The blockbuster gallery Networks of the Past that opens today at CSMVS, marks a milestone in Mumbai and India’s cultural timeline, with a collaboration linking Indian and global museums, with over 250 objects that showcase and connect the world’s earliest civilisations, from Harappa to Persia and China
The gallery is the India's first ancient world gallery, and offers a peek into the Harappans’ advanced quality of life and town planning, which appeared in our history books. Pics/Kirti Surve Parade
When we approach the Rotunda on the ground floor of the Chhatrapati Shivaji Vastu Sangrahalaya (CSMVS), the worker bee-like activity is hard to miss. It’s the final thrust before Networks of the Past: A Study Gallery of India and the Ancient World — the new educational initiative supported through Getty’s Sharing Collections Program, opens to the public. The mammoth collaborative project brings together CSMVS with the British Museum, the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, the Museum Rietberg (Zurich), the Al-Sabah Collection (Kuwait), the Benaki Museum (Athens), and the Ephorate of Antiquities of Athens, Ministry of Culture, Greece.
The undeciphered Harappan script
Supported by the Ministry of Culture, Government of India, it also features antiquities from leading Indian institutions, including the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), the National Museum, New Delhi, the Indian Museum, Kolkata, and major museums in Maharashtra, Prayagraj, Lucknow, Mathura, and Patna.
We are immediately drawn in by the massive replica of Dholavira (3000 to 1500 BCE) created, where we meet Joyoti Roy, assistant director (Projects and Public Relations) who gives us ‘the tour’ of this model Harappan site; the intricate tile and brickwork is recreated to represent the ancient township, enough to teleport us to the well-planned habitat. Above us, an etched recreation of the undeciphered script adds to the wow factor.
The Harappan Dancing Girl and A replica of the famed Priest King bust
“India had not mounted a major exposition on the Harappan Civilisation even after 78 years of Independence. The CSMVS Rotunda now transports visitors into an imagined Harappan metropolis, inspired by Dholavira in Kutch, Gujarat. It introduces this extraordinary culture to all visitors, and Generation Z in particular, reminding them that systematic city planning, multi-storied buildings, wide streets, rainwater harvesting, covered drainage systems, and a strong emphasis on hygiene are over 5000 years old. Life in Dholavira was healthier, and more thoughtfully organised than in many modern cities today,” reveals Sabyasachi Mukherjee, director general, CSMVS about the opening section, which Roy informs, was called ‘Meluhha’ during the walkthrough. Soon, we spot references of it in the glass displays, and join the dots. Roy reveals that this section will greet visitors before they proceed towards the redesigned Coomaraswamy Hall that houses other ancient world civilisations.
The display of Stone Beads: A Continuing Tradition
Mukherjee elaborates that apart from architecture, the section will also display abundant evidence of everyday objects used by Harappan society — pottery, semi-precious bead jewellery, metalwork, stone sculptures, and textile motifs. These traditions form the foundation of India’s long-continuing craft heritage. He credits a veteran archaeologist for the present (and envious) Harappan collection at CSMVS which will be showcased here. “RD
Banerji, Superintendent of Archaeology, ASI, discovered the site of Mohenjo-daro in 1922-23. He also served as the first Honorary Indian Curator of this museum (formerly the Prince of Wales Museum of Western India). He had arranged for some of the earliest objects from the site to be brought to CSMVS (then Prince of Wales Museum). Later, the ASI shared additional material from Harappa with our museum. These collections are now being displayed — more elegantly and prominently than ever before.”
A close-up of the jewellery pieces
Visitors are in for a visual and educational treat as they witness moments that shaped human society — from the first organised communities, to the earliest expressions of governance, law, and culture through 250-plus rare and stunning archaeological objects from Mesopotamia, Egypt, China, to the Mediterranean Civilisations, and Persia, apart from the Harappan treasures. The journey aptly culminates at Alexandria and Nalanda, two radiant centres of learning.
A replica of a woman adorned with Harappan jewellery
AT Ground floor, CSMVS, Mahatma Gandhi Road, Kala Ghoda, Fort.
TIME 10.15 am to 6 pm
LOG ON TO booking.csmvs.in
Cattle figurines and tools (right) from the section, How The Cities Were Fed
Gallery Gyaan
Sabyasachi Mukherjee reveals more about the new gallery.
Excerpts from the interview
How did the idea for Networks of the Past originate?
The idea for this project first emerged in April 2020 during a conversation between Dr Jim Cuno, former President of the Getty Trust, and me. After the India and the World exhibition, I was increasingly convinced that India’s role in the ancient world needed to be more prominently highlighted.
The map of The Early Civilisations
I began framing a series of questions — Did the Harappans initiate urbanisation before Mesopotamia? Why did the Egyptians use massive stone blocks to build their pyramids? What were their modes of transportation? How did people and societies connect across vast geographies? How did the Harappans, Mesopotamians, and Egyptians develop unique scripts to record their social and cultural histories? How did agricultural production, in the absence of large industries, shape their societies? And how do we discover our ancestors’ creativity, challenges, and remarkable achievements?
A display of seashell artefacts from the curated section
These questions, along with my curiosity about their scientific temper, understanding of climate, and exchange of ideas, formed the conceptual foundation. The project took meaningful shape through the insights of our dear friends, Neil MacGregor and Mahrukh Tarapore. It was both Neil and Mahrukh who helped transform this vision into a robust and thoughtful experiment. Importantly, the entire initiative has been developed from our perspective.
What are some of its biggest milestones?
A key innovation of the project is Global Co-Curation: For the first time, curators at CSMVS have collaboratively worked with their counterparts at the British Museum, Berlin, Rietberg (Zurich), and the Al-Sabah Collection. Through immersive displays and cutting-edge scholarship, the study gallery repositions India at the heart of interconnected world civilisations, highlighting the depth, continuity, and enduring influence of its ancient past. The project offers a compelling journey that inspires pride and curiosity.
Sabyasachi Mukherjee
Tell us about the educational impact of this new gallery.
The exhibition has been conceived as a reference gallery for students and scholars and as a rich visual archive for all visitors. This initiative brings the ancient world vividly into our present. It encourages us to view history not as something distant but as a continuum that shapes our shared future. It will offer a robust university-level academic programme. We are expecting 25 educational institutions to collaborate with us on this project.
1922-23
The timeline in which the site of Mohenjo-daro was discovered by RD Banerji
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