Butool Jamal, Assistant Fashion Features Editor, Femina gives us the lowdown on her favourite museums to visit in India. She has previously worked as a curatorial assistant at the Dr Bhau Daji Lad Museum, Mumbai and as a fashion features writer at ELLE, India.

Butool is wearing our Rosewood 70s miniskirt

As a history junkie, Museums are my happy place. Particularly ones that are dedicated to art and design and tie into my love for beautiful clothes. 

5 Museums design-lovers should visit:

An important point to note before you plan your visit—it’s by appointment only and numbers are limited to 20 visitors a day. But don’t be daunted, just make sure to call at least a week before to book a spot. Your very-informed guide will take you at a quick trot through rooms that cover Mughal and colonial-era textiles, traditional costumes and embroideries, the tools and techniques of weaving and dying and even a small collection of Jain and Buddhist art.

Salarjung Museum, Hyderabad

 

The museum houses the private collection of Salar Jung III who started collecting this jumble of art works and artefacts in 1914. The collection ranges from Persian manuscripts that date from the 1400s to paintings by Raja Ravi Varma and pretty Sino-Japanese porcelain. The highlight however is the Italian neoclassical sculpture called The Veiled Rebecca, famous for its delicate marble carving work.

 

Indian Museum, Kolkata

 

Aka Jadu Ghar or House of Magic. It’s one of the oldest museums in the country and still has a dusty, old-fashioned vibe but there are some priceless finds hidden among the massive collection. Some of the weirdest and most wonderful include an authentic Egyptian mummy, the skeleton of the giant man-eating crocodile (with jewellery in its stomach) and a richly carved 2nd century BC gateway.