Patna: Chief minister Nitish Kumar was in for a pleasant surprise during his visit to Chandradhari Museum and Maharajadhiraj Lakshmishwar Singh Museum in Darbhanga, where thousands of rare artefacts and exhibits welcomed him.

He spent around an hour at Lakshmishwar Singh Museum and was particularly enamoured by a rare ivory throne that was once used by the rulers of the Darbhanga Raj. He also spent time appreciating the wooden artefacts exhibited there.

The main collection of the Lakshmishwar Museum comprises the donation by the erstwhile royal family of Darbhanga Raj in 1979 to the Bihar government.

"The chief minister expressed happiness after visiting the place. We told him that we are trying to conserve the artefacts exhibited here with the help of Lucknow-based National Research Laboratory for Conservation of Cultural Property. He directed the senior officials to ensure and expedite proper conservation of the rare artefacts," Lakshmishwar Museum curator Shiv Kumar Mishra told The Telegraph.

Nitish was gifted a memento of the ivory throne during his visit.

At Chandradhari Museum, which was established by the state government with the help of the private collection of Chandradhari Singh, a zamindar of Madhubani, Nitish spent around two hours going through the 5,000 exhibits.

He also inaugurated the newly renovated gallery, which displays rare medieval and modern paintings of different styles that flourished in various parts of the country.

Chandradhari Musuem curator Sudhir Kumar Yadav said: "The chief minister directed the senior officials to ensure that other galleries are also renovated on the lines of the painting gallery for the benefit of visitors."

After visiting the Chandradhari and Maharajadhiraj Lakshmishwar Singh museums Nitish said: "We had always talked and heard about the two museums and their rich collections so we thought to visit them and see what we could do to improve them."

Nitish added that better buildings would be needed to properly display the exhibits at both the museums and emphasised that artefacts should be displayed in such a manner that they leave an indelible imprint on the minds of visitors.

The chief minister added that the ponds around the two museums would be beautified.