New Delhi: For the first time in 66 years, the National Museum is going to open its gates for visitors at night.
A special walkthrough has been organised for World Heritage Day, 18 April. It will be led by Eric Chopra—an author, curator, public historian, and founder of the youth-driven Indian history platform Ithiasology—along with co-founder Kudrat Singh.
“History’s happening here. Be at the museum after-hours. For the first time, the National Museum’s door will be opened at night for a special walkthrough,” reads the Itihasology’s post on Instagram.
At the walkthrough titled Night at the Museum, an after-hours walk with history, Chopra and Singh will narrate the stories of the artefacts from different periods of history.
“We will take you from the arts of Harappa and Gandhara to the paintings from Mughal and Pahari ateliers,” reads the post.
On normal days, the National Museum doors close at 6 PM. But this event will be from 8-9 pm on 18 April. The museum collection has more than two lakh artefacts, and around 1.73 lakh objects have been digitised.
“The idea behind giving permission for this walk is to give a new experience to the history buffs at the National Museum. Across the world, museums are experimenting with new things. If the event is successful, many more events will be organised at night at the National Museum,” said a culture ministry official.
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What is Itihasology?
For World Heritage Day, all the seats are booked, and more than 500 people are on the waiting list to attend the event.
“An exciting weekend coming up,” said Chopra in an Instagram post. “For the first time, we are doing night at the museum. There is a long queue in the waiting list. I would still urge you to be part of the waiting list,” he added.
In the past, Itihasology has organised several walks at the National Museum focusing on different galleries and artefacts.
“Through these walks, we want to establish that we might think we know these artefacts, but it’s only when we start interacting with them that we realise so much more is waiting to be uncovered,” said Chopra in 2023.
The website of Itihāsology described themself as an inspired neologism that breathes new life into public history.
“Our work is driven by your curiosity and grounded in rigorous research. By enlivening Indian art and history, Itihāsology helps you see how the past shapes our today and all our tomorrows,” it reads.
(Edited by Ratan Priya)