Rail Museum Chennai, India.

A couple of weeks back I visited the Rail Museum in Chennai. There are both in house and outdoor exhibits in the Museum complex. The complex is spread around a small area, around which a toy train runs. I wanted to write a very detailed report of the models and exhibits but for now I will just post the pictures of the exhibits I liked the best.

I enjoyed the walk around the complex. This is a must for every rail enthusiast. 

Major plus point is you can actually climb into some of the engines and bogies displayed here.

To reach there just type 'Integrated Coach Factory' or simply 'Rail Musuem' into Gmaps. 

District Science Museum, Chemudugunta (Near Nellore)

A few weeks ago I set out to search and visit a museum whose existence I got to know from my colleagues at work. There wasn't much information available on the internet about it. So I had to go out with only two pieces of info. First that it lies on the Nellore Chennai highway and second that it lies not more that 15 km away from Nellore.

I  was on my way with this info and after crossing 10 kms I started looking around for any signs of a museum. But even after going past the 15 km mark I did not find any.At this point I saw a dhaba ahead.I stopped to have breakfast. I asked the waiter there about a museum nearby and he had no idea about it. A passerby heard our conversation and told he read about a museum in a local newspaper some days back and guided me the location. It was 5 km away on the same route I had come.I was a bit doubtful about the man's info but nevertheless I proceeded. At the village he mentioned I asked around and to my embarrassment I found that it was right on the main road with the gate clearly mentioning 'District Science Museum'on the top. 

I went inside the premises. A small three-storey building greeted me. There was a park in front of it containing many science models. I could identify the Pythagoras pump immediately. As I was parking my bike there, I saw a man walking over to me. I asked if the museum was open to which he replied it was and told me to first look around the park at the various models there ,which I did.

There wasn't much to look and the heat was getting me so after quickly taking a look I went inside. The man identified himself as Mr Siva Kumar, the Physical Education Teacher of the Govt School which was the initiator/caretaker of this museum.  He quickly showed me around each and every exhibit there. We went around all the exhibits on the all the floors. And were finished within an hour. The exhibits were good enough. But this was not in the strictest terms a museum. It was more of an Activity Center. Very good for the kids. A mildly exciting stroll for the adults.

Mr Siva kumar showing me one of the exhibits

Location- Beside Nissan showroom on the Nellore Chennai Highway.Just enter Çhemudugunta Science Museum' in Google Maps.

District Archeological Museum, Nellore.

Nellore has a Museum.Yes it does. Nobody, to whom I asked about this knew there was a museum in Nellore.Not the shopkeepers nearby my home, not the colleagues at office and not even the autowallahs. Everybody drew a blank at the mention of a Museum.Nevertheless I searched for it and made two attempts to visit it and on last Wednesday I got lucky. It was open.

Nellore District Museum is located in Saraswati Nagar on the Magunta under bridge road. It is a small red colored nondescript building. It houses some 7 sections. The first one has displays of tools of neolithic and paleolithic age which were found around Nellore. Second section has some terracotta and Bidri works.Then there is one where a number of swords and firearms are kept. For me only one section stood out. That was the one displaying coins. There were many coins of different eras and kings. The best were 6 coins of Roman period which were found near the coasts of Andhra Pradesh signifying the trade relations the people of Satavahana period enjoyed with the Romans. There are some Gold coins too on display.

The only other area of interest were a few pieces of Ming era vases and dishes.

This museum is only good for the local school kids for an introduction to archeology and History.  

Timings.

Quick Facts:
Location - Left side on the Magunta under bridge road leading to KVR petrol pump.
Timings- 10 30am to 5 00 pm.
Entry Fee - Rs3
Fee for Camera - Rs20

HAL Aerospace Museum.Bangalore,India.

Museum. A lot of people drop their plans to come along with me on a trip as soon as I mention the word 'museum'. Boring is what they label it.Which is a shame.Museums, like libraries are portals of time travel. They take you on journeys of the mind. I personally love museums and the very first thing I check out when I visit a new city is the museums there.So a few weeks back when I found myself in Bangalore to meet my friend Bhanu I decided to check out the HAL Aerospace museum. My friend thankfully accompanied me with no complaints.

The HAL Aerospace museum is situated on the Old Airport Road at the HAL premises. The parking is limited but we found a space nearby and comfortably parked our bike.We reached the place at around 10am.Our plan was to take in the exhibits slowly and spend an hour looking at everything.We were wrong. By the time we ended our tour we had spent close to 2 hours inside. 

The whole museum is divided into 6 Halls as this map displayed at the entrance shows. Hall 1 is a circular building which has 7 galleries around its circumference, which have photographs of major events of HALs journey from its inception to the present.Each gallery covers a decade. I was surprised to know that HAL was engaged in servicing of fighter jets of the allies during World war 2.There were pictures of Vultee vengeance bombers, Gnats, Maruts ,Vampires and many other planes.Also there are pictures of various dignitaries who have visited the HAL site.There are photographs of Kings of Iran,Iraq, Afghanistan and a lot of other countries.

Hall 2 has many models of Aero engines. This is a very informative area as one can see the cross sections of the engines.Also there is a Basant aircraft and a parachute ejection system model.The most interesting part for me was the Pratt & Whitney engine on display. The upper floor has two flight simulators.The on the left is for kids but from I heard even kids will be disappointed with it.  The one on the right was a bit enjoyable. The only thing that makes it different from the normal video games of aircraft is that you have a joystick in your hands and the seat tilts to the left and right as you make turns.

Pratt & Whitney Engine

The rest of the halls have many Aeroplane exhibits out of which only a MIG 21, a GKN Westland Helicopter and an Advanced Light Helicopter interested me. We wandered around all exhibits at our leisure and took our own sweet time in checking out each and every exhibit.

It was nice to see a crowd.

After this stroll of 2 hours we headed towards the well maintained cafe and had some snacks. There is a good shady place to sit and we enjoyed our break. Nearby was a small pond which had many small fishes darting around. Amusingly I found a larger crowd here than in front of any of the exhibits. That was a clear indication of the kind of interest we have towards Museum.


Quick Facts:-
HAL Heritage Centre and Aerospace Museum
Location - Varthur Main Rd, HAL GB Quaters, Marathahalli
Timings - 9am to 5pm.
Entry Fees - From HAL's website-
 

Entrance Fees(Adult)	Rs 50/-  per head
Entrance Fee(Students and Children upto 18 yrs)	Rs 30/- per head(with ID card )
Entrance Fee(Children upto 3 years)	Free
Physically Handicapped	Free
Still Camera	Rs 50/- per each
Video Camera	Rs 75/- per each
Basic Simulator Game	Rs 50/- per head
Motion simulator	Rs 100/- per head

 

Chandannagar,West Bengal

The French in the 17th Century established their colonies in five towns in India.One of them was Chandannagar in West Bengal. Curiously Chandannagar is the only colony which is not near the sea coast.Perhaps having a large river flowing by compensated the lack of a sea coast.

The Chandannagar Strand

It is a small town an hour 23km north of Kolkata. River Hooghly flows past quietly through the town.I am a huge fan of historical tourism and I have never been to a former French colony in India so I decided to check it out.Added to it was the call of a Indo French Museum.So last Sunday off I went to kolkata and from there took the 12 o'clock Bandel local to Chandannagar. I reached around 1 o'clock.Usually I take a walk around a new place.But not that day.The sun was fiercely shining overhead and I was already sweating bucketfuls from the train ride.So I flagged down a share auto and went to the one place which is famous in Chandannagar. The strand.The ride was through small narrow streets through the town.I was surprised to see a 'more' supermarket in one of the streets. There were some old buildings which looked like they belonged to the pre independence era but there was nothing spectacular.

The Indo French Cultural Centre

After a ride of a few minutes I reached the strand.My first priority was the Museum which I mentioned earlier.I walked along the strand with the river to my left and a row of old and beautiful buildings to my right.There was a college for girls,a police station,a government building, a church and finally I reached the museum.It was formerly the residence of one of the most famous governor general of French India, Joseph François Dupleix,It was converted into an Institute cum Museum and was called the Institute de Chandannagar or Indo French Cultural Centre. I had come with a lot of expectations but the museum did not live up to it.The layout is haphazard and the items are neither properly labelled nor arranged in any proper order.There are different sections including one on paintings,one has the bed of the governor general,one has books and newspapers and one has weapons and arms.Like most of the museums in India it lacked enthusiasm.The lack of interest showed in the way the museum was maintained.

Of all the exhibits a few things were interesting like the newspapers from the 18th century.There was a french newspaper which had one front page advertisement in English about the a discount being offered for tickets on a ship returning to England.There were interesting books but nothing which stood out.I wrapped up my visit with some disappointment.

By the way their website looks like it is from the 18th Century -Click here.

Patalbari

Next I strolled around the strand for quite some time,I tried visiting the patalbari but was told that it is not open to visitors.The strand is almost a kilometer long with a set of the most beautiful buildings of Chandannagar here.Opposite the river Hooghly flows serenely.Here and there a fisherman's boat glides over the smooth flowing river.Lots of opportunities here for a photography enthusiast.I casually strolled here and there,took some pics,had a heavily scented biryani in one of the restaurants nearby and for sometime sat down on one of the numerous benches provided there.

A church on the strand

At around 4pm I decided it was time to go and I returned to the railway station.I walked half the distance and was lucky to stumble upon a beautiful building.For the next half I took an auto.I took another local train to kolkata.

The strand

A kid jumps into the Hooghly River

A beautiful building in the town of Chandannagar