Outlines for A Visit to the Museum
Museums are valuable in a nation’s life as they show its history and culture
thousands visit museums
my visit to the different parts of the museum
different objects from different periods of history
paintings, pictures, books, musical instruments, coins, stamps. etc.
my feelings as I left the museum
“A museum is a storehouse of the best remains of olden times.”
The biggest cities of my country have famous museums. Thousands of people go there every day to learn of the past of their country and the world. A few weeks ago, I got a chance of visiting the museum of my city. As I entered the big museum hall, I saw many statues of famous men and women of history. I saw the statues of Lord Buddha, Asoka, Alexander the Great, King Darius of Iran, Napolean Bonaparte, Kamal Ataturk, Adolf Hitler, Helen Keller, etc. I read facts about the lives of all these great men and women written under their statues. More than this. I was very glad to find some of the things that these famous people used in their lives. For example, there was a rod, which was Alexander’s and a coat which was Ataturk’s.
Some steps away was a set of almirahs containing (having) pottery of ancient times. I was surprised to see clay utensils hundreds of years old. Some were of the times when Hindus ruled over the country, some were of the Mughal times. The Mughal pottery had very artistic designs in colour.
A main item of interest was carpets. It was a surprise to see thousands of years old Iranian carpets, with pictures of kings and queens and courts and hunting scenes. These hand-knotted carpets were much superior to most modern carpets. Side by side, I saw ancient garments. The garments of kings, courtiers and even of common people were displayed beautifully. Special fighting suits and coats-of-arms and horse saddles were objects of special interest.
An important part of the museum had arms and ammunition used in different ages. I found guns of different sizes, used during the rule of Ranjit Singh in the Punjab and the – Mughal rulers in India. The arms used by the French, Portuguese and English armies in India during different periods were also on display.
Perhaps the most artistic section of the museum was of paintings, pictures, books, and musical instruments. Books by famous Arabic, Persian, English and French writers on history, religion, art, science, etc. were lying on beautiful shelves. We could see enchanting paintings of natural scenes, wars, jungles, bazaars, courts, kings, princes, and princesses, etc. by world-famous artists. The most impressive ones were of Spanish boar fights and polo matches of northern India (now northern Pakistan).
The coin and stamp section of the museum was equally engaging. I noticed coins of ancient kings and generals and fighters from the Greek times to the early 20th century. For example, the coins of the Greek kings Philip and Alexander the great and Mahmud Ghaznavi of Afghanistan could be compared. The stamps of Queen Victoria of England and the emperors of Germany and France were impressively colorful and pictorial.
The other items in the museum were the bricks and materials used in ancient buildings, the plans of cities, towns and villages placed in the form of small models, the books and magazines published in different ages (periods of history) and in different countries, the ornaments worn by ordinary and important people, etc. These added to my knowledge a great deal.
As I was leaving the museum, I was thinking of the littleness of the greatest men and women in history. Where are all of them whose things I have seen in the museum? Where is Lincoln and where is Lenin? Where is the glory that was Greece, where is the grandeur (majesty ) that was Rome, and where will be the splendor (magnificence) that is today’s America?