Shankar's International Dolls Museum

Highlights

• The International Dolls Museum is a large collection of dolls in New Delhi, though part of Central Delhi, Delhi, India.
• Shankar Pillai, a political cartoonist.
• Housed in the Children's Book Trust building on Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg, accessed through a separate entrance, a winding staircase, leading up to a foyer.
• The museum has a floor area of 5,184.5 sq ft (481.66 m2) and occupies a portion of the first floor.

Dress Code

Modest, respectful clothing is expected at this site.

History

• •Shankar Pillai (1902–1989), noted cartoonist, set up Children's Book Trust, a pioneering work in the field of children's literature in India, in 1957.
• •Later, a gift of a doll from a Hungarian diplomat gave Shankar the idea of collecting dolls from countries he visited.
• •He often held exhibitions for poor children, and at one exhibition in Delhi, among the hundreds of visitors were the then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru accompanied by his daughter Indira Gandhi.
• •Indira was inspired and together with Shankar set up an international museum for dolls, eventually materializing on 30 November 1965.

Architecture

• •Inside, the Museum is divided into two equal halves.
• •The two sections have over 160 glass cases, 1,000 ft long (300 m), mounted on the walls.
• •One section has exhibits from Europe, the U.S., Australia, New Zealand, Common Wealth of Independent States and the other from Asian countries, the Middle East, Africa and India.

Temple Layout

• •Inside, the Museum is divided into two equal halves.
• •The two sections have over 160 glass cases, 1,000 ft long (300 m), mounted on the walls.
• •One section has exhibits from Europe, the U.S., Australia, New Zealand, Common Wealth of Independent States and the other from Asian countries, the Middle East, Africa and India.

Things to Do

Frequently Asked Questions

Quick Information

Related Topics