Hisar’s Dayanand College museum a window to Haryana’s cultural heritage

The traditional articles, including jewellery and clothes, on display at the museum of the history department of Dayanand College in Hisar offer a unique window into the culture and social life of Haryana.

These items — which are no longer in use but were an integral part of people’s lives until a few decades ago — reflect the lifestyles, customs and identities of the people of Haryana, particularly those in rural areas. With the generational transition of society into modern times, these items may have lost their significance, but they offer an insight into the recent past of the region.

Principal Vikramjit Singh said the museum preserved a collection of traditional garments, jewellery and decorative items contributed by students to the college over the past few years.

A visit to the gallery showed that it had a collection of several items associated with the traditional attire of Haryana, particularly women’s garments such as the kurti, daman and chunri, as well as the traditional dhoti-kurta and turban worn by men.

A student of the college, Gayatri, said the exhibits at the museum provide an insight into a time when clothing was very different from what it was today, and when their parents and grandparents were part of this tradition and social identity.

Prof Mahender Singh of the History Department said the daman and kurti occupied a prominent place in the traditional attire of women in Haryana. Though these garments are now worn only during fashion shows and at some events in Haryana, there was an era when they were part of everyday clothing and an important part of cultural and social identity.

The chunri, too, was closely associated with traditional life and various social occasions. Among men, the dhoti-kurta and turban were important elements of traditional attire.

The museum also has a collection of traditional jewellery and personal adornments. A jewellery box, in which jewellery, vermilion and combs were kept, used to be a prized possession, especially of newlywed women. The borla, in particular, has long been associated with traditional women’s adornment in Haryana.

The folk culture gallery also features some special traditional decorative objects used in rural homes, including handmade bags, bindarwals, jhumars, flower vases and hindolas. These items reflect the domestic creativity of rural women and the use of locally available materials and handcrafted designs.

“The methods of decorating homes have undergone a sea change, from the earlier era when people were dependent on locally available materials and handmade articles to decorate their homes,” he said.

A group of students at the museum said the traditional clothes, jewellery and household objects preserved there provide an opportunity to understand how Haryana’s cultural practices have changed over time.

“These items are no longer part of everyday life, though our mothers and grandmothers knew about these things. The museum has kept alive a cultural memory through these items,” they said.