Kalaburagi, 18 May

The museums in Kalaburagi offer a glimpse into the rich history through a collection of rare documents, texts and artefacts. As 18 May marks International Museum Day, here’s a peak into what they offer.

Notable museums in Kalaburagi include the Science Centre Museum, the Government Museum located in the premises of the Archaeology Department, and Ayaz Numismatic Art Museum and Research Centre.

“Today's generation can explore our ancestral history through the display of traditional objects and photographs,” Ayazuddin Patel, founder of Ayaz Numismatic Art Museum and Research Centre. “This research-oriented museum contains coins in circulation from ancient times to the present day, both from India and abroad.”

These museums house a rich collection of ancient coins, historical photographs, scientific and technological inventions, and relics from prominent South Indian dynasties such as the Satavahanas, Chalukyas of Badami, Rashtrakutas, Kalyani Chalukyas, Kalachuris, Bahmanis, Adil Shahis, and Nizams, all of whom ruled this region. The displays include several ancient artefacts and historical monuments.

“Museums are treasure troves of knowledge,” said Rajaram, Assistant Director, Archaeology Museums and Heritage Department. “Through the collection and exhibition of ancient artefacts, they help cultivate value-based knowledge.”

At the Kalaburagi Government Museum, items dating from 4000 BCE to the modern era include sculptures, inscriptions, coins, weapons and manuscripts. There are also 1st–2nd century terracotta beads and stone idols.

The museums also showcase stone inscriptions in Brahmi script from the 1st–2nd century related to Buddhism, with others in Sanskrit, Devanagari, and Old Kannada dating to the 15th century.

A copy of the Persian epic Shahnameh by Ferdowsi, along with palm leaf and paper manuscripts, is also preserved there.

From the Raichur district's Maski area, Stone Age and Neolithic tools such as stone axes and hand tools, iron arrowheads, clay pots, and shards have also been collected.

International Museum Day is celebrated to raise awareness about the importance of museums as a cultural exchange and develop mutual cooperation and peace among people.