Bahubali statue and the Manjusha museum

At around 5:30 pm, we strolled out for a walk. A cool breeze was blowing, and the weather was absolutely relaxing. It was already 6 pm. We went to the Bahubali statue, situated close to the bus stand. It was on top of a mountain, and we had to walk up 50 steps or even more. Though the ‘Bahubali’ statue was quite small, the atmosphere up there was great. The sun was a big round orange-yellow fruit; greenery was everywhere, which was filled with our fellow-monkeys. We took a few snaps of the sun, elephant statues, and then went on to the ‘mangalarathi’. There was a story of Bahubali, which I read. Not wanting to waste time, we returned back. It was about 6:30 pm. I spotted another Manjusha museum – the one filled with antiques. Mahesh did not seem to be interested in it, but nevertheless, we went there. The museum was simply superb – you should never miss it. You may afford to miss the’darshana’ but you should never miss this museum. There was everything there, mainly regarding the evolution of things man uses in his daily life. These are the few things I saw there:

Statues of various Gods

Preserves of the Indus Valley Civilization

Metallic idols

Ancient writings, the materials they used to write on etc.

Very very ancient coins

Lots of weapons used by the armed forces – these include swords which were 6 feet long, axes which were 2-3 feet broad, heavy weapons that a lay man can never lift and so on.

There was also a dagger called Jambia, a model of which was showed in AXN – Ripley’s believe it or not. It looks like a common dagger. But after stabbing a person, a lever opens two more blades of the dagger (inside the person’s stomach, cutting open his intestines). The dagger is rotated 1800, and then removed out from the stomach, only to ensure that the person is dead completely.

A canon used during wars

Old guns, pistols and revolvers, even those used by the cowboys of Mexico.

Ganjifa playing cards

Folk games

Ivory idols – these were absolutely beautiful

Paintings of Gods

Indian musical instruments – harmonium, tabla, sitar etc.

Domestic articles

Weights and measures

Locks and keys, some the size of a door itself

Lamps, some still working

Ornament boxes – a few were so beautiful, such creativity is rarely seen today

Silver necklaces, a few really huge

Silver girdle belts

Oil paintings of Mysore kings

Silver anklets and bangles

Articles of worship

Lamps and aarthis

Toys and other articles

There was a huge backbone of a whale. I really cannot say how huge it was, but it was certainly more than 35 feet long

A Grandfather clock

Evolution of spectacles – some resembled the night-vision goggles that we have to day in terms of the size

Evolution of pens – a few the size of a seal used in post offices

Evolution of clocks

A big camera, it resembled more like a canon or a missile launcher. It was that huge. It could never be carried around. But cameras today...........that’s what you call convergence

Art work using Belgium glass

Stoves, iron boxes

Fans run by kerosene

A 3-in-one, stove, heater and light, all run by kerosene

Telescopes, Binoculars

Swiss knives

A torch that was around 4 feet long

Medals

Books that were as small as our nails – Bhagavad-Gita, Shakespeare etc.

Western musical instruments

A Giant saxophone

Phones used during world wars

Military wireless sets

Evolution of radio, sewing machines, calculators, typewriters

Field cameras from London

Movie cameras, projectors

Life-like pencil sketches by S.N.Swamy of famous people

Nataraja statues

Lithography

ISRO – PSLV model

INSAT 2C 110 model

Dressing tables

Giant doors with lots of carvings

Gramophones

Gas masks

Intricate carvings on pencils

A muslin sari (6.5m) that could be fit into a matchbox

There was time constraint, or else, we could have spent more time there itself. We were out by 7:30pm. Even Mahesh felt that the museum was really splendid. We went for a stroll. Heggade’s brother’s daughter’s marriage was being held. The decorations, and the lights were amazing. This is what you call marriage. For a moment, we felt as though we were in the 15th century, under a king’s rule. It was around 8:15 pm. We had a ‘special meal’ that was very unspecial at ‘Sree Laxmi Kripa’. But, at least he gave us an ice cream. Then, we went back to the lodge. We packed our luggages. It was already 9 pm. We returned the room keys, looked one last time at the lodge for giving us shelter for the day, and strolled on to the bus top. It was around 9:15 pm.