Museum walks: Walk through history this weekend

Summer in Delhi does not have to mean stepping away from the city’s cultural life. It can also mean stepping indoors – into museums that hold centuries of history, craft, conflict and collective memory. Museum curators note that visitors today want a more intimate, hands-on connection to the past – making a curated indoor walk the ultimate way to spend weekends.‘Museums work best when they become extensions of larger narratives’“Museums work best when they become extensions of larger narratives, making heritage experiences more comprehensive, especially for children and younger audiences, because they engage with history visually, emotionally and audiovisually,” explains Nitika Arora of Darwesh Taleweavers. “At the Partition Museum in Kashmere Gate, visitors don’t just hear about migration and violence — they encounter personal memories and objects that make the scale of loss tangible. Pairing it with Purana Qila, which once served as a refugee camp during Partition, makes the experience far more layered,” says Nitika. She also recommends the Humayun’s Tomb World Heritage Site Museum for its wider context on the Mughal world through 3D models, videos and galleries exploring Charbagh planning, Timurid architecture and the Sufi landscape of Nizamuddin.“The artefacts are important, of course, but the real power of a museum lies in the connections between these objects and the links visitors can draw with their own knowledge and everyday life,” says Ramit Mitra, who along with his co-founder have been hosting Museo May for the last four years. Ramit adds, “The idea is to help visitors notice connections, stories and layers they may otherwise overlook.”“Museums have been improving qualitatively, and the experiences being hosted inside them are also becoming democratised,” says INTACH’s heritage walk leader Ratnendu Ray, recommending visits to the Air Force Museum, Rashtrapati Bhavan Museum and Sulabh International Museum of Toilets.Gp Capt Shajahan Avadi (Retd), who leads INTACH walks at the Air Force Museum, says, “The museum offers a storytelling-led experience that goes beyond aircraft displays. Through vintage aircraft, sand models and audio-visual elements, it tells stories of courage, India’s aviation history and the evolution of the IAF in ways that books or reels often cannot. Visitors also discover lesser-known aspects such as the IAF’s non-combat roles during disasters and elections."‘A good museum visit is less about information and more about attention’ One of the biggest mistakes visitors make is trying to see everything in a single visit. Delhi’s National Museum alone houses over 3,00,000 artefacts – making a complete viewing practically impossible. Instead of rushing through galleries, curators suggest spending time with a handful of objects. Jayamala Iyer, co-founder of DelhiByFoot say, “When we enter a museum, it is easy to feel overwhelmed. The real question is not ‘How do I see everything?’ but ‘How do I make sense of what I am seeing?’ A single gallery, a specific exhibition, or even 10 artefacts can often offer a richer experience than attempting to ‘complete’ the museum.” Ramit Mitra, co-founder of DelhiByFoot, adds, “Through guided experiences at museums like the Humayun's Tomb Museum, Partition Museum, Crafts Museum, Red Fort Museum and NGMA, the idea is to help visitors notice connections, stories and layers they may otherwise overlook.”While newer museums have become more accessible through technology, older museums still require patience and curiosity from visitors. “In some museums, the display labels are often too small, and unless you already have prior knowledge of the artefacts and their context, it becomes difficult to fully understand or enjoy the experience,” says Anoushka Jain, founder of Enroute Indian History.Must-visit museums in NCR