Among the most popular museums in the country is Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya (CSMVS). Built in 1922, the institute — which showcases miniatures, sculptors and various other kinds of artefacts -- also houses the city’s first children’s museum. Conceptualised in 2014, this section is curated for and by children. The newly-built structure is located amidst a picturesque thicket of trees and merges seamlessly with the surroundings.

Called the Children’s Heritage Museum, it hosts film screenings, storytelling sessions, poetry clubs, panel discussions and dance and theatre performances to educate those below 18 about Indian art and culture. It also holds exhibitions curated by children from varied socio-economic backgrounds. Designed by architect Rahul Mehrotra, the museum’s interior shares space with mango and palm trees, their top branches rising through the ceiling. The interiors are also flooded with sunlight. The CSMVS has created an open and experimental platform with exhibits that seek to draw children’s attention to art and architecture — by taking them out of the classroom and away from textbooks.

Paul Noronha

Looking back: A 21st century Gond painting by Venkat Raman Singh, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh

Swept away: Part of the museum’s ‘Environmental Consciousness’ theme, a cloth painting by Anvar Chitrakar features a demon as the tsunami that destroyed lives and livelihoods. Inked below are the human activities that aided the destruction

Queen’s command: A 20th-century print of Jhansi’s Rani Lakshmibai shows her holding a scimitar, displayed under the theme ‘Courage’

With love: A wall in the museum honours its young curators

Fellow denizens: Bronze sculptures of animals belonging to different periods of Indian art history displayed at the museum

As wheels turn: A girl looks at a 20th-century polychrome woodwork from Gujarat

Tree of life: The museum is a modern glass-walled structure combining the indoors and outdoors. The centrepiece of the 1,200 sq ft multipurpose hall with a reading corner is a tree trunk that soars through the roof

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In union: Bronze statues of Madiya tribals from Chhattisgarh performing their traditional dance
Photo: PAUL NORONHA
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