How artefacts from London's British Museum journeyed to an exhibition in Mumbai

The Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya (CSMVS) is currently hosting an ambitious exhibit in partnership with London's British Museum in Mumbai. It has around 200 objects, sourced from the permanent collections of the two institutions as well as more than 20 partner organisations around the country.

An exhibit of this scale wasn't without its challenges, especially with regard to convincing other museums to share their collections.

CSMVS director general Sabyasachi Mukherjee shared the experience of bringing two particular objects to Mumbai from the Patna museum — a Mauryan pillar (about 320-270 BC, Pataliputra, Patna) and a Jain tirthankara bust (between 200 BC-AD 100, Lohanipur, Bihar).

"Bringing these two big sculptures down from the Patna museum was a huge challenge. They are both AA+ category objects," Mukherjee said. "The museum agreed to share the pieces, but the problem was in bringing them to Mumbai.


Jain tirthankara Chunar between 200 BC – AD 100 Lohanipur, India

There was no direct f light. The passenger f lights refused to handle it and there were no cargo flights available. Bringing them by road from Patna to Kolkata was a huge risk. It was an almost 24-hour road journey."

Natural ly, security arrangements had to be adequate. "I visited Patna to understand the problem. I spoke with the chief secretary of the Bihar government at the time. And it was with his help that the security allowed us to bring the objects to the Bihar border. The driver was not allowed to drive during the night. So, arrangements included a planned halt for the transport vehicle. It was parked at a police station, with security stationed around it. The vehicle entered Kolkata only during daylight," Mukherjee said. From Kolkata, the objects were brought to Mumbai in a cargo plane.


CSMVS director general Sabyasachi Mukherjee