Government Museum Bundi

Museum Address
Sukh Mahal, Dablana Road.
City
State
Rajasthan
Pin Code
323001
Email
supam.kota@gmail.com
Phone Number
Museum website
www.museumsrajasthan.gov.in/museums/bundi
Are there any docents or guides who visitors can directly call to book for a guided tour?
Yes
First Name
Ashwani
Last Name
Sharma
Email
bundirockpaintings@gmail.com
Mobile Number
When was the museum established?
2016
Main category
Briefly describe the history of the museum, its collection and donors.

Bundi is a charming little town, 225 km south of Jaipur and 36kms north of Kota.  It used to be surrounded by forests and lakes and has been a centre for human settlement for millennia as can be seen from the numerous rock paintings to be found in the area. A new purpose-built small museum constructed within the grounds of the Sukh Mahal palace on the shores of Jait Sagar behind Bundi and was opened in June 2016.

Sukh Mahal is a delightful late 18th-century summer pavilion built by Rao Raja Vishnu Singh under the supervision of his architect Divan Sukhram. Rudyard Kipling stayed here for a couple of nights as a very young man and fell in love with Bundi, hence it is often now referred to as Kipling’s Bundi. The upstairs room of the pavilion contains some photographs of Rudyard Kipling, as an attempt at a little memorial. Remembering what he had felt like on leaving, Kipling wrote the following lines in ‘Out of India’. Published in 1895.

‘But the Englishman was grieved at heart. He had fallen in love with Boondi the beautiful, and believed that he would never again see anything half so fair.’

The modest palace looks out over the largest lotus lake in Rajasthan and the location is enchanting, particularly in the winters. A visit should be planned so that you can have a peaceful picnic in the shady gardens away from the crowds.

It is important to note that you cannot visit the Government Museum without first purchasing a ticket to enter the Sukh Mahal grounds. An additional ticket has to be bought to enter the museum. It may be worth buying a composite ticket, which gives access to Sukh Mahal, Raniji-ki-Baori and the 84-pillared Cenotaph (but not the Government Museum) should you wish to explore Bundi’s other treasures.

Local self-taught archaeologist and guide, O P Sharma, known as Kukki, first requested a museum from the Chief Secretary of Rajasthan in 2013 and was so insistent and determined that this small museum was indeed built. The best pieces from the Bundi district are on display in Kota, Jaipur and Delhi and so the collections of sculpture, weapons and paintings are modest but the viewing experience is rewarding. There is a collection of sculptures outside the Sukh Mahal which have all been dredged out of the River Chambal at Keshoraipatan which is an ancient sacred city in Bundi district. Since a religious carving couldn’t be buried or thrown away when broken it was immersed in the river. Bajri mining of river beds using flatboats is traditional at Keshoraipatan and as they bring up a sculpture, it is added to the collection at Sukh Mahal.

Kukki gave some of his collection of copper axes, Acheulian hand axes and microliths to the museum. He has found these when walking over the Bundi hills for the last fifty or more years and alerted the academic world to the large presence of ancient rock painted sites in Hadoti.

 

This content has been created as part of a project partnered with Royal Rajasthan Foundation, the social impact arm of Rajasthan Royals, to document the cultural heritage of the state of Rajasthan.  

Photography
Yes
Videography
Yes
Cafeteria
No
Museum shop
No
Wheelchair friendly
Yes
Restroom
Yes
Drinking water
Yes
Locker room
No
Parking
Yes
Information in Braille
No
Workshops/seminars/lectures
No
Garden/picnic area
Yes
Audio/visual guides
No
Guided tours
No
Library and archives services
No
IT facilities ( Photocopying, printing, computer )
No
Auditorium
No
Conference/ Seminar hall
No
Museum membership
No
Conservation lab
No
Research lab
No
Who manages the museum?
State Government
Email
supam.kota@gmail.com
Person-in-charge of the museum
Curator
First Name
Umrao
Last Name
Singh
Mobile no.
Additional information ( if any)
You have to buy a ticket for Sukh Mahal in order to enter the garden to reach the museum. Single time entry is Rs200 for foreigners and Rs50 for Indians. Composite tickets for Sukh Mahal, Rani ji ki Baori and 84 Pillared Cenotaph costs Rs350 for foreign nationals and Rs75 for Indians.
Reference Link
www.museumsrajasthan.gov.in/museums/bundi
What is the average duration to see the museum?
less than 1 hour
Is the museum currently closed?
No
Image for museum exterior/building
Sukh Mahal
Gallery Images
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Board Giving Details of Tickets
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Arched Gateway near Museum Entrance
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Description of the Image

The original stone work is limestone and later additions such as the balcony were added in sandstone. The sculptures exhibited here were dredged from the River Chambal at Keshoraipatan.

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View of Ground Floor of Sukh Mahal
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Description of the Image

A few simple photos in an upstairs room mark his stay at the palace in about 1885 for two nights. He fell in love with Bundi and has been associated with it ever since but did not write ‘Kim’ there as is often stated.

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Memorial to Rudyard Kipling
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View of Government Museum and Home Guard
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10th century A.D. from Vilas, Baran district. A mother is holding drapery in her left hand while her baby tries to crawl up her leg.

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Mother and Child
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Description of the Image

10th century A.D. from Vilas, Baran district. A mother is holding drapery in her left hand while her baby tries to crawl up her leg.

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Mother and Child
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Description of the Image

Kakuni Baran. 9th Century.

The symbolism of snakes in Hindu mythology is varied and complex. They represent rebirth, death and mortality as they shed their skins and are ‘reborn’.

Nagas (serpents) are semi-divine and live in the subterranean world known as pātāl. They protect the treasures hidden in the earth and have the ability to assume human form. They can be worshipped in their own right and if not respected can cause death and misfortune such as childlessness. They, therefore, need to be worshipped and appeased.

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Snake Couple
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Description of the Image

Kakuni Baran. 9th Century.

The symbolism of snakes in Hindu mythology is varied and complex. They represent rebirth, death and mortality as they shed their skins and are ‘reborn’.

Nagas (serpents) are semi-divine and live in the subterranean world known as pātāl. They protect the treasures hidden in the earth and have the ability to assume human form. They can be worshipped in their own right and if not respected can cause death and misfortune such as childlessness. They, therefore, need to be worshipped and appeased.

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Snake Couple
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Description of the Image

The 17th century and first half of 18th century saw the full flowering of Bundi paintings. A set of 36 in the same series of Radha and Krishna are exhibited in the museum.

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Bundi Painting
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Description of the Image

O.P.Sharma developed a passion for picking up stones as a young boy walking in the hills around Bundi. He says that stones that have been worked on by humans have a special quality and ‘call out to him’ so he picks them up. Over the years he has found hundreds of hand axes and microlites and flakes which have been authenticated by archaeologists in Delhi and from other countries who come to visit him. He grew up working in a namkin shop and left school when young and had no knowledge of pre-history but he has found 104 rock painting sites and various hand-axe ‘factories’ and is now recognised as an expert guide and local historian. The Bundi museum is largely due to his efforts and his collection forms this pre-history display case.

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‘Kukki” with His Donated Local Pre-historic Finds
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Description of the Image

O.P.Sharma ‘Kukki’ discovered an ancient bronze age site near the river at Namana, near Kota and picked up these tools from the surface.

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Copper Axe and Chisel
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Description of the Image

The central cases show two impressive jambura or camel guns. They were carried facing along the line of the camel but to be fired were swivelled. The camels knelt down and the gun was fired at 90 degrees by the gunner crouching behind the camel.

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Weapons Gallery
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This type of dagger was the symbol of the Bundi state and embossed on the state coins.

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Dagger known as ‘Katar’
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View of Garden from Museum Entrance
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View Across Lake to Sukh Mahal
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The palace has stunning wall paintings.

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View from Cenotaph towards Bundi Palace
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A panel at the 84-pillared cenotaph

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Panel showing Fighting Elephants
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Description of the Image

The cenotaph can be visited with a composite ticket to also include access to Sukh Mahal and Raniji-ki-Baori.

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Pillared Cenotaph
Entry Fee
Applicable
Entry fee information
Indians Adults: Rs20, Indian Children: Rs10.
Foreign National Adults: Rs100, Foreign National Children: Rs50
Getting there
 The nearest airport is at Jaipur 220 km to the north. There is a good road south to Bundi.
 Car or taxi is convenient as it is just out of town.
 Local auto-rickshaw is convenient if you are staying in Bundi.
 Bundi has a railway station and is connected to Chittor, Kota and Agra.
 Kota is the main line railway station and is 36 km away. (KOTA)
 Good bus service.
 A visit would make a pleasant stop for a day’s bicycle hire before exploring along the lake.
Opening Days
Sunday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Public holidays
Opening Time
09:45 a.m.
Closing Time
05:15 p.m.
Other Information
The website says that opening times are 9.45am - 1pm and 3pm - 5pm but the board outside says it’s open all day.
Interesting things about the Museum
1. The location of the Museum is private and tranquil and worth a visit just to enjoy the lake. The Museum appears to have no staff other than a couple of Home Guards. The Superintendent at Kota has additional charge for Bundi but rarely visits.
2. There is a collection of sculptures outside the Sukh Mahal which have all been dredged out of the River Chambal at Keshoraipatan which is an ancient sacred city in Bundi district. Since a religious carving couldn’t be buried or thrown away when broken it was immersed in the river. Bajri mining of river beds using flat boats is traditional at Keshoraipatan and as they bring up a sculpture, it is added to the collection at Sukh Mahal.
3. It is recommended to buy a composite ticket and make the effort to find the 84 Pillared Cenotaph which is now hidden from the main road. Raja Rao Anirudh Singh built this beautiful monument in memory of his dhai bai, that is to say the son of his wet nurse with whom he was reared and who was treated as part of the Royal Family. There are carvings of the famous Bundi elephants on the friezes around the monument as well as other animals and religious themes. It is set in a secluded and peaceful garden.
Most uninteresting aspect of the museum
Visitors need to know that they will be charged at the gate to enter the Sukh Mahal and offered a composite ticket which can be used with Raniji-ki-Baori and the 84-pillared Cenotaph over two days or you can buy a single ticket for the palace and garden.
But the entrance fee to the Government Museum is separate and visitors will have to pay again when they reach the museum.

Seating facilities
Yes
Elderly friendly
Yes
Name of Museum Surveyor
Victoria Singh
Verified
Yes