2900 plus heritage coins, 3200 medals, other antiques will be displayed in Patiala soon-Preneet Kaur
Kanwar Inder Singh/ royalpatiala.in
The world’s largest medal gallery and museum of precious coins, which once used to be housed in the ancient building of Sheesh Mahal, will soon be shifted to the Mohindra Kothi on Mall Road. Around Rs. 70 crore is being spent on this special initiative of Chief Minister Capt. Amarinder Singh. Disclosing this Preneet Kaur Member Lok Sabha from Patiala said that rare and precious medals, antique coins and other decorative items would be displayed here, by restoring the heritage look of the 84 room Mohindra Kothi.
Preneet Kaur informed that more than 3200 medals, orders and about 3000 antique coins collected by Maharaja Bhupinder Singh and Maharaja Yadavindra Singh of Patiala were later gifted to the Punjab Museum, including Maharaja Bhupinder Singh and Maharaja Yadavindra Singh’s own medals.
She said that at first this medal gallery was exhibited by Maharaja Narinder Singh at Sheesh Mahal of old Moti Bagh in 1847, which was prepared on the lines of Shalimar Bagh, Lahore. She further informed that due to the lack of space there, the Chief Minister Capt. Amarinder Singh had given the Department of Culture and Tourism, Punjab this special project to prepare the Mohindra Kothi in collaboration with the Asian Development Bank for the exhibition of this precious treasure at a cost of about Rs. 70 crore.
The Lok Sabha member said that besides Nanakshahi coins, the coins from the erstwhile states of Patiala, Nabha, Malerkotla, Jind and coins from East India Company, Akbari, Mughalshahi Coins and Patiala Royal Treasury, Punch Mark, Cushions, Warriors, Coins of Shahij, Samant Dev, Gadhia, Delhi Sultanate, Pathan and Mughal period are also present here. Apart from this, medals from two dozen countries, Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s Lahore Darbar Order, China Double Dragon Order, England, Victorian Cross, other historic medals and rare & attractive decorative items are also present here, which is known as the world’s largest gallery in Patiala and will be a center of attraction for the general public and tourists alike.
She said that due to the efforts of the Chief Minister Capt. Amarinder Singh, Patiala was already emerging on the world heritage map and this Medal Gallery and Coin Museum would prove to be another concrete step in this direction.
Preneet Kaur disclosed that the Chief Minister Capt. Amarinder Singh was personally supervising this special project so that it can be dedicated to the people of Punjab very soon.
She further said that the work of the first phase of giving an antique look to the 84 rooms on the ground floor and upper floor of the Mahindra Kothi by using lime headers, Jute, Sera, Brick grinding, prime bracelets and marble powder has been completed.
To make the visitors and general public aware of the heritage of these decorative items, the services of Suranjana Satwalekar, a renowned museum designer from Mumbai, have been procured for the systematic exhibition of medals and coins and its decoration etc.
January 16,2021
