Uncharted territory: Visitor books of Indian museums. The Madhya Pradesh Tribal Museum in Bhopal – a case study

Abstract

Visitor books for the general public are rather uncommon in India. As far as research is concerned, they are still mostly uncharted territory. The few existing visitor books, however, acquire a special significance: as pioneers in a nascent dialogue between visitors and institutions. This article explores their potential for providing information about the visitors to museums in India: their expectations and experiences, even their consciousness as citizens. Taking the visitor book of the Madhya Pradesh Tribal Museum in Bhopal in central India as an example, the article shows how the priorities of Indian commentators differ significantly from what researchers have found in visitor books of museums in the West – in terms of the issues addressed, of the form and style of the comments, and of the social references. This piece of research is part of a larger study examining how the historically foreign concept of the museum can be culturally adopted and made its own by an Indian public.