'Upkeep in Salar Jung Museum far below European standards'

By Our Staff Reporter

HYDERABAD, JAN. 23. The visiting Chief Conservator of German National Museum, Dr. Arnulf v. Ulmann, was critical of the upkeep of artifacts at the Salar Jung Museum, housing the world's largest collection made by an individual.

``The European standards are very high,'' was his reply when asked how the city museum fared compared to international standards. ``Pollution here is horrendous,'' he said, laying the blame squarely on the heavy vehicular movement in the twin cities.

``The vehicular technology is outdated here and no one seems to be concerned about the emission standards. Back home in Germany, we have to keep on updating the vehicle's condition lest we end up paying exorbitant fines,'' he said.

Dr. Ulmann is in town for a German art exhibition commencing on January 25 as a part of the on-going German festival in India. Having arrived with a veritable treasure trove of artifacts - some dating back to 10th century BC - the man had a serious job on hand.

``A great care has been taken in the selection of the exhibits and even greater care in exhibiting them, what with the high levels of pollution and the hot climate prevailing here,'' he shrugged. Air tight glass enclosures have been put up for many of the exhibits and the temperature and humidity levels of the art gallery were being constantly monitored.

Interestingly, the Germans have employed a simple salt technology to contain humidity in the glass enclosures. ``Salt has the nature to absorb humidity. Hence, we sprinkled salt along the walls of the glass enclosures containing the metal and wooden artifacts,'' he said.

Dr. Ulmann frenziedly punches into an electronic gadget to measure the room conditions - humidity, temperature and even the intensity of light - to check and re-check the situation. ``In two days flat, so much dust has gathered all over the place,'' he sighed, adding in the same breath that Hyderabad was better off when compared to Kolkata, which was withering under pollution of the worst kind.

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