A day at the museum

For those of you who care, the bump on my head is receding.

Better than this, today I visted the Salar Jung Museum, a collection so vast that I've just returned to the hotel after seven hours exploring the galleries of a single building. I've had to rethink my views on Indians and museums, since prior to this visit I've always thought it a poor mix. They tend to stuff a whole bunch of items into dark corners and ill-lit cabinets, let the dust settle, then permit building and exhibits to fall into disrepair. So today is a pleasant change.
Salar Jung, adviser to a Nizam of Hyderabad, was an avid collector. And he must have had his hands on some serious cash. It's fairly well known that the Nizam was the world's wealthiest man for some time. His Golconda mines ensured he could swan about on gold caparisoned elephants and rely on a staff of thousands. So I guess this guy, being on the payroll, was rolling in it too.

My favourite display was the illuminated manuscripts. Only several hundred of the fifty thousand volumes in the collection are on show. What is there is in beautiful calligraphy - Arabic, Persian and Urdu, some on vellum dating back to the ninth century. The workmanship is astounding.

Hyderabad, according to history writers and guide books, was once a city of palaces. Today no more. It's your typical Indian town filled with dust and bad smells. But it has friendly people, great food, and restored my faith in Indians and museums.