Palaces and forts of Pink City have always mesmerised tourists and locals alike, but possibly a handful of people know that the city is also home to a storehouse of seashells.
Almost in the heart of the city lies an old two-storey bungalow which houses the seashells. A visit to the quiet lanes of Sector-7 in Malviya Nagar will give you the feel of an ocean, a sea beach and an underwater experience, literally.
Welcome to Alice Garg National Seashells Museum, which houses over 3,000 seashells of all shapes, colours, patterns and sizes. It took Alice almost a lifetime more than 65 years to create this wonderful collection.
At 82, she is still going strong and ready to trot the world to add more seashells.
She was barely 6 when her father gifted her first seashell. And it was no ordinary one. It was the Glory of India. What that piece of calcium did is a fairytale that needs to be told.
Ajmer-born Alice had never seen the sea till she was 12. After all, the city where she was born is not even close to any beach. Her maiden visit to the sea was at the age of 12 when she visited Kanyakumari. Little did she know that her interest in that first shell would take her to build a one-ofits-kind seashells museum in a desert state.
Even today, despite a frail health, Alice is still devoted to each and every piece of shell in her museum. The tiniest of shells in her collection brings a big smile on her face as there is a story attached to it.
Talking to TOI, Alice shares her first encounter with a seashell. “When my mother showed me the gifted shell at the age of 12, I got intrigued to its coneshape with beautiful chocolate brown patterns. This encouraged me to find more details about the Glory of India. I was amazed to know that it was a rare species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Conidae. The live versions are predatory and venomous. Since then, my tryst with these stunning marine beings has continued. ”
The museum, set up in December 2006, is the result of Alice and her husband, Krishna Garg’s hard work and dedication. The shells on display are labelled and categorised as per their common and scientific names, family, source and availability from common to rare or rarest.
“I believe that this museum is one step ahead towards the scientific study of biological diversity and evolution. I read a lot about seashells and acquired knowledge about the subject, which helped me identify the shells. My husband, who was a physicist, played a crucial role in supporting me in fulfillingmy passion. With him, I travelled all around the world and acquired a variety of beautiful shells. Even my friends and family also supported me by gifting me seashells,” she said.
“For me it is not just a hobby but a commitment. This museum is a mission for me. I wish toshare this natural marine treasure with the next generation. We need to conserve and protect this treasure,” said Alice.
At this museum, one can see the tiniest of the shells to the 150kg giant clam, brightly coloured clams, a variety of conch shells, cowrie shells including the golden conch, Sirago spider conch, Australian trumpet, horned helmet, scallops and many more. There is also a variety of conch shells, which has wide religious significance.
Alice also has some sinistral shells, which open towards left, a rarity. These shells belong to different seas from across the globe, such as Indian, Arabian, Australian/Zealandic, Caribbean, Californian, Peruvian, Mediterranean, and the likes. Today, despite having a unique collection of seashells and shell-craft, this museum is struggling to survive due to lack of funds and support from the government.
Moreover, post-Covid, there has been a decline in footfall of visitors. Still, the museum hosts schoolchildren from timeto-time. Due to dearth of display space, Alice’s remaining 3,000 to 4,000 seashells are locked up.
“I hope the state government recognises my unique collection and promotes it actively. They can include our museum on the pit stop list of the government tourist bus. It would be great if they can provide us a bigger space to expand the museum prominently,” signs of Alice.
Well, the seashells museum is just one aspect of Alice’s life because she is also a notable social worker and educator involved in the upliftment of the economically and socially disadvantaged communities of India for the past 45 years and counting.
Note: The museum is open on all days from 10am to 5pm except Thursdays Address: 7/10, Shaheed Amit Bhardwaj Marg, Ramji Pura, Malviya Nagar, Jaipur
