OBJECT OF THE WEEK (7th to 13th September, 2020) BARSELA, Memorial Stone Website link- https://igrms.com/wordpress/?page_id=982 Due to spread of COVID-19 pandemic the museums throughout the world are closed but identifying different innovative ways to remain connected to their visitors. Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Manav Sangrahalaya (National Museum of Mankind) has also taken up many new initiatives to face the challenges posed by this pandemic. In one such step it is coming up with a new series entitled ‘Object of the Week’ to showcase its collection from all over India. Initially this series will focus on the masterpieces from its collection which are considered as unique for their contribution to the cultural history of a particular ethnic group or area. These masterpieces belong to the “AA” & “A” category. There are 64 objects in these categories. The tradition of erecting memorial stones in Himachal Pradesh is varied and relates mainly to the cult of the dead. The reverence of souls of the dead is considered to be a religious act of merit (Punya). The figures of the dead are carved upon the slabs in such a way that the thickness of the original sandstones used for the purpose remains intact. Barsela are the typical memorial stones bearing carved and engraved pictures of the kings, queens and concubines. In Mandi and some other princely states it was considered as a royal privilege. It is also called as sati stones where the figures of queen and concubines who performed sati, were carved in the panels below the image of the deceased ruler. These memorial stones were worshipped by the deceased family for one year after the incidence of the death of the king. Barsela are valuable memorial stone slabs or pillars for ascertaining the old traditional hierarchical cultural practices. Accession No.: 99.349 Local Name – BARSELA Tribe/Community – Folk Locality – Kullu, Himachal Pradesh Measurement -Height -127 cm, Width- 70 cm Category – ‘A’ #barsela #barsella #memorialstone #satistone #stoneerectiontradition #sandstone #ancestralworship #ancestralhero #ancestralheroes #memorialstoneslab #memorialstonepillar #royalrights #traditionalpractice #stonecarving #folk https://www.instagram.com/p/CE1QqFHj1OA/?igshid=13sh2qrkk93yl
