Last Monday my friends and I decided to visit a museum because the museum is a place where you can see a collection of rare things and things of historical interest. It is a store house of all wonderful and valuable things. All the things of the past and the present we can see at one place.
Lahore is famous for its historical buildings. There is a big museum in it. It is situated near the Town Hall. In front of it runs the Mall Road, and opposite to it stands the University Hall with its lofty clock tower. The museum is in a big building which consists. of many big halls. It is managed by an officer.
Everybody likes to visit the museum because it is an education in itself, and for this reason it is visited by hundreds of people every day. Travelers from foreign countries also make it a point to visit it, because it enables them to peek into the arts and crafts of Pakistan. Women and children also go to the museum in large numbers every day but may be they go to kill their time.
When we entered the first hall, we found many pictures hung on its walls. These pictures were of old kings, saints, and statesmen. Some of these were drawn purely from the imagination. All of them, however, provided a feast of colours for the eye. If we were to take a student of painting with us he would tell us many interesting things about these pictures and paintings. We might have got more information and knowledge.[the_ad id=”17141″]
At one place we found a collection of the articles of everyday use, while at another place we find beautiful articles, which were meant for purposes of show only. Side by side with lovely handloom cloth, we found costly lungis from Peshawar. A pair of shoes which costs only Rs.200 was displayed by the side of another the price of which also run into three figures. We were happy to see all this.
In this hall we found the pottery of Multan. the woodwork of Gujranwala, the shawls of Kashmir, the carpets of Karachi, and cutlery of Wazirabad. There is also a large collection of old daggers, swords, shields, weapons, and ornaments.
After that we went to a zoological section. It comprises a collection of stuffed animals, birds, reptiles and fishes. Perhaps the most interesting collection was that of statues of Buddha and Buddhisatvas. Some of them were the finest specimens of sculpture, and were dug up from under mounds of earth at Taxila or the Swat Valley. The museum also contained a model house, a beautiful model of a steam-engine, a miniature Persian wheel, and many other beautiful things.
We kept on moving in the museum more than four hours. we collected information without any boredom. We had a look at the past as well as at present. If, however, one wants to get information without feeling bored, one ought to visit a museum. There one reads history “without tears”, learns to take interest in one’s surroundings. and begins to appreciate the value of cottage as well as large-scale industries of one’s own country its culture, customs and ways of the life its people lead.
In the end, it must he said that the museum is worth a visit. A day spent in it is not a day wasted, but a day utilized in the best way possible. We came out tired but happy.
