Hi!
A bit about myself, as mandated.
This is Sudha from Vadodara, Gujarat, India.
After almost four decades of teaching, I am now enjoying a "retired from work" phase!
A friend goaded me to write five things about a museum I have visited.
Well, here I go:
A couple of months back, I made a trip to Egypt which was always on my wish list. In Cairo there is an Egyptian Museum of Antiquity where I spent considerable time, but could have easily spent more. Most recommended for anyone interested in history, anthropology and such things.
The five things about this museum that have stayed with me:
1. The respect for the dead and the belief in afterlife: This is seen everywhere very prominently in Egypt. The majestic pyramids, obelisks and the ritualistic burials. And the mummies. Since childhood, I had heard of Egypt as the cradle of civilization. And when I landed in Baroda ( officially Vadodara) I saw the first mummy here in the local museum.
Intrigued and fascinated I was, wondering whose embalmed remains were those. The tiny finger of one foot of the mummy lay uncovered and generated awe in me. Now at the Cairo museum there was a room to house the " royal mummies". Special charges to enter it and strictly no photography. The revered displays haunt you forever, with each mummy telling us the story of a life and often a way of dying. And reinforcing
their belief that our forefathers are always alive and around us.
2. The powerful Egyptian women:
Striking to note the equally exalted, if not more exalted, place of women specially the royal ones. Great queens, administrators and commanding women. With doe shaped eyes, long necks and exquisite adornments, they must have been very beautiful also.
3. The gold, glitter, opulence:
The sheer magnitude of riches, gold of unthinkable quality and quantity strikes you hard. The burial caskets of Tutenkhaman specially. Also makes one wonder how such rich and advanced culture and civilization took the
ravages of time and plunderers, and became history.
4. Intricate and aesthetic art work:
One wonders how such a long time ago, this civilization that flourished by the Nile could attain such levels of precision and beauty in their craftsmanship, in gold, other metals, stone and precious stones, among others.
5. The animals and birds:
Cats and dogs and falcons and many such creatures are integral to their ancient native culture and even revered. They happily coexist, in numerous displays at the museum. The whole experience of spending time at this museum stays with you. The artefacts which give
you a glimpse into an ancient, very evolved but now lost way of life keep bringing uncomfortable questions to your mind even long after you have wound up your visit.
Go experience it for yourself!