Red Fort museums to wear a new look

New Delhi: With a view to offering visitors a peek into the country’s independence movement, the colonial, and the Mughal times, the buildings and museums inside the Red Fort will see a makeover, with the ASI coming up with a number of exhibitions by the end of the month.

The latest in a series of exhibitions proposed by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is on the influence of arrival of European artists in the 16th century until the independence of the country on the Indian art.

“We want to see what influenced the Indian school of art with the advent of the Europeans in India in the 16th century onwards. When two cultures meet, there is always some effect of both on each other and that is what we want to explore through this exhibition," said an ASI official.

An Expression of Interest (EoI) for the exhibition, to be held at B4 building of the Red Fort, was issued last month.

“It will go for at last 12 months in the first phase, then we will see the public opinion and decide further,” the official said.  

Other exhibitions coming up on the Red Fort premises include the revolt of 1857 and another one called, ‘Azadee Ke Deewane’, which will showcase known and unknown freedom fighters during the war of independence.

“So many people are coming to the Red Fort and the renovation of these museums is to offer some perspective on the old times. For example, in ‘Azadee Ke Deewane’ to be held at the erstwhile Swatantra Sangram Sanghralaya museum, we want the people to live through the stories of these martyrs and go with tears in their eyes,” he said.

The museum, which displayed artefacts from 1857 to 1947, is undergoing conservation and will also focus on the Revolt of 1857.