After a hard gone week here, I had a breather Saturday…..
… only to be ready for more harder days to come.
Unfortunately, my other two partners in the pain, Vipin and Saurabh, didn’t have
that too. They will get there share of breathe tomorrow and the day after. J
So now that I had my breakfast done and a whole day to
spend, I decided to move out. It has been
just four nights here in Mexico City, and let me be upfront about something, I
was scared.
The internet hype
around “the dangers of Mexico” are intense. There were a handful of online
comments about armed robberies on buses. A few people knew a
friend-of-a-friend who had been mugged in broad daylight. Office guys too had
there part of stories.
But then Columbus in me, didn’t allowed me staying back. Hardly
after being out for one hour in the sun, it was clear that Mexico City was full of
totally normal people living totally normal lives. Before moving out
from the hotel I had took a map of the area (so that I can show someone the map
and ask for location). If you don’t know Spanish, it’s a must. J
After some ~2 km of walk eastwards, I found the place with
buzz. It was “Museo Nacional de Antropología”. As I went closer I found some Mexican
tribal people dancing over the beats of drum. I was sure this is the place I
want to be.
As I moved in, I was informed that it is one of the most
reputed museums in the world for Anthropology. Also I came to know that Mexico
City boost to have maximum numbers of museums than any city in the world.
As soon as you enter you are welcomed by a giant pillar
which holds a vast square concrete umbrella. Here starts your wow moment (if
you find architecture interesting). There museum holds some 23 room of exhibits
and each of them depicts a time in the history of Mexico. It starts from the
time pre-humans came to Mexico to Tenochtitlán civilization to the Mayan
civilization till Spanish invasion. The major attraction is the
If I can roughly count them, there would be atleast 300-500 specimens
in each room. Not all are originals but still all of them a very well preserved.
All the specimens are placed in most natural way it could be so that you can feel
the amount of hard work it must have gone to make it and now preserving it. I
was almost shocked to see a hand written script, from the Mayan Dynasty, still
readable.
What took the most of my attention and a half completed
marble pot. It actually gave an idea for craftsmanship needed to make a small
pot leave about those huge pyramids over the top of a hill. I won’t hesitate
twice saying that I was mesmerized. If it is all you think, wait, move upstair
and you have the all the tribes of Mexico on display. Their music, attire, food,
games, believes, ritual, who can find everything here.
I took me 4 hours to complete the museum, and I’m sure it
would had taken me a whole day, if I had read about few more things there. To my
good luck, there was a photo exhibition too going on which had all the shades
of Mexico, from hard yet fulfilled life of uphill tribe to beach life down
south, from modern urban world to refreshing villages.
It was a fulfilling day.
By far, There is no other museum that depicts the vast history in such a
majestic way that I have visited. The journey is still on, will keep you
posted….
