Shankar's International Dolls Museum, Delhi

I have been visiting this museum since I was 3/4 years old and when I visited it again yesterday, it was a nostalgic experience. 15 years later, it hasn't changed one bit. But this is not a good thing, in fact I was very sad to see that it has neither been renovated nor improved over the years.

Shankar's International Dolls Museum, Delhi boasts of the widest collection of dolls in the world with dolls from various European countries (Poland, France, Italy, Russia, Norway, Sweden, Spain, Portugal, Germany, UK etc.), USA, Canada, African Countries, South American Countries, New Zealand, Australia, Commonwealth of Independent States and various Asian countries ie. a total of 85 countries. It was set up by Shankar Pillai in 1965 and through the years he acquired around 8500 dolls for his museum. The museum also has a wide collection of dolls form all Indian states

I had gone to get my passport renewed but unexpectedly found an hour free before my appointment, so I decided to visit the nearby museum hoping to revive childhood memories. However I was very disappointed to see that museum has become stagnant and has turned a blind eye to the rapidly advancing world. No doll has been added since the founder's death in 1989 and not a single change has taken place since I last visited it. The dolls are a tad dirty now and the shelves smell of dust. The museum now seems like an old government office. You can neither find paper guides nor human ones. Even the dolls are insufficiently marked.

What the authorities should do is close the museum for a year or so and renovate and redecorate it all. They should not be afraid of adopting technology to make the museum interesting. It should be an ideal reflection of upcoming and developing India. They can outsource this job to caretakers of the best museums in the world. That's all they need to become one of the best museums of the world. Many of the countries to which the dolls belong have either divided or renamed ........ this is something that needs to be taken care of (like Yugoslavia).


Star Rating : ★★1/2 (2.5) ......... just for the collection !