Animals At The Kolkata Indian Museum

So many species to see, so little time. There's a section at the Indian Museum that looks like some big game hunter's jumbo trophy room. Full of large skeletons and stuffed wild animals, the vibe is more Teddy Roosevelt than teddy bear.

Looking a bit like the set in Bringing Up Baby, switching out dinosaur bones for whales.

A giraffe head. Nice primary colors display background. A couple of vultures chomping down. On what, exactly, we're not sure. A deer? And what's the snake thing the bird on the is right eating?

Rhino in a box, a very large box.

A lot of the animals had superlative names. Here a baby and a barker.

And then a modern and a lesser.

Evolution presented in skeletons. You've got monkey, monkey, monkey, monkey and, bam! human. We're not so far removed after all.

Checking out sea life. The blue "water" background paint adds a nice touch.

Indian Museum, Kolkata

One of the more impressive public institutions in all of India is the India Museum of Kolkata. Founded in 1814, it's the largest museum in the country and houses a grab bag of collections, from archeological to zoological items. Hey, A-Z, nice!

The building is also impressive. It was completed in 1875 and still has a commanding presence on Kolkata's main park, the Maidan.

Indian Museum. The focal point of the complex is its inner courtyard.

The imposing entrance, complete with ubiquitous yellow Ambassador. Sculpture surrounding the courtyard.

What's a big museum without a grand staircase?

The galleries are strictly old-school looking, whether with impressionistic streaming sunlight or dark, dingy academia patina.

Lonely bust, part 1.

Lots of old stones to see and lots of students there to see them. Notice the typical way Indians stand in line, practically on top of each other.

Lonely bust, part 2.