Sarah gave us an invitation via Facebook to the Mighty Mughals Festival about two weeks or so ago. What actually enticed us there was the archery and henna… the ponies came in later. And since it was also held at the front of the Asian Civilisations Museum (ACM), we decided to have our Script Frenzy kick off at The Arts House as well, since well, it was going to be April.
No getting lost this time, though it was sweltering hot. I felt bad for the ponies which we first caught sight of the moment we turned into the festival ground. They were there for photo-taking opportunities. I took mine and patted its head.
Exploring the festival grounds, we went and saw the archery grounds, later finding out that we had to look for the event staff, who were giving away the coupons for the activities for the festival. Since it was Sunday, ACM had free admission so we just went in and took pics of the other exhibitions.
There was this really interesting Caesar’s Weapons display at the basement, which we first went through. But that’ll be saved for a Joelyn’s Museum Escapades coming soon. So we went up to the second level, where the exhibition was held at and there it was:
So the subject of the exhibition ran along the lines of the history of India, it’s weaponry, it’s people, it’s culture around the Mughal Empire, hence Mighty Mughals. If it sounds obscure, it was actually an Islamic based empire within India, its culture peppered with Persian influences.
Entering the exhibit hall, first thing we noticed were the people holding the coupons for the archery and henna stalls. (HAH!) So we went to get our coupons before heading into the exhibition itself. Now, getting into the real mood of the exhibition, the first thing you’ll really notice is how the dimness of the museum interior is so much needed. You’ll see why in the following pictures.
The detailed work of the handles of those blades were not only beautiful and intricate, they shone greatly under the shine provided by the display lights. And needless to say, there were an endless line of different weapons, different sizes, designs, jewels and shapes, all for signifying different aspects of Mughal culture and functions in the society.
Raven got some stamps from the activity areas, those stamps depicted different common designs found within the Mughal Empire, pretty interesting and elaborate, if you ask me.
Apart from the still exhibits and activity centres within the Asian Civilisations Museum itself, there were also scheduled performances in its performance area and lo and behold! A python guy! Oooo… Okay one thing about me, I like to hold pythons for some strange, funny reason. As long as the snake trainer’s there.
Everyone else took pics with the snake, though the pictures looked pretty much like mine because all of us weren’t allowed to use flash in our cameras. My camera phone has a bright focus light, by the way, it’s NOT a flash. PFFT. Moving on, we wanted to go through the rest of the exhibition because Tiramisue and a friend were on their way down already, so we went through the rest of the exhibits.
The second half of the exhibits was relatively more crowded because there were more activity and interactive booths there for children. However, something there that really caught our eyes was this whole corner of the exhibition based entirely on precious stones and their significance during the Mughal Empire.
Beautiful piece of work, I must say. However, soon we were out and back to the front yard where the festival was being held. We all had coupons for free kulfi (Indian Ice Cream) and archery. But as Raven and Avariel wanted to go to the Henna place, we headed there and I helped Sarah practice her ukelele for Taylor Swift’s “Love Story”. That’s when we came up with this idea to parody Lady Gaga’s “Telephone” with Pokemon related lyrics.
That’s what happens when we wait for people.
Wasn’t much, actually. It was pretty much more for kids. But nonetheless, a pretty cool Sunday afternoon spent with great people.
The Blanket Fortress is a Metaphor! 