Ambaji Museum Gallery

Religion, throughout human history has been the igniting inspiration for varied works of literature, philosophy, art and architecture. Art when served with religion, gives a taste of the human cultural evolution.

The development of a 3D gallery for Ambaji temple came with a challenge of keeping the sanctity intact while fulfilling the modern-day requirements of the trust. Extension of a highly worshipped temple and its beliefs meant carrying forward the legacy and keeping it culturally relevant at the same time.

The visitors' gallery with the theatre was planned beneath the chaachar chowk (the spirited front yard to the main temple shrine). The three attached theatre modules offsets in to carve out paths around all its sides. The sides represent the circumambulation around the sacred with shrines adorned with idols of the 51 Shaktipeeth.

The entire aura of the space was created that resembles one of religious ruins. Idols and a glimpse of the 51 Shaktipeeth adorn all walls treated to complement the prevailing ideologies.

Partially damaged goddess idols, scraped off stone surfaces, roots creeping on the pillars, worn out floor and smudged inscribed written relics on metal boards all create a sense of discovery rather than deliberate design. A glass bridge connects the rear ends with a view of the historically seeming ruins below it. Walking above it through an alley of goddess idols on both the sides is an experience of its own.

The thoughtfully anticipated design gives one an impression and illusion of a dug-out basement with all the cultural richness. The columns all showcasing different geometric forms tell a story of the development of the temple precincts in phases. The lighting runs exposed in trays creating a sense of an 'addition' to the existing, something not planned beforehand. It brightens up the space in warm hues time travelling one into the glories of the past. The actual recreation of that time, its art and the sculptures help people relate to the religion and its past.

The design is an honest attempt to achieve a symbolic and unfiltered representation of history as new purposes need to be fitted in with the passage of time. It sets an example of the appropriate way-forward to the process of augmenting such cultural contexts that have so much influence on the human faith and spirit.