Museums of Bhubaneshwar

It is impossible for one person to see everything, go everywhere, experience everything. This is something I am especially conscious of, when I travel, especially to see ancient temples. There is so much that has been lost, so much more that I want to see, and explore. But doing all of it in one lifetime, is not even remotely possible. Which is why I enjoy visiting museums. Museums open a window to what I am missing out, they fill in the blanks sometimes, and sometimes they simply make me aware of things I had no idea existed.

On my first visit to Konark in 2017, I remember walking along the corridor of the Konark Site Museum, and seeing photographs of different sites and temples in Odisha. My attention was caught by a gorgeous Varahi, and I learnt that the temple wasn’t too far away. However, on that trip I didn’t have time to visit the temple. But that temple remained in my memory, and 8 years later, in 2025, I managed to visit it. That the experience was disappointing is another story, which I have written about here, but the point is that the museum opened me up to something new.

I try to visit museums wherever I go, but more often than not, either I am unaware of the museums, or they are closed. But of late, I have begun planning trips with museums in mind. More about that later. This post is about 3 museums I visited in Bhubaneshwar. All these 3 museums are unique and special, and each opened up new thoughts and a different sense of awareness of Odisha’s rich heritage. If you are visiting Bhubaneshwar, don’t miss any of these museums.

Odisha State Museum

The first museum is the State Museum of Odisha, and I had time and energy only for its archaeological gallery, which has some stunning sculptures. There is more to the museum than just the sculptures, but after seeing them, I had no bandwidth to see anything else. I have written about this gallery, highlighting some of the sculptures, here.

Odisha State Museum

Location: Kalpana Square, Bhubaneshwar

Timing: 10 AM to 5 PM

Closed on: Mondays and Public Holidays

For Photography, permission has to be taken. Ask at the counter.

Odisha State Tribal Museum

The second museum is the Odisha State Tribal Museum. This museum was established in 1953, and highlights the rich tribal heritage of Odisha. At the museum, we learnt that Odisha has 62 tribal communities, and this museum highlights the life, culture and crafts of all these 62 tribes.

Honestly, this museum was overwhelming. I had heard of barely 3 or 4 of these tribes before visiting the museum, so there was just too much information to absorb.

Right at the entrance of the museum, there was this board with drawings of freedom fighters of Odisha, who hailed from various tribes, along with their stories. As I read about them, I was humbled by how little we know of our own heritage, and especially how little we know of anything other than what we are familiar with. The more I travel to different corners of the country, the more I realize we need to open our minds and hearts to the rich regional diversity we have.

One section of the museum had 3-dimensional displays with touch-screens. Each display showed one tribe in their natural environment, and the interactive screens highlighted one aspect of their life in a simple manner. There were audios and videos, and it is the best such set-up I have ever seen.

One of the things I loved about the museum was that every gallery had artists from various tribes, simply sitting there, creating art, which was for sale. The art was done in the typical style of the tribe, but in a simple manner, designed to appeal to the average visitor, and inexpensive. The art work is available for sale in the gallery itself, as well as the museum shop. Apparently, artists take turns coming here, so which art you see depends on the day and time you visit. it is purely luck what you get to see.

We got to see 3 artists at work… a Bhotra tribesman from Nabrangpur doing paddy craft, where paddy grains are wound with cotton thread around a bamboo shaft, to create beautiful designs – from earrings and pendants to wall hangings.

We also saw artists doing Gond painting and Saora paintings.

Odisha State Tribal Museum

Location: CRPF Square, Nayapalli, Bhubaneswar 

Timings: 10 AM to 5:30 PM

Closed on: Mondays and Public Holidays

This museum has a lovely shop as well as a cafeteria.

Kalabhoomi – the Odisha Crafts Museum

Kalabhoomi is one of the newer museums of Bhubaneshwar, established in 2018. This is the Crafts Museum of Odisha, run by the Handloom, Textiles and Handicrafts Department, Government of Odisha.

Kalabhoomi is set in a sprawling space, with a beautiful café serving some very delectable food. The museum itself has multiple galleries, dedicated to various arts and crafts, from sculptures to textiles.

This Handicrafts Map of Odisha from the museum gives us a glimpse of the vast craft heritage that Odisha has to offer. As I looked at the map, I thought of how wonderful and fascinating it would be, to use this map as a guide, and explore Odisha.

Here are some of the displayed handicrafts that stood out for me…..

A Terracotta Hanuman, after burning Lanka…

Painted pot from Ushakothi showing Jagannath and scenes from Krishna’s life…

Chaiti Ghoda, which is part of an annual tribal festival in Odisha. This so reminds me of the poikal kudarai that we see in Tamilnadu!

Silver Filigree work, a replica of a maritime trade vessel…. I have seen filigree work before,  but the level of detail here is amazing.

A shell-work mirror depicting Lord Jagannath…

A Naga warrior on a lion and tiger, made of animal horn…

Bamboo inlay work of Radha-Krishna on Kandarp Elephant. The Kandarp Elephant is a traditional motif seen in Patachitra paintings, where the elephant is a composite, formed by 9 intertwined gopis. Can you see all the 9 gopis here?

While the museum itself is a beautiful place, and the galleries are all superb, the most impressive part of the museum is the Jagannath Gallery, located right at the end. This is a gallery dedicated to Lord Jagannath, as the name suggests. The central focus of the gallery is the life-size Lord Jagannath in Raghunath Besha, where the Lord is dressed as Lord Rama in his court, with Sita and the others. The Lord was first decorated in this form in the temple in 1577, and most recently in 1905.

On one side are 5 more representations of Lord Jagannath in 5 other forms. I have already shared those images on my post on Puri, so please go see them there.

Kalabhoomi is a great example of what a modern museum can be like.

Kalabhoomi – The Odisha Crafts Museum

Location: Shilpi Vihar, Pokhariput, Bhubaneshwar

Timings: 10 AM to 5:30 PM

Closed on: Mondays and Public Holidays

The museum has a nice shop, with some lovely textiles as well as other handicrafts available.

The Bocca Café at Kalabhoomi is a lovely place to sit and relax, and have some nice Continental food.

Please do note that all the museums in Bhubaneshwar are closed on Mondays, so plan accordingly.