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Conceived by the famous cartoonist, K Shankar Pillai, Shankar’s International Dolls Museum outstrips all other museums in its collection of costume dolls. The dolls on display come from the UK, USA, New Zealand, Australia and from Asian countries. Shankar’s International Dolls Museum is located in the Children’s Book Trust building at Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg. Occupying a space of 5,184.5 sq.ft, the Museum is divided into two sections; both the sections have over 160 glass cases for the display of dolls. While one of the sections has exhibits from European countries, USA, UK, New Zealand and Australia, the other section has dolls from Asian Countries, the Middle East, Africa and many states of India. Shankar’s International Dolls Museum was established in 1957 when it started with a modest collection of 3000 dolls. At present the collection has crossed 6,500 dolls which come from over 85 countries. The Dolls in Shankar’s International Dolls Museum are displayed in accordance to various themes- some of the interesting dolls on display are Man on the Moon, Mexican Aborogines, Japanese Kabuki Dancer and so many others. The section most popular among the younger visitors is the Doll Workshop, where one can see people deeply engaged in the art of making dolls The founding idea behind the Museum of all nationalities sharing one roof was to promote peace and harmony among the people around the world. Shankar’s International Dolls Museum receives a lot of visitors during the holiday season for schools; but this is not to undermine the fact that the Museum attracts older visitors as well. The Museum’s popularity may be gauged from the number of foreign dignitaries who have paid their visit to the Museum- some of them include Madame Tito of Yugoslavia, Queen Frederika of Greece, the Queen of Thailand among others.
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