Waking Life: June 2006

Friday, June 09, 2006

Museum Road!

Have you ever turned left after Church Street and wondered why this road is called Museum Road, even when there are no Museums on it? I did, so here is what I dug up. Thanks to Deccan Herald.

The Government Museum on Kasturba Road.

One of the oldest museums in India, began as a private collection of sculptures and other art de facts of Reverend Benjamin Lewis Rice, director of Archaeological Researches, compiler of the Mysore Gazetteer, and ex-principal Bangalore High School. This mild-mannered self-effacing man, passionate about the state’s history, and Kannada literature, bequeathed the collection to ‘the people of the state’.

In 1865 Rev. Rice had this collection in a bungalow close to Church Street. To see it one followed the trail that eventually became famous as ‘Museum’ Road. As items kept being added to the ‘museum’, it was decided to shift this impressive collection to a larger facility. Colonel Richard Sankey addressed the issue by designing and building a stunningly beautiful facility on Sydney Road (now Kasturba Road).

Another Tidbit: There is also a Rice Memorial church on Avenue Road.