Shimla's museum to showcase miniature paintings

India Gazette (IANS) Friday 20th April, 2012

The state museum in this Himachal Pradesh capital, a repository of the state's rich cultural, artistic and archaeological heritage, Friday got a new block to showcase rare miniature paintings.

Inaugurating the block, Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal said the museum would attract more tourists visiting this town, once the summer capital of British India.

Dhumal, who also holds the tourism portfolio, said over 20,000 tourists, including thousands of foreigners, have been visiting the museum every year.

'With the addition of new block more space would be available to showcase the cultural heritage of the state,' he said.

The new block was constructed at a cost of Rs.5 crore in a typical hill architecture, with wooden work carried out in an artistic manner.

'Pahari' miniature, Himachal jewellery, Rajasthan miniature, contemporary painting, numismatics and anthropological sections have been added to the museum, Manisha Nanda, principal secretary language and culture, told IANS.

She said a special section on Himachali culture would soon be dedicated to the visitors.

Besides exhibits, a laboratory has also been established to conserve and preserve antiquities and manuscripts.

The museum's archaeological gallery has a collection of stone sculptures from different parts of the state.

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