The museum's just-opened renovated Miniature Painting Gallery showcases paintings that make your jaw drop at their attention to detail, a 2,000 year-old Persian translation of the Panchatantra, and a computer kiosk that lets you try your hand at miniature motifs on a greeting card to carry home

There's more than just one good reason to head to the recently renovated first floor of the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya, which reopened less than a fortnight ago on August 12.

The Miniature Painting Gallery gives you a glimpse of paintings that date as far as the fourth century as well as of the legendary composer-musician, Miyan Tansen, who was known as one of the 'jewels' of Emperor Akbar's court.

Here, you can also admire a centuries-old copy of the Panchatantra and take a look at an installation of the Zenana or harem of the Mughal times.

"These cases prevent the paintings from ageing or catching fungus that can sometimes be a result of fluctuations in temperature."

The paintings depict scenes from everyday life as well as portraits of known personalities. "Looking at them, we can learn about the lifestyle, social history, and economic background of the people at the time," explains Mukherjee.
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Paintings from Western India, Eastern India, Mughal, Rajasthan and Pahadi schools find representation here. A striking feature of miniature painting is the attention to detail.

"We have been able to identify every species of tree shown here," says Mukherjee, pointing to one of the paintings depicting a courtyard scene.

There is also a portrait of the legendary Miyan Tansen, considered among the greatest poets and musicians of Hindustani classical music. "There aren't too many portraits of Tansen, and not many people know what he looked like," says Mukherjee.

Highlights of the display include a 2,000-year old copy of the Panchatantra translated into Persian. In the attempt to make the collection 'relevant' to modern times, folks at the museum have created an installation of the Zenana the part of the palace or house reserved for the women of the household alongside the painting itself.

Fabrics and weapons from the period lie encased in boxes above the paintings they are relevant to and towards the centre of the gallery, you can see the tools used by artists to draw their masterpieces. There's also a step-by-step guide to drawing your own miniature, with details on the dyes used. Did you know for instance, distilling animal urine, made the yellow dye!

u00a0The gallery also has a computer kiosk, where you can learn about the fundamentals of miniature painting as well as the history of the time. Before leaving the gallery, you can create your own souvenir, either by stamping a greeting card with a motif of your choice for a nominal charge of Re 1 or run a stylus (electronic pen) over a stencil to create your own miniature masterpiece that costs Rs 10 for a printout.u00a0

At: Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya, MG Road, Shahid Bhagat Singh Marg,
Kala Ghoda, Fort.
Call 22844484

Nainsukh was among the few miniature painters known to sign his name, not a convention of the time.
His paintings were done under the patronage of Raja Balwant Singh (1742-1763 CE) of Jammu or Jasrota.
Nainsukh devotedly recorded the everyday activities of Raja Balwant Singh, who is depicted being shaved
here. He immortalised the otherwise little-known king through his portraits depicting him in various moods and activities.

ANWAR-I-SUHAYLI is a Persian translation by Vaiz Kashifi of Kalilah-wa-Damnah, an Arabic version of the Panchtantra. Akbar disapproved of the florid language of Anwar-i-Suhayli and later got it translated into a simpler version called Iyar-i-Danish.

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