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Bhuri Singh Museum of Chamba is a center of attraction for tourists and researchers

The Bhuri Singh Museum is the oldest museum in the Chamba region. The artefacts and historical documents present here are also a centre of special attraction for researchers and tourists to get acquainted with the rich tradition and glorious history of the district.

Museum chairman Narendra Kumar and technical assistant Surendra Thakur say that Bhuri Singh Museum is one of the oldest museums in India and was established in 1908 by the then Director General of Antiquities, John Philip Fogle, who came to Chamba at the request of Raja Bhuri Singh.

The Bhuri Singh Museum was established on September 14, 1908. Raja Bhuri Singh was the Raja of Chamba from 1904 to 1919. He donated family portraits and many royal objects of archaeological importance to the museum.

Seeing the heritage culture of Chamba, he suggested to the king that it is necessary to have a museum in the area in which these ancient heritage items can be preserved.

In this museum, objects dating from the second century to date have been preserved. He told me that this museum is unique in itself in that the Bhuri Singh Museum has the largest collection of Pahari Manachar paintings among all the museums in North India.

Bhuri Singh Museum currently has six galleries for visitors. Told that in the last 4 years, two new galleries have been established in the museum, which include the currency and anthropology galleries.

Presently there are six galleries in the museum, including separate galleries like the Archaeological Gallery, the Miniature Paintings Gallery, the Anthropology Gallery, and the Wood Art Gallery, which can be seen separately from the museum.

The museum has preserved more than 65 different types of the oldest historical material, which reflects the rich folk art and culture of Chamba. These include ancient inscriptions, copper plates, and manuscripts written in Sharda, Tankari, Bhoti, Gurmukhi, and Persian scripts.

Apart from this, miniature paintings, Chamba Rumal, the oldest coins from the 1st century to the 18th century, artefacts, Pahari ornaments, musical instruments, etc. are included.

More recently, on September 14, 2022, the world-famous Bhuri Singh Museum celebrated its 114th Foundation Day.

John Philip Vogel, the initial founder of the Bhuri Singh Museum in Chamba, was the then Director General of the Archaeological Survey of India. The basis for the establishment of this museum was established by combining the products of Raja Bhuri Singh’s Doordarshil and Chamba’s handicrafts, full of local arts.

This museum is one of the earliest museums in India. It is a regional museum. Presently, six galleries have been made for tourists in this museum.

In the first archaeological gallery, stone statues brought from the entire Chamba principality and samples of stone art used in temples have been kept. This shows the time and art from the 2nd century BC to the 20th century, and the Panghat rocks enhance the beauty of this gallery.

The other Chamba Galleries are mini-museums in themselves. In which miniature pictures, weapons and weapons of kings, precious gifts presented by foreign guests, painted walls and doors brought from Rangmahal, and a thousand-year-old deodar statue made of Mahatma Buddha have been kept.

Along with this, the world-famous Chamba handkerchief has also been kept here for tourists to see. In the third miniature painting gallery, one can see paintings by various artists from the 17th century to the 20th century.

The Bhuri Singh Museum is famous not only all over India but all over the world for its collection of miniature paintings.

On the first floor of the Bhuri Singh Museum, there is the Historical Documents Gallery, where you can see historical documents written in different scripts on stone, metal, and paper.

Whether it is the Mughal court or a land agreement with the neighbouring kings by the local kings, all kinds of documents are seen in this gallery. The speciality of this gallery is Yugakar Burman’s copper plate from 950 AD, which is the oldest copper plate in the museum.

Apart from this, 1000-year-old Sarahan Pusti can also be seen in this gallery. On the second floor, there is an atrocious gallery for tourists to see, in which people can see the objects of daily use of ancient art. can see

6th Mudra Shastra Gallery From the Mauryan period to modern India, you can observe all types of currencies.

In this gallery, the currencies of all the major rulers from ancient India to modern India have been compiled.

Apart from all these, a miniature painting exhibition room and ancient photographs of Chamba have also been preserved in the museum.

He told me that every year, 30 to 35 thousand tourists from the country and abroad come to visit this museum. The museum is always striving to preserve and promote the traditions and heritage of Himachal Pradesh and District Chamba.

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