Did somebody say a theatre craft museum?

Mandi House is known as theatre hub in Delhi but can you believe that a mega treasure trove of theatre crafts is actually situated beyond the hub?

If one crosses the railway bridge behind Mandi House, the path leads to Deen Dayal Upadhyay Marg which houses not less than 5,000 craft objects in the little known Srinivas Malliah Memorial Theatre Crafts Museum, curated by none other than the late Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay.

This treature house of theatre crafts is difficult to locate on a first visit as this building numbered 5 on DDU Marg is inexplicably placed next to  210! The empty reception and its forlorn chair, past the brown entrance door, is a sign of things to follow. The wall behind the reception area contains puppets, masks and handicrafts. Welcome to the ‘neglected’ world of craft!

Established in 1968 by Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay, a freedom fighter and also the first president of World Crafts Council, the museum changed many locations before it finally settling down on DDU Marg, donated by Jawaharlal Nehru. The lady travelled all over the world and bought exquisite pieces of crafts which led to the present extensive collection of the museum that she dedicated to the memory of her friend and freedom fighter, Ullal Srinivas Malliah, a patron of rural crafts.

One glance beyond the reception leaves one amazed at the display of life-size mannequins attired in traditional theatre costumes, props, ornaments and weapons from various regions of India. Each one is marked with its individual descriptions. A huge sculpture of Bhuta (Karnataka tradition) is placed in the centre with smaller Bhutas in front. Harpal, the manager who has been associated with the museum virtually since its inception, informs, “Bhutas were worshipped in caves of Karnataka and dancers used to perform in front of them.” A walk around the gallery leads to ornaments and props from Benaras’ Ramlila and Macha’s Nautanki pinned on a black board or kept in cupboards encased in glass. Kathakali dancer mannequins and Manipuri dancers dressed as Krishna and Radha are all worth a look. But an elaborate darbar of Ravana gifted by Maharaja of Benaras in 1961 is a must see.

However, this is just a peep into this mammoth world of Indian theatre crafts as there is a compact puppet gallery and a storage cum display area for masks and craft items. Up the stone stairs and you are welcomed by the Shadow Puppets of Lord Ganesha and Lord Vishnu from Karnataka. Inside is a paradise for puppet lovers with puppets of Pandavas from Bengal, string puppets in wood from Tamil Nadu, wood and papier mache glove puppets from Kerala, string and rod puppets from Andhra Pradesh (in which the nayika’s eyes move) and the popular Katputli from Rajasthan. The thick black shadow puppets from Kerala have intricate designs made by punching. Each group of puppets has a story to narrate and the characterisation is mentioned on the side along with their dates of acquisition.

The mask gallery has gone beyond the country boundaries and displays works from Japan, Korea, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Indonesia apart from an extensive collection from all parts of India. Masks in all sizes and shapes made of wood, papier mache, metal and other materials are available here but “due to unavailability of space, all cannot be displayed,” rues Harpal.

These 5,000 pieces are documented and preserved with a lot of patience. The crafts are exposed to sunlight annually and also preserved with the help of neem leaves and naphthalene balls. 

After all this hardwork, the museum todays has only one or two visitors in a day and that two mainly foreigners. However Harpal is hopeful that, “with the rising appreciation of visitors, the significance of these crafts will rise in future.”  All said and done, the dust on the crafts shows the sad state in which this treasure trove lies!