Allahabad Museum – A Huge Arena of Culture and Art

Located inside the famous Chandrashekar Azad Park, the Allahabad Museum is a national-level museum in Uttar Pradesh. Famous for its rich collection and exhibit of unique objects of arts, the museum is a must-visit, especially for its rock art gallery famous for the largest collection of prehistoric paintings.

Allahabad Museum – A Quick Glance

Famous for: Speciality Museum

Timings: 10:30 am – 4:45 pm (Closed of Gazette holidays)

Visiting time: 3 hours

Best time to visit: 11:00 am - 01:00 pm

Established in: 1931

Address: Kasturba Gandhi Marg, Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, India

Allahabad Museum – An Overview

Allahabad Museum is a wonderful platform for the tourists to offer an insight into the history, culture, heritage, and independence movement of India. The complex is surrounded by lush green gardens all around the museum, and the view is extremely pleasing and soulful.

The Allahabad Museum is famous for its rock sculptors, miniature paintings from Rajasthan, terracotta from Kaushambi, and some of the exclusive literary and artwork from Bengal School of Art.

The Collection and Artefacts in Allahabad Museum

The Allahabad Museum is a grand arena of some of the most exclusive collection and artefacts of the art, history, archaeology, architecture, environment, and literature. The museum has a contribution from the historic era of Harappan civilization, the artefacts of the medieval period, the carvings from the Gupta period and Khajuraho. From ancient history to the modern era encompassing Independence struggle of Indian against the British, Allahabad Museum is a complete treasure trove of Indian history.

Since the museum was established in the year 1931, it used to serve as a natural history museum. However, with time, the museum grew to be famous – thanks to its remarkable collection of terracottas, coins, stone sculptures, archaeological objects and paintings.

Rock Gallery at Allahabad Museum

Outside the museum, you can see a display of sculptures from archaeological sites, while the interior is a sculpture gallery with stone sculptures and terra-cottas from sites such as Gandhara, Kausambi, Sarnath, Pataliputra, Rajghat, Jhusi, Mathura, Bhumra, Jamsot, Khajuraho, Barhut, Ahichchhatra, Patna, Buxar, Chandraketugarh and other sites, and also include some stunning works from the Gupta period found in Madhya Pradesh, Buddhist pieces from Kausambi and Gandhara, and Shiva temple remains from Jamsot. The latest Rock Gallery inaugurated recently in the museum is mainly to showcase the pre-historic rock arts.

Paintings at Allahabad Museum

The museum also displays a number of Indian paintings dating back to the 15th century onwards, and includes some of the amazing arts the Mughal, Rajasthani miniatures, Pahari and Basohli School, and painters of the Bengal School of Art like Tagore, Jamini Roy, Asit Kumar Haldar, Sudhir Khastgir, Nandlal Bose, Kshitindranath Majumdar and the Rajasthani artist Ramgopal Vijayvargiya.

The Allahabad Museum also displays a huge collection by the Russian artist, Nicholar Roerich who was extremely passionate about the Himalayas. He had painted the mountain ranges in several canvases from his base at Naggar, Kulu Valley. He established the Roerich Centre of Art and Culture in Allahabad in 1930, and donated about 19 paintings to the Allahabad Museum. His works are on exhibit in the museum along with the same of his son, Svetoslav Roerich.

There is also a gallery for the Allahabad Museum green project, where you can witness the eco-life of the present and past in the digital form.

Memorabilia and Literary at Allahabad Museum

The Allahabad Museum exhibits a huge collection of memorabilia that includes manuscripts, letters of Jawaharlal Nehru and his autobiography. The “Gandhi Smrithi Vahan” displayed here in the museum was the Ford of 1947 that carried the ashes of Mahatma Gandhi.

The interested ones would find some of the exclusive works in Indian literature as reference material on many prominent Hindu and Urdu writers. Some of the other collections include archaeological treasures from arms and armour, decorative items, coins, excavations, textiles, work of art, etc.

History of Allahabad Museum

The Allahabad Museum was set up as a public library and a small museum by Sir William Muir and the Maharaja of Vijaynagar in 1878. It was set up with the help of donations from the Province British government. But the museum was soon shut down in 1881 only to be reopened by Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru in 1931 in the Municipal building under the office of Pandit Brij Mohan Vyas.

The majority of art and literary collections from Bengal School of art and ancient sculptors during this period were exhibited in the museum during this period when the museum was reopened. The present-day Allahabad Museum that we visit was laid by Jawaharlal Nehru on 14th November 1947 and was opened for public view in 1954.

Major attractions of Allahabad Museum galleries

A gallery with photographs to showcase the life and achievements of Mahatma Gandhi. In the same gallery, several coins and postal tickets are also displayed. All of these have been issued by different countries in honour of the Father of Nation at some point of time.

Gandhi Smrithi Vahan, the Ford (model 1947) that was used to carry the ashes of Mahatma Gandhi for immersion in the Sangam on 12th February.

Nehru Gallery is a must-visit if you want to explore more about the life of Jawaharlal Nehru.

A gallery exclusively for India’s struggle for freedom.

Chandrashekhar Azad’s pistol.

A huge collection of pre-historic paintings of India.

A carved chariot in sandalwood embellished with ivory sculptures of Krishna and Arjun.

A grand collection of modern paintings by contemporary and modern artists.

Tips to visit Allahabad Museum

Any objectionable items are not allowed to be carried inside the Allahabad Museum.

You can avail guide services exclusive for the tourists who are eager to know about the artefacts and exhibits in detail.

A fully air-conditioned library with more than 25,000 books and literary work is available for students and scholars.

There is an auditorium available with a seating capacity of 150 people.

Auto rickshaws and bicycles are available from nearby places to take you to the museum. However, there is no public transport available for the same.

Don’t litter wastes within the museum premises.

Allahabad Museum is a large museum with different galleries to please the history buffs and for those who want to explore ancient India and its varied culture. The museum is also a great platform offered for the book and literature lovers, and a great option who love to dig deep into paintings. It is a must-visit place for the entire family, including children.