Kerala Museum

Kerala Museum (also known as the Museum of Kerala History) at Edapally, Kochi, India, is one of the oldest art and history museums in Kochi. The museum was founded by philanthropist and entrepreneur R. Madhavan Nayar (1914-1996) in 1986. It is managed by the Madhavan Nayar Foundation, a registered charitable trust.Kerala Museum has three galleries: the Museum of Kerala History, the Dolls Museum and the Gallery of Modern Art.The Museum of Kerala History is the oldest gallery in the Kerala Museum. It recounts the history of the state of Kerala through 36 dioramas on key historical episodes and personalities from the region. A light and sound show is organised for all visitors to the gallery, with commentaries in English and Malayalam. Important historical personalities in focus in the gallery include including Ay Andiran of Pothiyilmala, Senguttavan and Ilango Venmani, St. Thomas, the Aryan immigration, Nannan of Ezhimala, Kulasekhara Alwar, Cheraman Perumal Nayanar and Shankaracharya. Sculptor Karamana Rajagopal of Thiruvananthapuram created the sculptures and dioramas in this gallery, and pre-eminent Kerala historian A. Sreedhara Menon extended advice on content. Outside the gallery is a statue of Parasurama, the sage who is believed to have brought forth the land of Kerala from the ocean.