What we do not save, we lose, and with it, a piece of what it means to be human.

Over the last month, renovation has been taking place at the Egmore Government Museum at the cost of some of Tamil Nadu’s most prized idols and sculptures. Construction equipment is propped up beside ancient temple pillars and idols. The antiques, many of which are more than 1,000 years old, had been seized by the Idol Wing of the Tamil Nadu Police, and then stored here.

Earlier reports in The Hindu suggest that the Idol Wing of Tamil Nadu seized several thousand artefacts over the years, including centuries-old stone sculptures and idols, carved stone pillars, intricately worked wooden pieces, temple cars, vahanas or ritual vehicles for gods, , among others and were stored in a haphazard manner at the rear-end of the unit’s premises that is part of the CB-CID Economic Offences Wing at Guindy in Chennai back in 2019. The police claimed that the museum did not allocate space for these idols to be placed there. Subsequently though, these idols were placed inside the museum campus, with little concern or care for its storied heritage. This remains the status till date.

The renovation work by the Public Works Department is currently taking place at the Geology Wing of the museum constructed in 1851. The structure has reportedly suffered 60% damage with time and is spread across 5,500 square feet. Workers say that they are currently painting the structure. Beside the Geology section, on a vacant plot of museum land, lie statues and pillars, seized from across the world, by the Idol Wing. They have been placed on the floor, close to construction equipment that churn out concrete. The beams that hold a building together can be seen resting atop these historic sculptures. The idols themselves peek out of a thick layer of strewn leaves, cobwebs, dust and grime. Visitors and workers can often be seen sitting on some of these ancient pillars.

Chandan Seetharam, a regular at the museum, says that he was aghast when he saw the damage to some of these artefacts. It prompted him to put out a tweet on X that received a fair bit of traction on social media. “I was here on Saturday [June 7]. That is when I noticed the construction equipment placed in between some of these idols,” he says, adding, “these idols were stolen some years ago because they were truly considered beautiful. The Idol Wing evidently put in all the effort to retrieve them because of how priceless they are. Why then would we not protect them properly?” he asked.

His father V.N. Seetharam, who takes a particular interest in Indian architecture, sculpture, Indology and culture, accompanied his son on this expedition to understand the damage to the sculpture. For years, he has been a trusted tour guide for foreign visitors and has frequented the museum regularly. “These sculptures are at least 1,000 to 1,500 years old. The way they are lying here and are being treated due to the renovation is plain shoddy,” he says.

Chandan adds that there are sculptures here that would easily date back to the Hoysala Period [between the 10th and 14th Century]. “A number of Chola sculptures can also be found here,” he says, pointing to pieces with intricate carvings on granite, limestone, and other material that lie without any cover, under the mercy of the weather. “These are easily worth millions. They are better off in private collections. The least they can do is protection,” he says.

Historian and author Pradeep Chakravarthy says that many of these idols range between the 11th and 18th Century. Some, he says have Central Indian influences. "The panel looks Buddhist which makes it quite unique and could be earlier than 17th Century," he says.

This is certainly not the first time the issue has been highlighted. Reporter K. Sivaraman of The Hindu has written about the plight of stone, bronze, and wood structures seized by the Idol Wing police back in 2019. For years now, activists have been calling for the establishment of a ‘Friends of the Museum’ initiative to improve the facilities at the museum and protect the structure that houses a gallery full of Chola-era bronzes, and the largest collection of ancient Roman coins outside of Rome.

N. Sundararajan, Assistant Director, Technical, Department of Museums, says that the Idol Wing is in-charge of the upkeep of these sculptures.

Another senior official says that the Geology section’s head is on leave and action will be taken upon his arrival.