Mumbai's oldest museum set to reopen on Republic Day after Rs 6-crore restoration

The Dr Bhau Daji Lad City Museum near Veermata Jijabai Bhosale Botanical Udyan and Zoo. Pic/Ashish Raje

The Dr Bhau Daji Lad City Museum, the city's oldest such institution, is likely to re-open on Republic Day. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has spent around R6 crore on the restoration of the iconic museum in Byculla, mainly tackling the building's leakage issues.

We are trying to re-open the museum for the public by January 26, 2025," said Municipal Commissioner Bhushan Gagrani. "The museum has been closed for the past three years. The restored building will represent the heritage of Mumbai," he added.

The first colonial building in Bombay to be built for the specific purpose of housing a museum, it depicts the story of the city and is home to original artefacts, including maps, documents, statues and images. BMC officials said there would be no additions to the museum's collection and that the institute itself was being revived.

The Dr Bhau Daji Lad City Museum, which was first opened to the public in 1857. File pic

A civic official involved in the project told mid-day that the building was facing leakages at several places, which posed a threat to artefacts. "We have carried out civil repairs without damaging the beauty of the 167-year-old building. It was an extremely challenging task as we had to ensure the original structure stayed intact while carrying out the restoration," the official said.

An enviable history

As per the Dr Bhau Daji Lad City Museum's website, the institute - formerly known as the Victoria and Albert Museum - was first opened to the public in 1857. On November 1, 1975, the museum was named after Dr Bhau Daji Lad, the first Indian sheriff of Mumbai, a philanthropist, historian, physician and surgeon.

By the end of the millennium, the museum had fallen into disrepair. Extensive restoration work was then carried out between 2003 and 2008 - during which the museum was closed - to restore it to its former glory, leading to it winning UNESCO's 2005 Award of Excellence in the field of Cultural Conservation.

This time, the museum was closed for over three years due to the COVID-19 pandemic that coincided with this necessary maintenance and repair work. Its reopening comes as good news for the arts and cultural landscape in Mumbai.

With inputs from Fiona Fernandez