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A ticket to Pondy’s past
 A century-old heritage building houses the youngest museum in the country. The past is brought to the present as one steps inside the Pondicherry Museum which was established in 1983.
The great Tamil rulers, various gods and goddesses, spiritual visionaries keep watch as we commoners enter the building. The green, wet grass, tall tress, the perfect statues all hypnotise us.
It was as if I had stepped into a Time Machine and I was transported to another era where India was rich and prosperous. The first item that draws the crowds is ‘Pousse Pousse’, a very large vehicle. The very name ‘Pousse Pousse’, meaning ‘Push Push’, indicates that this coach is a French-styled one. This dates back to the 19th century. Everyone of us was awed by the grand vehicle and I definitely fantasised being a French girl seated on ‘Pousse Pousse’ which would have been pushed by my driver while I steered it. A sound of the horn of an autorickshaw outside brought me back to reality.
The room was filled with several other forms of transport like the horse-drawn coach used in the 19th century, a magnificent cattle cart which was in use in the middle of the 20th century. My favourite was a perfectly made palanquin with beautiful wooden work. This was used by Thiru Nidarajapayer when he served the French Governor as
diwan.
I moved from the transport to the Numismatic Section. After all, money matters even if it is old. The display is a splendid collection of world coins. It ranges from French, French colonies, British, British Colonies and Indian coins. Coins with the faces of Napoleon, Louis XIV, Queen Victoria and Russian coins, to name a few, are part of this collection.
The lighting arrangements are brilliant and facilitate easy study of these coins. The earliest coin is the punch-marked coin dating to the 2nd century BC.
The currency note issued in Pondicherry during the French period (Indo-China Bank) is also on display.
 The next room has a beautiful bronze gallery. The panchaloha images of Lord Nataraja, Uma Maheshwari, the Amman of Thiruvandarkoil, Tiripurantaka and Tirupurasundari in the graceful tribhanga posture from Sorakudi (Karaikal) attest the skills of the Chola days.
Apart from the brilliance of Chola works, specimens of Vijayanagar and Nayak periods also adorn the room. There is a beautiful threesome image of the Saivite saints, Appar, Sambandar and Manickavasagar. The Manickavasagar idol bears an inscription at its bottom, which may be ascribed to 13th century AD.
Apart from human and divine forms, the treasure trove includes pooja articles and a few hangings lamps. Now I understand why Pondicherry Museum’s bronze collection is considered one of the best in the world.
From the bronze gallery I went to the backyard to be welcomed by the Pallava and Chola sculptures. The granite panel of ‘Omkarasundariyar’ or ‘Mahishasuramardini’ and Lord Subramaniar from Embalam are the earliest specimens of Pallava sculptures. It was really amazing to see how the works of the past are well-maintained even in the open yard.
 There are also figures of Buddha, Nandi, Dakshinamurthy, Suryadevar, Lingothbhavar, Uma Maheshwari, Bhairavar and Amman, all unearthed by archaeologists from in and around Pondicherry and Karaikal. All these clearly show that Pondicherry is a very old city whose history goes beyond the French period. This independent, harmonious town of today has a great past which is credited to the Cholas, Pandyas, Pallavas, Vijayanagar period and who knows what still lies buried under the sands!
From there I moved to the archaeological section. This room captures the Pondicherry which existed 2,000 years ago. At the time the city Puducheri was called Poduke by the Romans, who, like the other half of the world, were engaged in active business with the town. The exact point where the actual trade happened is only 8 km away and is locally known as Arikamedu (Mound of ‘Arukan’ or ‘Arukkumedu’ site constantly subjected to erosion).
The interesting collection is displayed beautifully with appropriate labels. The eye-catchers are definitely the Roman pottery. They look like our own local pottery sprayed with bold colours of red and orange and black with inscription. Also on display are spouted vessels, shards and fragments of imported and local amphorae with patches of dried up sediments of wine, beads of glass, seashells, shell bangles, terracotta ear studs, pendants, toys, semi-precious stones such as cornelion, amethyst and quartz, a rare intaglio, bricks, ovens and tiles. There are also seals, moulded terracotta stamps, wooden mallets, stone tools, crucibles used for melting glass, etc.
 Apart from this, the burial urns also attract attention because these were used by our ancestors to burry the dead. The general tendency of tourists is to peep inside these urns with a curiosity of finding something about the dead. Thus these burial urns, Megalithic burial pots, from the pre-historic sites of Muthirapalayam, Pillayarkuppam, Bahour, etc., are still a chilling fantasy to all who come here.
This room, which has arrested within its four walls a 2,000 years of history, is the second most attractive spot. The display of beautiful glass-making techniques, minute, attractive craftsmanship on pots and urns is not only breathtaking but makes us wonder how efficient their workmanship and technologies were.
I climbed up the stairs for a brush with French culture. The walls of the staircase were decorated with magnificent bows and sharp arrows.
 As I climbed up, I had a certain imagination running in my 70 mm screen about the French-India gallery. This is because the section is judged as the best by the visitors and the pamphlets hail this as “seen nowhere in French-India”.
The very entrance made me pinch myself in disbelief: What I heard and read were not mere exaggeration. The beautiful statue of Dupleix, the most popular Governor of Pondicherry, and a serene Marianne statue representing Egalite, Liberte and Fraternite (Equality, Liberty, Fraternity) were the first impressions.
The furniture followed the statues. The consoles, settes, tete and tete (S-shaped sofas) comptoir (writing table), corner consoles, consoles with mirror… you name it, it is all here. All French, all regale, poise and definitely fashionable.
There is also a big piano, looking extremely aristocratic. There is a big huge almirah, elegant cutlery and crockery, porcelain plates, lamps, cute clocks and an impressive grandfather clock, liquor cupboard, decorative pieces which embellished the homes of Frenchmen in Pondicherry between 1673 and 1954.There is more…Vases. The room is full of vases: small, big, simple, decorative...
Dupleix is one of the heroes of Pondicherry history. People here are fond of him. This is reflected in the museum that ahs a replica of a chair used by him and a cot believed to have been used by him.
After seeing it all, I was still looking for more. A two ruppee ticket opened new doors of the past to me. A past to be remembered, to be inspired by and to move on to make a healthier future.
(The museum is closed on Mondays and holidays and there are no lunch breaks during weekends. The entrance fee is Rs 2 for adults and children below 14 years, Re 1. The visiting hours are 9.40 a.m. to 1 p.m., lunch break 1 p.m. to 2 p.m., and 2 p.m. to 5.20 p.m.)
N M Vidhya
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