'A curator's job is not just to pick objects for a show'

In November, Mumbaikars will get to meet Nesperrenub, a 3,000-year-old mummy. Actually he's ensconced inside a sarcophagus. But CT scans and 3D imagery have combined to produce a picture of Nesperrenub's bony remains. The mummy will be the chief attraction of over 80 Egyptian artefacts on loan from the British Museum at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya (CSMVS).
The show is the outcome of a partnership between CSMVS and the British Museum. Over the next five years, both museums intend to exchange artefacts and curatorial expertise. Neil MacGregor, director of the British Museum, was in Mumbai to address a leadership programme for curators from 12 Indian museums. "The Indian museums want to do things with partners from all over the world," MacGregor says. "They see themselves as part of the world stage. They are looking for international partners. And the links with London are old."
The Egyptian show was picked by CSMVS director Sabyasachi Mukherjee, who was impressed with the British Museum's collection when he visited in 2003. The Museum is known to have the best ancient Egyptian collection outside of Egypt. The show that is coming to Mumbai was previously mounted at the British Museum in 2004. It was a success chiefly because it reveals the story behind Nesperennub, who was a priest in 800 BC. While mummies have for years been X-rayed in CT scan machines, this was the first time the scans were used to create a 3D image. It was revealed that the priest died when he was in his 40s and that he was generally healthy but had bad teeth. "Everybody is fascinated by ancient Egypt," MacGregor says. "And through one person's life (Nesperennub), you can discover the whole world of ancient Egypt."
One of the areas the leadership programme addresses is ways of mounting a show in a manner that engages the public. MacGregor says that museum curators have to think of "ways of releasing the potential of collections to the big public". He adds that a curator's job is not simply to pick objects for a show but to use collections inventively to draw audiences.
The leadership programme has been organised by the National Culture Fund, a trust under the Union Ministry of Culture. The participants felt that such a programme was long overdue, as Indian museums, while they have superb collections, are languishing because they have no curatorial vision. "There is a lack of training, a lack of motivation and a lack of policy," says Manvi Seth of the National Museum Institute in Delhi. "It was about time the National Culture Fund took this initiative and about time the ministry thought about improving the conditions of museums."
Two of Mumbai's museums are already well ahead of their counterparts elsewhere in India. The Bhau Daji Lad Museum has had several major shows that draw on its collections in interesting ways as well as travelling exhibitions from the Victoria and Albert Museum with which it has a partnership. CSMVS too has a constantly changing roster of shows that are relevant to the city. MacGregor is particularly impressed with CSMVS's children's programmes and wants its curators to help the British Museum attract more kids. And Indians. "London is very much an Indian city," he says. "They're an important part of our public."
In the future, MacGregor hopes to show the British public artefacts from CSMVS, in particular its miniature paintings and sculpture. "Everyone sees India as an economic giant," he says. "The rest of the world wants to understand India, and the best way is to talk about its history."