ITP Diary 7th August 2014: Y.S Wunglengton

The ITP team from BM and participants assembled in the lounge at Schafer house exactly at 8:15 a.m. Mostafa, a participant from Iran joined us finally after lots of concern.

We arrived in Brighton at 10:15 a.m. and it was a fine summer day.  Claire welcomed us at the entrance gate of the train station. Indeed as the name suggests the place is usually bright and sunny all year round.

Brighton is an old town but a young city, we saw many young people strolling in the center doing brisk business of all sorts.

The Royal Pavilion was indeed amazing. The exterior architecture was in the Indian style but interior works were mostly Chinese: the wall paintings, lighting, chandeliers and almost all items having Chinese touches.

 

The dragoon images of bamboo were prominently projected however it was done with British taste. The fascinating fact is that a daffodil was portrayed also with the picture of the bamboo which is very much of England, as daffodils are not found in China!

The royals often hosted dinner parties of the usual cuisine of the time, which was beautifully and tastefully shown in the kitchen with a variety of birds, seafood and domestic animals. The period furniture, the paintings, the sculpture etc. were a glimpse of the elegant life style and the lavish feasting of the time.  The building housing the collection is well maintained and preserved.

When we visited the Brighton Museum & Art Gallery Sarah Posey and Jody East gave us a thorough introduction of the museum, and their work on the current exhibition ‘War Stories – Voices from the First World War’. The exhibition was mounted and curated so nicely: lighting, information panels, visitor flow and signage were properly placed. Most importantly the content and its interpretation were sensibly documented and portrayed from the perspective of those people and their relatives in the war.  The methodology, strategy and conscientious but meticulous job well executed are highly commendable and appreciated. They had made a supreme sacrifice for a cause. Now, my personal view point is we should all fight for World Peace, Prosperity and Harmony.

 

Y.S.Wunglengton / India