Museum gets 13K visitors annually, mostly students; missing labels leave visitors with bad taste
In a shameful revelation, the Gujarat Vidyapith Museum has been found to have ten Charkhas (spinning wheels) on display without any information about the artefacts, even with the administration. The incident came to light when a DNA reporter visited the museum and found that the museum authorities did not have any knowledge about the exhibits on display. The Charkhas were brought from different states across the country.
The museum is located in the building whose foundation of laid by Mahatma Gandhi in 1920. The building houses one other museum besides Gujarat Vidhyapith museum. The museum gets around 13,000 visitors annually, most of them students. However, the missing labels leave the visitors with a bad taste.
Even the registrar of the museum admitted that they did not know much about the Charkhas on display. "We have collected the Charkhas from different place, but we don't know about the period," said GV Rajendra Khimani. "So we haven't mentioned anything about different Charkhas. We have simply put them in a general display." The caretaker of the museum said he did not know where the Charkhas were brought from, or to which period they belonged. "The articles in the museum have been brought here from different states like Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, etc," said Pravin Parikh, the caretaker of the museum. "But as I have joined this place two years back I can't say which Charkha is from which place."
A Charkha is a spinning wheel traditionally used in India chiefly for cotton. It was transformed into an iconic symbol by Mahatma Gandhi who was often seen spinning khadi on his Charkha at public meetings.
LABELING IN MUSEUM
- Putting a note on any article displayed in a museum is for its identification. People visit the museum for knowledge to gain something.
- “There must be a short, long or informative label. The label tells signification or the concept of the object. It is like we all have a name for identification,” said Rafiqua Sultana, museum curator said.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
 "Charkhas")
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}