Go for the bronze @ Government Museum - Egmore, Chennai

So, mission accomplished. Government Museum Chennai- Egmore. Value for money @ Rs. 15. And all that money goes to the bronze gallery (one of the 6 galleries), though I must say there are 2 more that I need to visit. For starters, the bronze gallery is air conditioned, so it certainly has a head start, but there are some interesting parts of the bronze gallery that deserve credit.

Now, the bronze gallery was very well lit. Glass enclosures, with neat mirrors and focus lighting helped appreciate the intricate art work. The link to the gallery - (http://www.chennaimuseum.org/draft/gallery/b3.htm).


It was good to start with the first gallery, which has stone sculptures. The notes there are crisp and small. So, without really bogging the visitor, it tells how to differentiate among Pallava, Chozha and Vijayanagar art forms. For people like me who have lost touch with all this, it is pretty informative. Just a look at the sacred thread (number of strands, where the sacred knot in the thread is) worn by the Lord/ Divine mother can help identify the period of the sculpture. The stone sculpture gallery is just 2 floors.


The bronze gallery starts with wonderful sculptures of Lord Tripurantaka (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tripurantaka). Lord Shiva is seen wielding a bow (and a smile) before he embarks on the destruction of Taarakaaksha, Kamalaaksha and Vidyunmaali (and the ego of the gods, who think its because of them that the Lord will be able to defeat these invincible demons).

Now, Vishapaharana is one form of Lord Shiva that I had not known before. Here, the Lord is in a seated position with a snake in his palm. The snake is facing the Lord. Looks like the Lord will ensnare the poisonous snake of Maya for devotees who seek refuge in him.

There is a nice sculpture of Kannapa Nayanar. The details of his sword and Sandal show the intricacy of the art work.

There are a couple of sculptures of Goddess Durga, just as it in Patteswaram (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patteeswaram), complete with the shankam, chakram and the parrot on her palm. The details are striking.


The second floor of the bronze gallery is entirely dedicated to Lord Nataraja. Here is an idol, with the Lord standing on his right foot, just as in madurai, just that here there are only 4 arms. The sculptures differentiate Natesa and Nataraja. Natesa, i think, refers to the Lord of Dance (as an art form) while Nataraja refers to the Lord of Cosmic Dance. Nataraja is generally depicted with the encircling arc of divine fire, while Natesa shows dance mudras and is devoid of the encircling divine fire arc.

There is an entire section dedicated to Maha Vishnu. There is a wonderful sculpture of the Lord with four arms, shankam, charam and gadha. Wonderful to see such an image at close quarters.

There is Maha Vishnu in seated form, quite unlike that I have seen before. Here, the Lord is seen with 2 arms, with the shankham in the left palm and charam in the right palm. You have to strain your eyes to see both these, but is very pleasing to the eye.













The best was reserved for the last. There are 2 wonderful sculptures of Lord Hanuman. Firstly, he is seen with Lord Rama, Lakshamana and Sita. Here, he is seen in the pose of a disciple, with hand covering his mouth. Another idol is a shiny valiant form with hands folded.




You need a good 2 hour window to spend in the bronze gallery, but one occasion where bronze is better than gold :)