#stories to make #museum #culture #history #heritage #design more #accessible and #inclusive
Amidst all the glitter, glamour and glitz of yesteryear the shimmer and shine of Gota stands out! It has captured in its weave the fantasy of the times. Travelling from the markets of the Western Indian cities of Surat, Ajmer where they were manufactured, Gota came to be the ubiquitous accessory of every royal garment. Let us know of the history of the exquisite Gota embroidery based on original fieldwork.
The Museum Memories Project turned 2 on 15th April, 2022, and we are overwhelmed with your love. We have nearly 100 memories of museums visited by our contributors from all over the world!!! It’s the world’s 1st free digital archive and resource of museum memories and much more 😊 To celebrate our 2nd birthday, we have completed the the 1st phase of our website https://www.themumeproject.com/
Part 5: Rajmata’s legacy Rajmata started the Maharaja Sawai Man Singh Vidyalaya, in memory of her departed husband in 1984... A true warrior, lover of freedom, Rajmata Gayatri Devi has empowered generations of women, men, society, state and a country like India. The links to all the 5 parts are given at the end of this post. Please comment on the blog posts. Thank you for reading 🙂
Part 4: Rajmata other love: the City Palace Museum, Jaipur I am lucky that I knew Rajmata slightly personally. She had heard of my father in London where he was pursuing his Phd at SOAS and on his return to his job as Deputy Keeper at the Indian Museum, Kolkata, she had tried to contact him. My father’s evil boss had thrown away Rajmata’s letters of invitation so when my father received a call from someone calling himself Maharaj Prithviraj from Jaipur inquiring why the letters were not replied to, Baba thought it was a prank by his evil boss. Then Maharaj Prithviraj met with him and that started a lifelong bond between them.
Part 3: A passionate affair begins The MGD School is located at Sawai Ram Singh Road on 26 acres of land, you cannot miss it. It houses separate buildings for the senior and junior schools, has two large playing grounds, a big stadium, a rose garden, a swimming pool, two basketball courts, a music and art room, five hostels for different ages, and a hostel for female faculty, several labs, an extremely well stocked library and an infirmary for the unwell girls. It still remains a girl school, a sanctuary for many.
Part 2: The Gayatri Devi ‘Aandhi’
...And, she arrived. In style.
Not because of her beauty, garments, jewellery, handbags, perfumes or shoes. But because when she reached Jaipur for her marriage, it is believed, she had told her husband that she would not follow him by three steps as all Rajasthani women had to but she would walk beside him. He agreed but also told her to be patient as it would take his court some time to accept someone like her.
Rajmata
The word sends a shiver and thrill down every MGDian! For us, there is only one person who has earned this reaction. She is Rajmata Gayatri Deviji Sahiba, Queen Mother of the erstwhile royal state of Jaipur, the present capital of Rajasthan. Though she left us in 2009 she will continue to live in every breath we take, for generations …
This series of five posts is a tribute to Rajmata, written to share with the world who she really was and what she represented for little girls from Rajasthan, a western desert of India, recognised for its valour, colour and cultural heritage. It is also a state that, today, even nearly 75 years after India’s independence has one of the highest crime rates against women, an alarming number of child marriages and dowry deaths, and continues to practice the heinous crime of female foeticide (the killing of the girl child in the womb or immediately on birth, before they even take their first breath).
Wishing everyone a very Happy, Safe and Healthy Durga Pujo 🙂 This is the second Durga Pujo during the lockdown induced by the dreaded Covid 19. Nearly everyone is exhausted and drained - emotionally, physically, financially, intellectually and every other possible way. We have collected a special offering for you which are inspired from Durga Pujo celebrations from Bengal. We would not want you to miss out on the festivities associated with this festival and season ❤ so re live your memories and joys of the season, and plan for the grand one next year. May the power of the Mother Goddess be with you 🙂
'Palash' has many names in many languages. It's a very popular, loved and revered flower which sets forests on fire during late February and March in India. It is also known as the 'flame of the forest' or 'parrot tree' in English, 'tesu' 'dhak' and 'parasu' in some Indian languages. It mainly blossoms in the... Continue Reading →
Wishing everyone a very Happy Holi 💕 this is a video I took of the flower locally called in Bangla/Bengali - Phagun Bou - meaning Spring Bride
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