Delhi is constantly oozing with cultural overdose. The political capital of the country has fought hard to become the most sought-after city too. It’s not only the hub of journalism and chai-samosa, it’s home to almost 3 crore people. People can never be bored in this city because of all the history it comes with. Delhi’s history is educational, interesting, creative, fun and we’re just going to say it, sometimes it’s down right shocking.
What is it
Delhi’s Dolls Museum is resting within the Nehru House since 1965. What started from a meager 1,000 is now a display of whopping 7,500 dolls. Eminent political cartoonist and journalist K. Shankar Pillai was looking for a place to exhibit his travel souvenirs when Indira Gandhi spontaneously suggested her father should make space for it in the house. A Children’s Book Trust was established by Pillai along with paintings and dolls for children to savour. Soon diplomats began gifting dolls for equal representation at the esteemed collection. Now there are more than 85 countries on one floor.
What’s more
Shankar’s International Dolls Museum is a learning experience for children and adults alike. The art and culture of every country is adequately perceivable in every collectible. Their costumes, style and design speak tons of the inclinations of every country and its heritage. Climate and conditions can also be deduced. All this is simply wonderful but what strikes us the most is walking in a room full of dolls, thousands of faces staring into the abyss, lifeless. There are 500 dolls just for our mega diverse lands. The place is divided into neat sections of dolls from different parts of the world.
The footfall is moving at a steady pace with school scheduled holidays and exams becoming major sources of crowd management. So, if you want to organize a trip or avoid the crowds, plan your day according to children’s timings. Mondays are off days and timings are from 10 AM to 6 PM. On some days the dolls museum lays ground to more than 500 people all at once. On other days, the dolls are amused by only pigeons. Nehru House is a great Delhi day out. If you missed the dolls museum, it’s worth going back for. Trust us, you have never felt so many eyes on you.