Uruswati Himalayan Folk Art Museum, Naggar - 9

Uruswati Himalayan Folk Art Museum has a collection of local folk art, as well as a gallery of Russian folk art. The museum also has a few paintings by Roerich and several paintings by his Russian followers.

Uruswati Himalayan Folk Art Museum situated in Naggar, within the premises of the Roerich estate, Uruswati Himalayan Folk Art Museum is just 100 m uphill from the Nicholas K. Roerich Art Gallery. Professor and Madame Nicholas Roerich set it up in 1928, as the Research Institute of Naggar. The intention behind the foundation of this tribal and folk art museum was to provide a place of study and research on the traditional Indian and Tibetan medicines and the history and the ethos of the Himalayan region.

The museum got its present name in 1993. The word 'Uruswati' has been taken from Sanskrit and it means 'Light of the Morning Star'. The main attractions of the Uruswati Himalayan Folk Art Museum are Russian and local folk art, costumes, original paintings of Roerich and those of his Russian followers. The gallery, dedicated to the Russian folk art, also has musical instruments, painted dishes, dolls, oil paintings by Russian painters, stone carvings, etc.

One can also see woodcarvings such as doorframes, crystal pieces and quotations from Agniyoga being displayed here. The rest of the collection comprises of traditional costumes of Ladakh, Kullu, Lahaul-Spiti and Tibet; beautiful idols of Hindu Gods and Goddesses; Pahari paintings and a photograph of Lord Buddha. On the counter outside the museum, you can buy postcards and Roerich's books that center on his work.

Related Links :

01. Museums and Art Gallaries of India : A Survey - 1
02. Museums of Jammu and Kashmir : Sri Pratap Singh Museum Srinagar - 2
03. Art Gallery Jammu :Dogra Art Gallery - 3
04. Himachal Pradesh : The Library of Tibetan Works and Archives Dharmshala - 4
05. Himachal Pradesh : Bhuri Singh Museum, Shimla - 5
06. Shimla State Museum - 6
07. The Nicholas Roerich Gallery, Shimla - 7
08. Indian Institute of Advanced Studies, Summerhil, Shimla - 8