figurines the other one housed in the Karachi museum.
• Relics of Buddha- After the Mahaparnirvana of Buddha these relics were divided into 8 parts and stored in 8 stupas. However Asoka found them out and spread the relics from 7 of them to 84000 stupas. A part of these relics can be seen at the National Museum. They have been kept in a golden case and hence the effect of watching them becomes more enthralling.

• Miniature paintings- The national museum at Delhi is home to the biggest collection of miniature paintings. A full gallery is devoted to these paintings and it would take you some time to go through all of them. You can see miniature paintings from various schools of miniature paintings like – Mughal Miniatures, Rajasthan Miniatures, Pahadi Miniatures and Deccani Miniatures.
• Nataraja in Chola bronze- The Chola bronze artefacts are more from Tamil Nadu side and are stored in Egmore Museum in Chennai and at Maratha Palace in Thanjavur. Especially relevant is the fact that the  National museum  is home to the Nataraja in chola bronze. Apart from that you can even have a look at some of the other bronze artefacts from India though you might have to roam around a bit for that.

• Ganjifa cards- To all those who are fond of playing cards the Ganjifa cards are actually how are ancestors played the game. In those ages the cards were hand crafted and painted. Some of them are kept in the Decorative arts gallery there are a few which are stored with the miniature paintings.

• Ivory sculptures- These sculptures are only few as the art was banned as it involved the killing of elephants. In any case  the National Museum is still home to some of such brilliant pieces. The decorative arts gallery is the place where all the miniature and giant items of ivory are kept.
• Alamkara collection Jwellery- If you are also fond of the shining gold then there are multiple jewelry pieces available. There are nearly 250 pieces on display and each one is a sight to behold.

• Tanjore paintings-On the opposite, this is a relatively new gallery at the National Museum but it is just awesome. Depicting mythological stories these paintings come from Thanjavur and Mysore in South India. Some of the most interesting ones are the ones showing the marriage of Ram – Sita and Siva –Parvati.

• Wood carved doors- Amidst the stone sculptures in the sculpture gallery you find a unique carved wooden door. Created in 14th CE this door is now showing signs of wear and tear.
• Origin of Indian scripts- We all have heard of how our present languages scripts have originated from the past scripts. Consequently, at the National museum you can have a look at how that actually happened. If you are not interested show your kids the journey of these languages. I am sure they  would want to know more.