Chennai Museum

Chennai has an impressive colonial era museum spread over several acres of prime land and housed in many buildings ranging from red brick to modern buildings.The collection is formidable too. However, when I visited a large section of it was closed for renovation. Added to that poor signage and an exhorbitant Rs 200/- for photography did'nt help matters much. The staff repeatedly interrupted to check my photography ticket at least seven times, and sometimes twice in the same section. This was a major annoyance. I even suggested to one of the staff that they should have CSMVS, Mumbai style bright pink arm band for identifying those who had a valid photo ticket so that they can be identified at a distance. Predictably, he did'nt like it and told me that he was only doing his duty! The valuable collection is very poorly marked and only a visitor of academic motivations will be able to fully appreciate the riches. Again, unlike CSMVS, no audio guides are available. If you are a keen observer and have done some background research the Museum is really a treasure trove, but then for the casual visitor it is just miles of walking among pristine surroundings in unmarked routes and disinterested staff.

The impressive circular auditorium of Red Brick, sadly closed

Tall colonial era windows look majestic

A detail of stained glass window

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