Spring in glorious full bloom finds expression in an explosion of yellow on the Tabebuia argentea trees outside the Government Museum, in Cubbon Park, Bangalore. Many people don’t know that Bangalore’s reputation as a Gaden City, with its avenues flanked by serial-flowering trees that bloom in succession throughout the year, owes its origins to an obscure German botanist and garden designer, Gustav Hermann Krumbiegel. Krumbiegel held various botanical positions in the Kingdom of Mysore, including those of economic botanist and superintendent of Lal Bagh in Bangalore.
And let’s not forget the beautiful structure in red in the background, the Government Museum in Cubbon Park, planned and built by an Irishman, Sir Richard Hieram Sankey (yes, the same Sankey for whom the eponymous and now-landmark Tank is named). Sankey contributed to some of Bangalore’s most significant historical landmarks, including amongst other things, Cubbon Park, Mayo Hall, and St. Andrew’s Church.
The Government Museum here, established in 1865 by Mysore State, is one of the oldest museums in India and the second oldest museum in South India. It was first established at the British Cantonment's jail building. It continued to function there for 13 years until 1878. Since the jail building was considered not suitable for a museum, in 1877, it was decided to construct a special museum building near the Cantonment and the current site of the museum was identified for the new museum. The museum was popularly known as the Tamasha House (entertainment house) in the pre-Independence era.
Located centrally on Kasturba Road, the museum is flanked by the Venkatappa Art Gallery and the Visvesvaraya Industrial And Technological Museum. The museum is built in the neoclassical architectural style: it has two porticos on either side, Corinthian columns, circular arches, sloping eaves, and prominent sloping parapet walls.
The museum is now an archaeological treasure house and has a rare collection of archaeological and geological artifacts, including old jewellery, sculpture, coins and inscriptions. The museum is also home to the Halmidi inscription, the earliest Kannada inscription (dated around 450 AD).
Now, you didn’t know any of that, did you. If you live in Bangalore, you no longer have an excuse for not having visited this rare gem of museum. Plan your visit NOW!