Shankar’s International Doll Museum Delhi was set up by K. Shankar Pillai and it is renowned for its largest collections of dolls. The museum has more than 10,000 dolls from almost eighty-five countries of the world, giving it an incredible international character.
Shankar got this idea of collecting costume dolls in the museum when he received a doll as a gift from the Hungarian Ambassador. He was extremely fascinated with the doll thus he decided to visit different countries for collecting costume dolls and puppets. Soon, he managed to collect over 500 interesting dolls that he eventually decided to exhibit across India.
Because of frequent packing and unpacking, many dolls use to get damaged which became a matter of worry for Shankar. He raised his concern for the damaged dolls in front of Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi. Finally, they came up with the suggestion of having a permanent museum for the dolls.
The museum is housed in the Children’s Book Trust’s building located at Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg, New Delhi. There are various sections in the museum that exhibit dolls of various countries. A collection of over 150 types of authentic Indian costume dolls were created at the Dolls Workshop and moreover, there are some special displays taking place within the museum. Indian handcrafted dolls are exchanged for dolls received from abroad.
All the dolls displayed in the museum are created after careful research keeping important aspects in mind like the physical aspects, jewelry and dress of individual characters. Shankar’s international doll museum Delhi is a must visit place for every child to make him acquaint with the culture and tradition of different places in world through the medium of dolls.
- Address: 4, Bahadurshah Zafar Marg, N. Delhi,
Phone No.: 23316970-4
Timing: 10:00 am to 5.30 pm
Closed: Monday
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