The lord's treasures

Reclining as he is, Lord Padmanabha in eternal sleep and gilded in gold, has woken up the entire nation. All without stirring.

The discovery of more than $20 billion worth of treasures in the vaults of the temple has sparked a new debate on what should be done with the find. The Supreme Court wants it curated. Perhaps, we can look at a museum. No doubt, that will spur fresh questions on who will foot the bill on the arrangements and attendant security. A good starting point could be individuals and businesses.

Corporate and individual donations to museums has been the accepted norm in the US for nearly five decades. A quick look at the website of the New York Museum will throw up a roll call of thanks for a wide range of contributors — those who offered several thousands to those who offered a few dollars, be they for special exhibitions or events. Several museums in the US have, in fact, sustained themselves on American philanthropy and endowments.

In Europe, where corporate sponsorship was frowned upon for several years, shrinking budgets have forced curators to look for private funding for restoration, expansion as well as special exhibitions. Truth is, communities always need art, and businesses can endear themselves to civil society by contributing to a greater good at least in the neighbourhood in which they operate.

France, the snobbish bastion of high art in Europe, introduced a law in 2003 that offered tax breaks to companies buying art treasures for national museums. Oil major Total contributed nearly $6 million to restore the Louvre’s Apollo gallery, and others have opted to help maintain high voltage attractions like the Mona Lisa gallery.

Let’s shift gears to India and look at what the treasures from the Padmanabha Swamy temple offer. It’s mostly antiques, which have artistic value and historical significance running into a few hundred years. Most individuals in India, where sentiment and piety often override logic, will no doubt see contributions to preserving this as an offering that will bring with it, hopefully, a sprinkling of blessings. After all, what more could one do to please Vishnu, the preserver and reigning deity of the temple?

Marketing the concept of a museum run by the temple trust and built and maintained through private contributions can’t be so hard to sell. Indian companies, traditionally, have rarely shied away from contributing to religious organisations, to gurus and spiritual leaders. In fact, businesses here have often defended themselves by saying that for them charity or philanthropy takes the form of contributing to such organisations. What the museum curator will have to ensure is that it doesn’t result in anything beyond a roll of honour and the museum accepts only donations that can be made public and from businesses with an untarnished background. In return, open the museum grounds for corporate events and allow special corporate tours of the display and sponsorship of outreach programmes for the community.

Privately-funded, state-of-the-art facilities for this great find can really be a test case for a similar wider approach to museum management.

India, it seems, has some 650 museums — the majority in a near neglected state. What we need is world-class museums with the best technology and showcasing some of the finest local art and artifacts, under threat of decay for lack of care. We need ideas and energy that the state has scored poorly on. The Ministry of Culture, oftentimes in deeper slumber than Lord Padmanabha’s yoga-nidra, unfortunately hasn’t done enough to quite stir the country’s museum-going senses. So give others a chance.

Anjana Menon is Executive Editor, NDTV Profit.
The views expressed here are personal