Ancient history blends with tech at Nehru Centre’s 30-year gallery

On the wall of a prehistoric cave in Worli, three flatscreen TVs rest. Prashant Patil, who stands sentinel nearby, tells us that the videos they show are sepia-toned. "If they were in colour, people would probably not notice," believes the young guard, urging us to turn on the third TV in his eyeline. "It shows a video on Harappan civilization that is low-resolution. Not 1080 pixels," says Patil. "That adds to the feel."Technology and chronology are among the things visitors will soon encounter at the quarter-century-old Discovery of India (DOI) Exposition, a 10,000-square-ft permanent fixture at Worli's Nehru Centre. It was established to provide a panoramic view of India's artistic, intellectual, and philosophical evolution through the ages. In a state-funded Rs 4-crore project, the Exposition is being revamped for the first time in its 30-year existence.Set up at Rs 9 crore by the state in the unmistakable latticed cylindrical building near Nehru Planetarium, the hall boasts over 50,000 exhibits spread over 14 galleries. Replete with three-dimensional replicas of major architectural and artistic works, photographs, dioramas, and audio-visuals, it attracts hordes of students, tourists and delegates who traverse its maze of sections that have been divided historically as well as architecturally."After the Nehru Centre was built as a memorial to Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, the thought of conveying the 'idea of India' by presenting India's history for beginners led to the establishment of this space," says Satish Sawhney, CEO of Nehru Centre. The exposition, designed by the National Institute of Design, derives its name from Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru's 1946 book 'The Discovery of India' and represents a collage of India's achievements from prehistoric times to Independence."Initially, it was meant to be a temporary five-year exhibition as it is made chiefly of plywood. But thanks to the maintenance department of Nehru Centre, it has endured 30 years," says Sawhney, adding that natural deterioration of the wooden panels and props made the management contemplate an overhaul earlier this year. "The idea is to make it as historically accurate as possible," says Sawhney, crediting the "intellectual input" of academic consultant Radha Kumar, professor of ancient history at St Xaviers' college, for the progress in work so far.Since April this year, Kumar has been rewriting and editing the information panels in the ancient history section of the gallery, which commences with a dark cave "that kids often shudder to enter," as security guard Patil puts it. Lit by unflattering white light, the section lacked both lustre and structure. Currently, a line of schoolgirls in grey is watching wooden panels being replaced by fireproof, termite-proof, and withering-proof aluminium honeycomb replicas.Digital information panels, maps, and replicas of exhibits such as the priest-king are being added to give students a visual glimpse of Indian mythology and heritage. "We want to give a holistic visual representation of Indian culture," says Kumar, who organised the periods spanning Vedic to Mauryan neatly into categories such as spiritual, social, economic, educational, and political."The Vedic gallery took a lot of time as we don't have any literal, solid archaeological sources," says Kumar, who referred to books, several of which were available in the Nehru Centre's sprawling library, to coax visitors to "look at the Vedas strictly as a source of knowledge" by speaking about the five natural elements, the Panchamahabhutas, and the Bhumi Supta—"a very important hymn from the Vedas, which talks about the glory of land," says Kumar. "It's about time that we also realise how systematically our lives were categorized," says Kumar, standing near the panel that now shows the four stages of Vedic ashram life. Scenes from the Indian epics, Ramayana and Mahabharata, are also part of the territory.Kautilya, the Prime Minister of Chandragupta Maurya, Kumar says, was conspicuously absent from the Mauryan gallery before she drafted him in. The deers and five disciples of Gautama Buddha at the section showing Sarnath—where Buddha is believed to have taught his first sermon after attaining enlightenment at Bodh Gaya—also came from Kumar's input and experience as a history professor for three decades. "Textbooks fail to hold the attention of children as the impressions are not very clear. But if you're coming, you're living that period and walking through that period," says Kumar, who saw a group of students fascinated by her chunky jewellery praise the paintings and 3D artefacts, especially the gurukul system in the Vedic age."This is not a place where you're looking for academic research or real sculptures. This is an exposition. It's meant to ignite curiosity," says Kumar, who plans to hold interactive workshops for children when the gallery is ready.