Twenty- five Seven

INTERNATIONAL MUSEUM DAY

May 18, 2026

Today is International Museum Day, a fact that I came upon purely by accident when I put on the computer and was wondering what to do.

The weekend was unusually busy and I woke up with a head devoid of ideas on what to write – a rather sad situation since I have an assignment due in two days.

So even though I am still not inspired to get on with my assignment, I am inspired to write about Museums and what I like about them.

This is beginning to sound more school girlish than warranted but then Museums are all part of History, a subject normally one doesn’t bother about outside of school.

FROZEN IN TIME

Funnily enough, the only museum I actually saw as a school girl with my class was in Class 3 when we visited the Prince of Wales Museum. We were taken to see the ruins of Mohenjo-Daro when we were studying about the Indus Valley civilization. I was fascinated by the models and fragments of pottery encased in glass cases in a darkened room.

It looked almost the same when I took my children to see it after it was re-christened Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya. And it was still almost the same when I visited it with my grandchildren. Frozen in time like the objects displayed.

However, the museum is much better maintained now and organises wonderfully curated cultural events in its well-kept gardens. There is also a special museum for children and of course , a wonderful gift shop for souvenirs.

Currently, there are three exhibitions at the Museum to which I shall take the grandchildren during the summer break from school.

24th March – 31st Dec 2026

Metamorphosis II – Exhibition

17th April – Nov 2028

The Stone Age – Journey Through Time – Exhibition

12th Dec 2025 – Nov 2028

Networks of the Past – Exhibition

A CITY MUSEUM LIKE NO OTHER

One of my all time favourites is the Bhau Daji Lad Museum just outside the Jijamata Udyan or the Bombay Zoo at Byculla.

This quaint little museum has the strangest collection of objects, but they do tell a fascination story of Mumbai’s past.

MUSEUMS ABROAD

There was a time when I spent a large amount of time in Washington DC and since Prima Donna lived in Foggy Bottom, I used to visit all the Museums I could walk to.

I will, however, never forget my trip to the National Gallery where my young 3-year-old nephew ( at that time) kept asking “Mom, are we at the Rotunda?” On a later trip to the same museum, I told the children to look out for the most famous exhibits and only visit them.

MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING

The museum I was most disappointed with was the Louvre, which I was dying to see almost all my life. Perhaps, it didn’t live up to my expectations because I saw it soon after recovering from Dengue but I can never forget how let down I felt after seeing the tiny little picture of the Mona Lisa.

SOME UNUSUAL MUSEUMS

In most cities, you will find more than one museum. And some of them are dedicated to the most unlikely things.

I was gob-smacked when I saw the Aston Martin used by James Bond in the Spy Museum in Washington DC.

Similarly, I was quite taken in by the first shoe Ferragamo made for his sister that was displayed at the Museo Ferragamo in Florence.

Or the Earthquake Museum in Bhuj which is actually a memorial to those who died in the Bhuj Earthquake in 2001

THE CAIRO MUSEUM

The Egyptian Museum in Tahrir Square was the last museum I visited during my holiday to Egypt in 2023.

This was a fascinating place and I could have spent two days exploring the treasures of ancient Egypt.

We saw the Grand Egyptian Museum at Giza in passing. It was under construction at that time but scheduled to open later. But it only opened in November. 2025. This is supposed to be the largest museum ever devoted to one civilisation!

A most unusual museum was the Escher Museum at the Hague which is a small but fascinating museum featuring the works of the Dutch graphical artist M. C. Escher.

But quite recently, I heard of a museum that is a virtual museum: https://museumofmaterialmemory.com/

This is probably the best kind of museum to see – one which is accessible at will, with free entry and objects that tell very personal stories.

I could go on and on about more museums but I’m not about to make this about all the museums you can see.

Ciao,
ALL THE HYPE ABOUT MOTHER’S DAY

May 11, 2026

Now that Mother’s Day is done and dusted, I can finally say that I think it is a whole load of hype.

As a mother to two very competent mothers and grandmother to three adorable grandchildren, I can say that many of the messages I received yesterday quite honestly made me gag. Of course this is my personal opinion and may offend many women who aren’t mothers or those who have become mothers after much difficulty.

But, call me lucky or simply ungrateful, I feel that Mother’s Day puts mothers on a pedestal that frankly is largely overdone.

Suddenly, mothers with whom we’ve fought, argued, resented, bullied, and largely loved aquire the status of GODDESS. That mother who we rebelled against, whose appearance we commented upon whose attitude we objected to becomes that beacon of ALL THAT IS WONDERFUL AND BEAUTIFUL.

Come on!

It’s a bit much. Why can’t we adopt a more normal attitude towards mothers and not elevate them on a particular day, showering them with flowers, spoiling them with gifts and suddenly treating them with reverence on the second Sunday in May as an early 20th century at the initiative of Anna Jarvis, an American activist who apparently was so disenchanted with its unexpected commercialisation, actually tried to get it ‘Uncelebrated’!

Of course mum’s like to get that special hug, and feel appreciated but all those grandiose epithets!

Get real. There are times when I felt like lying in bed and waving my arms and legs about like the little baby who was screaming to be picked up. There are times when I feel like having a tantrum too. And times when I feel like walking out in a huff, banging the door behind me like my teenage brat.

Come on. We are human too. Love us with all our warts.

Ciao
Sprouting Wings

May 8, 2026

Today I went to school for one of the last few times that I will be going to the Junior school. There will possibly be just one more function – the graduation before the Little Ones go to Middle School.

I felt a little sad as I got off on the 4th floor where the fifth graders were having their exhibition. Unlike the exhibitions of our childhood, these were actually projects done by the children themselves on topics that they were passionate/interested about.

There was an overarching theme about connecting India but the subjects were something that the children chose themselves in which they not only showcased their learning skills over the past five years but also displayed their own distinctive identities.

Little PO

Little Po spoke about music and healing, in particular the Mozart Effect or rather a variation of it. His premise was that Music heals and particularly wards off the loneliness and isolation that people in old age homes, palliative care or even institutions for the differently abled feel.

His own visits to three such homes not only brought much joy to the people living in them but gave him a sense of purpose that his gift of music could make a difference in the lives of others albeit fleeting.

Ms Papaya

Ms. Papaya on the other hand, with a passion for fashion discovered that unnecessary expenditure on clothes is not only wasteful but environmentally damaging as well. As part of her learning, she decided to conduct a clothes donation drive and donate the clothes to a non-profit that re-uses, re-purposes and re-cycles old clothes.

This was met with a huge response with literally a ton of clothes from both the junior and senior schools. Some children even sent their old clothes home to save us the hassle of carrying them back from school. So yesterday it was my task to deliver the clothes to the collection centre.

And the others

The hall was full of parents and children and as I visited each stall, I found all the kids so different from the toddlers they were when they first met each other in Upper Prep.

These confident young boys and girls were taller than me, spoke with authority and moved with a confidence that was truly remarkable. They answered questions without ums and aahs. Their presentations were polished and truly it was a joy to see how then had grown so beautifully.

As I got out of the lift, I felt a twinge of sadness. It won’t be long before I will have little to do with helping them with school work. No longer will they be my babies who have to be dropped off or picked up.

They are slowly going to spread their wings and finally fly away.

Goodbye little ones. Should I re-christen you to Big Little Ones?

Ciao