Around 1,800 people visited the Bihar Museum on Tuesday, the first day it opened for the public.

Unlike Patna Museum where the entry fee is just Rs 15, visitors to the Bihar Museum - the brainchild of chief minister Nitish Kumar to showcase the state's legacy, art and culture - have to cough up much more as entry fee: Rs 100 per adult, Rs 50 per child, and Rs 500 for foreigners.

'We fixed the entry fee at Bihar Museum after comparing with other prominent museums in the country,' said Bihar Museum director J.P. Singh.

Singh also said the actual first-day footfall could be higher as entry was free for artists - who were given special passes - and students of the College of Arts and Craft.

Built for Rs 517 crore and spread over 13.3 acres of land with a built-up area of 2.50 lakh square feet, the Bihar Museum was inaugurated by chief minister Nitish Kumar on Monday.

It is divided into seven sections: Or including Historical Art, Regional Art, and Bihari Diaspora.

'Each section has its importance and there is a lot of scope for art lovers and history students to learn at the museum,' said Maumita Ghosh, the curator of Bihar Museum.

'The Didarganj chauri-bearer female figure better known as Yakshi, which completed 100 years (after excavation) recently, has been placed with other Mauryan artwork at the Historical Art gallery,' she added.

The Yakshi, which was a major attraction at Patna Museum, is crowds at Bihar Museum too. Built with chunar sandstone it is still shiny even after more than 2,300 years, something that has baffled even chemists.

'The Bihar Museum huge and much grander than Patna Museum, but most of the artefacts have been shifted from the old museum,' said Kislay Narayan, a visitor.

His friend Prashant Ranjan disagreed: 'The artefacts including the Yakshi were kept like a store room in the old museum, but here one can learn more about these artefacts. All objects have been beautifully decorated. The installation work of Mumbai-based artist Sanjay Kumar who has roots in Bihar is eye-catching. We could not see such stuff in the old gallery.'

The installation is a collection of 171 Buddhist monk figures made of brass and at the centre is a bronze Buddha begging bowl which is around 600kg in weight.

As part of Gandhi Jayanti celebrations, 42 artists from across the country also exhibited their artwork on the theme 'Gandhi in eyes of artists'.