Shankar's
International Dolls Museum is a unique museum, located in the Children's
Book Trust building, on the Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg of New Delhi. There
are about 6,000 dolls in Shankar's International Dolls Museum, collected
from over 85 countries. This, in itself, is an overwhelming fact that
can lure anybody to this special museum. A third of this collection
comes from different parts of India only. The museum was set up by K.
Shankar Pillai, a political cartoonist. The dolls in the museum are
dressed in beautiful, bright-colored and dazzling costumes, representing
the country or the region to which they belong.Shankar's International Dolls Museum is a superb medium of cultural exchange and information. The dolls displayed here not only coach us about the costumes, but also about the facial features, accessories and lifestyles of the people in different parts of the world. They also teach us about the climate, folklore and mythologies of the various countries. One can also see the making of dolls at the workshop and buy some from the Doll Designing Center in the museum. You can visit the Shankar's International Dolls Museum everyday, between 10 am and 6 pm, except Mondays.