Countdown to the Aga Khan Museum’s Reopening: Ponds are filled with water, and even the Heech is smiling
Story and photos by MALIK MERCHANT
Publisher-Editor Simergphotos, Simerg, and Barakah
The 5 ponds in the beautiful Aga Khan Park which separates the Aga Khan Museum from the Ismaili Centre, are filled with water; children who intentionally throw a beach ball into the centre of the pond are warned by parents not to wander into the pond to retrieve it — they patiently wait for it to float to the edge; the ponds reflect the surrounding trees, the dome of the Ismaili Centre and the Aga Khan Museum itself, the spotlights that light up the trees at dusk add a different dimension to the reflections in the water, a jet that seemingly appears to fly into the exact path of the (5 day old) crescent moon, misses it by a few strokes; a young girl freely cycles along the main entrance of the Museum; everyone I cross paths with have smiles on their faces and excitedly talk about the museum’s reopening; and when I am at the edge of the Museum and look up at the iconic steel Heech sculpture I find it smiling too!
It is with much happiness and excitement that I leave the museum grounds, waiting for the museum to actually open its doors to the public on Saturday, June 27, 2020 after a prolonged 3 month closure due to Covid-19. However, as a supporter of the Aga Khan Museum, I am attending this morning’s (June 26) special invitation to get a glimpse of what is going on inside!
With Covid-19 provincial guidelines in place, I want to witness and report on how the experience of visiting the museum in an era of a world wide pandemic has changed. How will the staff and visitors be impacted by the provincial guidelines they have to observe, and how do they feel about it? I commence this special series on the museum’s reopening with a small collection of photos that I joyfully took on the penultimate day of the Aga Khan Museum’s opening.
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Date posted: June 26, 2020.
Last updated: June 26, 2020 (9:45 AM, typos)
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Profile of Malik Merchant at Contributors.
Wonderful pictures and nice writeup. Mawla bless you and your family with the best in both worlds. Ameen. It takes effort and love for the Imam and the jamat to devote so much time as you do with your pictures and writeups over the years.
Wah…wah… Mr. Merchant. Beautiful, beautiful pics, and yes, worth sharing for sure and looking at them again and again.
Thank you as always for such a wonderful contribution to us all. God Bless.
First of all heartiest Congratulations for reopening of Aga Khan Museum. I am really very much inspired with the photographs of Aga Khan Museum, Aga Khan Park and very beautiful Dome of Ismaili Jamatkhana.