Maharaja Sansar Chand Museum

Himachal Pradesh

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Up a curling road, 200m from Kangra Fort ticket gate, this well-displayed one-room museum exhibits ornate palanquins, pashmina fly-whisks and silver-framed beds, giving fine insights into the lifestyle of the erstwhile Kangra royal family. The dynasty claims a lineage of 488 rulers going back to the Trigarth Rajas who fought Laxman (Ram's younger brother) in the Ramayana.

The museum also has nice Kangra School miniatures and evocative before-and-after photos from the 1905 Kangra earthquake. Much is self-explanatory but there are no labels and for added context you might value the audioguide.

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