MUSEUMS IN MAHARASHTRA

The Art Gallery with its four exhibition halls is the most prestigious venue for art exhibitions. The Gallery plays host to the work of leading Indian Artists.

Formerly known as the Prince of Wales Museum, the museum has 3 main sections - Art, Archeology and Natural History. The art section has a rich collection of Indian paintings representing its different styles, European paintings, Tibetan and Nepali art, textiles and armory glass and jade collections, objects carved in rock crystal, metal ware and lacquered woodwork.

Exhibits in the archeological section include primitive tools and ornaments excavated by Sir John Marshall in Mohenjodaro in 1922.

Timings 10.15 a.m. to 5.45 p.m. (Daily except Mondays) Entry Fee: Rs. 10 (Indians) Rs.300 (Foreign Visitors) Contact: Director, Tel: 022-2844519, 2844484. Located at Laburnum Road at Gamdevi near Chowpatty Beach, Mani Bhavan was the residence of Mahatma Gandhi, where he used to stay from time to time between 1917 and 1934.

The Museum houses a pictorial gallery, personal items of Mahatma Ghandi, a 20,000 volume research library and a film and recording archive.

Timings: 9.00 a.m. to 6.00 p.m. Entry Fee: Rs. 3 Contact: Director, Tel: 022 - 3805864

The Museum located at Byculla has interesting exhibits such as archeological finds, maps and photographs which depict the history of Mumbai.

Timings: 10.30 a.m. to 4.30 p.m. Entry Fee: Rs. 2 (Adult), Re. 1 (Child). Contacts: Director Tell: 022 - 3757943. Adjoining the Chattrapati Shivaji Vastu Sanghralaya (The Prince Of Wales Museum) is the Hornbill House, the headquarters of the Bombay Natural History Society.

It is an institution of the different kind where collectors have been donating their prize specimens of animals and birds for over a century. BNHS also boasts of an extensive library of nature books, which can be used by non members for purpose of research and studies, by taking prior permissions.

Paintings, handicrafts, armour - suites and musical instruments and other objects of art are on display. The 17th century lamps and other articles belonging to Mughal and Maratha periods are the highlights of the museum.