Salar Jung Museum’s Children’s & Coins Gallery opens today!

The much awaited ‘Children’s and Coins Gallery’ that was conceived three years ago is finally ready and will be thrown open to visitors of the Salar Jung Museum (SJM) on Monday. Both the galleries will be inaugurated by Governor E S L Narasimhan, and chairman of SJM board on the 128th birth anniversary celebrations of Nawab Mir Yousuf Ali Khan Bagadur (Salar Jung III).

Salar Jung III was the Prime Minister of Hyderabad State during the reign of Mir Osman Ali Khan, VII Nizam and was an avid collector of rare objects from all over the world.

Speaking to The Hans India, A Nagender Reddy, director, SJM informs, “The special children’s gallery with over 5,000 objects spread over 5,000 sqft is expected to be a hit with children as well as adults. Toys in different hues, sizes and periods include items pertaining to transport, animals, birds and vegetables made in clay, metal and porcelain.”

The star attraction
The highlight of the children’s gallery is the toy train made in metal and wood, a replica of the Windsor Railway station of UK. A prized possession of Salar Jung III, the train will once again chug along after 30 years.

Veerender, consultant with SJM says, “Technicians from the South Central Railway (SCR) helped restore the toy train as the electrical components were not working.” Children visiting the gallery can also play virtual games free of cost.

The two touch screen panels for virtual games; one chasing butterflies and another volleyball game is bound to keep visitors occupied. The software is developed by Vishweshwarayya Science Museum, Bengaluru.

For students and adults with an interest in military warfare, toy armies including military and artillery are an attraction. Clay models of soldiers in hundreds are on display.

Reddy says, “Keeping children in mind artificial plants and shrubs have been placed against a vintage photograph of Nampally Railway station taken by Raja Deen Dayal.”

The SJM has collection of coins from almost 80 countries but the authorities decided to showcase coins from only 21 nations in the gallery. The coins are rare and date back to a few centuries. Veerender says, from punched marked coins, Satavahana coins, Delhi Sultanate, one coin from Sher Shah Suri’s time, Alladin Khilji dynasty, Qutub Shahi, Mughal, Chola and Vijayanagara dynasty would be on display.

The highlight is the collection of coins from the Bahami kingdom covering almost nine kings. Also coins from British India too find a place in the gallery.

In addition, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) donated a touch screen that depicts the history of Indian coins and how it evolved over the years. There is also a television kept at the gallery that shows how the currency changes over the years with the screen changing continuously.