Hyderabad: Plays to make statues of SJ Museum come 'alive'

Hyderabad: In a first, Salar Jung Museum is to stage plays to make a visit to the museum more interactive. The first one to kick off on Saturday is a musical play based on the Greek mythology of Apollo and Daphne. A Nagender Reddy, Director, SJM said, "It is an endeavour to involve student volunteers and visitors and make the visit interactive and educative." The brainchild of the play, Mahita Valluri, 18, who is pursuing International Relations at O P Jindal University, Sonepat, says, "For two years, I did my internship at the museum and observed people just pass by the innumerable statues and the artefacts. Our intention is to make people understand at what they are looking at and bring fun into curatory." The 25-minute play on the Greek myth of 'Apollo and Daphne' is scheduled near the Musical Clock area (ground floor) at 12 noon on Saturday. When asked, why a visitor would stop by for 25 minutes, Mahita says, "The suddenness of it all itself would make people stop by. It is a musical play which would start with a sound track and Apollo would emerge with a bow and arrow. The idea is to bring the statue to life."

At every hour visitors gather at the clock to witness magic of a toy striking the gong. The play timing itself is a strategy. Maximum number of the visitors from all galleries gather at the musical clock for the toy strikes the gong twelve times. Immediately after the clock show, the play begins.