Rani Mangammal District Museum
Trichy or Tiruchirapally is a heritage city that is a fine blend of traditions and modernity. It is an ancient city in the south Indian state of Tamil Nadu where the Kaveri and Kolliadam Rivers flow around the famous Srirangam Island, home to the world’s second largest Sri Ranganathaswamy temple.
Trichy was the citadel of the Chola and the Pallava empires and has numerous monuments that are outstanding in their beauty, art, and architecture. Aside from the many temples featuring elaborate sculpturing and artwork, Trichy also has ancient churches, colleges, and missions dating back to the 1760’s. The Rani Rangammal Museum (or Government Museum) is another place of interest in this ancient city.
The museum is named after the famous Rani Mangammal who took charge of the kingdom after the death of Muthu Virappa Nayak in 1689 AD. The legal heir was too young so Rani Mangammal ruled the kingdom, gaining much popularity as she focused on improving infrastructure. She was however imprisoned and starved to death for refusing to give up the throne to the rightful heir.
The Government Museum is named in her memory and contains a myriad of treasures that appeal to both the history buffs and tourists alike. It has an outdoor and an indoor display area with around 2000 exhibits altogether. There are stone idols gracing the outdoor sculpture garden going back many centuries in their origin. You will find rare sculptures of Lord Vishnu, Mahavira and Gautama Buddha here.
The inner chambers include interesting instruments and tools that go thousands of years back to the Paleolithic and Megalithic times. You will find galleries covered with interesting fossils of prehistoric megalithic instruments as well as tools going back to the Paleolithic and Neolithic times. These are sure to fire your imagination as you move from one display to another. Aside from these, there is an interesting collection of rare ancient Indian coins.
Other indoor exhibits include epigraphy displays in the form of engravings and original copies of palm leaf inscriptions. And for those who like to get up close to nature, there is an entire section that’s devoted to many rare types of creepy crawlies, birds and mammals. There are also fine examples of ancient paintings to captivate your attention.
Getting to this amazing city is easy as there is an airport here as well as railways and good road connectivity. A great place to stay over would be at the centrally-located Sangam hotel, a home-away-from-home, where you can truly relax and soak in the essence of Trichy!
