Content area
Full text
ABSTRACT
The Delhi Metro Museum, inaugurated on January 1, 2011, is a rare phenomenon for India, because it documents the rapid changes in contemporary urban India. The Museum in New Delhi is South Asia 's first metro museum that chronicles the genesis and development of the capital's prideful Delhi Metro. It is possibly the only museum in afunctional Metro station worldwide and has a rich display of precious photographs and models. The museum is important for India as a symbol of the tremendous progress experienced so far and lays emphasis on the significance of capturing the growth and aspirations of 21s' century India and the ongoing mega infrastructural achievements. As a history museum, it is unique in India because it showcases the current changes as they occur in the country's second phase of nation-building.
INTRDDUCTIDN
In India, museums are generally built to display valuable documents of the past. It is very rare to come across organisations that build museums to document their present achievements and create a treasure trove of information for the future generations to cherish. Delhi Metro has attempted to break this trend by building its museum just when the organisation had completed a decade of its existence.
The idea of building this museum came to me during a visit to the London Transport Museum. I was enthralled by this great habit of the British to document their achievements through museums. After that the process of collecting documents, papers and display materials for the museum started with a dedicated team working round- the-clock and finally we inaugurated the museum on January 1, 2009.
The Delhi Metro Museum situated at the Patel Chowk Metro Station is South Asia's first- ever Metro Museum which showcases the genesis and history of the Delhi Metro. It is possibly the only museum in a functional Metro station worldwide and has a rich display of precious photographs and models. The museum traces the genesis of the Delhi Metro which took 32 years to reach the operational stage from the drawing boards. All major milestones, issues regarding the selection of the technology have been displayed here. Metro's unique management style, earthquake-proof structures and the distinction of being the first railway project to claim carbon credits have been given...