'Khazana Museum' attracts few visitors

By T. Lalith Singh

HYDERABAD, OCT. 4. It is a veritable treasure trove that languishes in neglect. Even the much publicised heritage extravaganza that centred around Golconda Fort during the recent World Tourism Day, had failed to pull `Khazana Museum' out of oblivion.

Such has been the apathy of administrators towards the museum, housing a priceless collection of stone sculptors and inscriptions dating back to the 9th Century A.D., that it does not even find a mention in the tourist itinerary. This, despite the fact that the Khazana Museum is located just a few paces -- hardly 200 metres, as the crow flies -- away from the historic Golconda Fort.

Quite telling are the conditions at the museum. In absence of pedestals to place the exhibits, most of them could be found strewn in dirt along the corridors and in the halls. The precious collection from Chilkur, Yelleswaram, Warangal and Karimnagar among several other excavation sites crave for attention.

With only the Necklace road and the Shilparamam getting all the attention from tourism authorities, this museum has been given a royal ignore. There are no visitors lining up to admire the collection belonging to Chalukya, Kakatiya and Qutb Shahi period from ninth to 17th Century A.D. Staffers at the Museum, admit that visitors are a rare sight here.

The carvings stacked here include the 10th Century Tandava Bhairava, four statuettes of Alvars - the Vaishnava Saints, 11th Century Parusurama excavated from Vemulapalli, the Mahishasura Mardhini dug out at Kannekal and a series of Ganeshas from Nalgonda and Warangal. With deft carving, the series on Head Offerers dating back to 12th and 13th centuries, crave for attention.

The roof leaks and water seeped walls are getting torn apart with plaster chipping and falling to pieces. The series of open halls with wide arched openings raised on all the four sides are in shambles. Some repair works were taken up but stopped midway, an effort which ended only in disfiguring the building.

The museum's woes continue. There are no bulbs and proper electrical wiring adding to the gloomy ambience of the place. "We had made several requests for the bulbs and tubes, but nobody bothers about it," complains a Museum staffer.

The building which houses the museum was constructed in the 15th Century A.D. during the rule of Ibrahim Qutb Shah and exemplifies the nuances of the architecture of the period. Built as the royal treasury of the Qutb Shahi rulers, it is in the vicinity of the Golconda Fort near Balahissar Darwaza.

"There is not even a board directing the visitors to the Khazana Museum from Golconda," a senior official of the Archaeological Department laments. "With a budgetary allocation of Rs. 25 lakh, we are expected to conserve and develop 25 museums apart from conducting excavations and operating the wings of epigraphy and chemical conservation. With such a shoe-string budget museums like as Khazana Building would decay," said another official.

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Section  : Southern States
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