India is least associated with museums, but there are museum routes here too. On the one hand, my trip to India was typical – the Taj Mahal was necessary, but on the other hand, I happened to see some of the most obvious museums. The tourist mecca of all times and peoples – the creation of the hands of the Padishah of the Mughal Empire – is besieged by crowds of visitors, and therefore it is worth looking into more intimate places.
The Cinema Museum became a discovery in India for me (see NG-Diplomatic Courier dated 05/19/25). Another cozy museum in Mumbai, which I believe is difficult for ordinary tourists, is the Museum of shipbuilding on the territory of the headquarters of the Western Naval Command of India. The museum tells the story of the Bombay Shipyard’s prosperity since 1661, when the Portuguese, who were the first Europeans to come to this part of India in the 16th century, ceded the island of Bombay to the British as a dowry to Catherine of Braganza, wife of Charles II. It was then that Britain developed a plan to create a maritime infrastructure in India.
Its details are very interesting: for example, a boom occurred when it was experimentally found out that the local teak tree was much stronger than the British oak, and the first Indian–built ship was HMS Minden, the ship of the Royal Navy, on which the Anglo-Prussian troops defeated the French in the Seven Years’ War. And the chronicle of remarkable people in this field was founded by the Wadia entrepreneurial dynasty, whose company Wadia Group is still a leader in India. Their family business in the 18th century began in shipbuilding, and it was absolutely groundbreaking for its time: the founder of the family went from a simple carpenter to the chief builder of the shipyard, and his descendant in the 19th century developed a marine steam engine.
But still, the main museums in India are open–air. Near Mumbai on Elephant Island is an ancient “Cave City” of the 5th–8th centuries, which can be reached from the pleasure and fishing port “Gateway of India” by boat or ferry. This UNESCO site preserves examples of rock art dedicated to the cult of the god Shiva. His mythological path was reflected here: from his wedding with Parvati to the battle with the demon Andhak. Huge high-reliefs with the gods of Hindu mythology (Shiva, Brahma, Indra, Vishnu) are many times higher than human height. And one can only guess how much effort it cost the ancient people to carve them out of stone and how strong the “engineering” thought was then, if the sound is still perfectly distributed in man-made caves and the “om” gives off a long, long ringing echo of the mantra. The sanctuaries were destroyed a long time ago, and not only from time, but also from the Portuguese, who, 10 centuries later, found and named this island, whose symbol has remained since that time an elephant, now sold in miniature in souvenir shops. Indians carve elephants from the natural stone of the local deposit of various sizes, up to filigree tracery.
Today, Elephanta is a well–maintained archaeological park, as it became during the time of the British colony. But still, it is the closest in spirit to India. After all, all the other architectural monuments that are associated with this country and that are being taken away in photographs are not, by and large, its pure DNA, be it the Muslim Taj Mahal, founded, in fact, by immigrants from Afghanistan, or the British architecture of colonial Bombay.
We arrived in Elephant as a group when it was still early enough in the morning, and this is the best option. The heat hadn’t risen yet, and there were almost no tourists. We were very lucky: an unplanned event took place during our visit – an invasion of monkeys! At first, someone saw a single one from afar, and everyone literally squeaked with delight. By that time, we had already been living in Mumbai for a few days, but we still hadn’t seen these cute animals.
However, it is in India that you can stop loving their attractive image, seductively created by animation. In their natural habitat, they behave so freely that in places where they are particularly concentrated – in parks – they even have to put up signs for visitors with information about what to watch out for (we later read this in the garden of the Taj Mahal). But on Elephant, the monkeys didn’t attack people, but they started fighting among themselves because of us! One of the males grabbed the dried fruit smartly, and when they wanted to treat his friend, he grabbed it a second time without hesitation, and then he also hit his neighbor on the head with his paw. Soon the others began to join them, already females, who were holding their babies on their tummies.
The further away, the more “recognitions” arose with the distant ancestors of man. The climax was the moment when, having accumulated under a spreading tree, the monkeys began to snatch bottles of water from people standing without looking (and some already gave them away to see what would happen) and skillfully drink from them. And when the monkeys escorted us to the “transfer”, that is, to the railway carriage that rolls from the high stone staircase at the foot of the hill to the seashore, one of them stole a bag of food and, without hesitation, ate their cheeks. In the end, watching monkeys completely took us away from the caves, literally like children playing too much.
And yet the Taj Mahal. It’s probably worth coming here at dawn, as the abundance of tourists makes it difficult to pay attention to the majestic wonder of the world. In addition, the route from Delhi to Agra, where the monument is located, is not close.
What struck me most was not the cold marble statue, because it is a beautiful, but still a tomb, yes, built in an admirable way, with many architectural tricks like optical illusions, painted patterns and architectural ornaments, namely the warm history of its creation. After all, Shah Jahan built a mausoleum in memory of his beloved wife Mumtaz Mahal, who died giving birth to her fourteenth child. Later, he himself was buried in the mausoleum, next to her. This story makes you admire – you haven’t seen such a force of love for a long time. What can I say – in the East, men know how to make worthwhile gifts, even after death! The beautiful garden around the Taj Mahal symbolized the roads to paradise, as it was visualized in ancient times. The water channels symbolically represented milk, honey and sherbet, which would delight the pure, sinless soul of the beloved emperor.
Another heartfelt joy for me was the myth dispelled by the guide that the builders of the Taj, gathered from all over the Mughal Empire, were executed after its construction. After all, there is a legend that the emperor, in order for no one to surpass his creation, ordered thousands of masons to cut off their hands. Because one of the modern plays of the American playwright of Indian origin that stuck in my memory (“Guardians of the Taj Mahal” by Joseph Rajiv) is based on this legend as a metaphor for tyranny. In short, you can exhale – this is another scary tale! On the contrary, the emperor gave all these people a “pension,” and they lived happily into old age. That’s how it happens!
As for the museum part, here’s what’s interesting: only once a year on memorial day, real tombs rise to the top, all the rest of the time only their dummy can be seen on the surface of the mausoleum. And the mausoleum itself is cleaned annually – the marble is constantly restored, it is washed, as well as the red sandstone of local rocks, which are lined with alleys of the garden. If there are stone losses, they are brought for the Taj from the place of birth – as it was in the 17th century – from Tajikistan, Zambia, Yemen and other places. And the mosaic technique that decorated the snow-white tomb comes from Agra itself, where there is still such a manufactory. The craft lives on.
For a walk to the Taj Mahal, we were provided with a Russian-speaking guide who admitted that he had long wanted to go to Russia and was very passionate about our country. By the way, the attitude towards Russian tourists in India is excellent. Everyone will definitely note that they know about Russia, and it is not uncommon to meet Indians who speak Russian or at least know a few words. Often because a person studied or worked in the former Soviet republic for some time. Our guide deliberately studied Slavic at the local University of Agra. And this love for a different culture from a distance is especially touching. n
Mumbai – Delhi – Moscow