Antarang Museum

Mumbai boasts of many museums but Antarang is a museum with a difference. It is probably the only Sex Museum in India which draws a large number of sex workers and their clients besides normal public. The main aim of this museum is to make the visitors aware about HIV/AIDS through detailed exhibits and lay emphasis on safe sex.

Antarang Museum which opened in 2003, has unique painted floor tiles that resemble the shape of a sperm. The museum is very unglamorous when you compare it with the sex museums present in other parts of the world, which actually enhances its acceptability amongst the common masses. A 'lingam', a symbolic form of Hindu god Shiva, greets you as you enter the museum. The museum houses verses from the famous Indian erotica Kama Sutra, models of the process of copulation, child birth as well as details of various sexually transmitted diseases (STDs).

Antarang is a state government initiative in an effort to combat HIV and AIDS in India.Its popularity increased amongst the sex workers and their clients after health workers introduced them to the facets of the museum. Authorities all over India try various innovative ways, including street plays and 'condom parties', to spread awareness about sexual diseases.

It has been attracting more than one hundred visitors every day. The major bulk of the thousands of visitors every year are sex workers and health volunteers. Many visitors to the museum have started indulging in safe sex practices in their daily lives after gaining awareness at the museum.

The main objective of this museum is to rouse AIDS awareness and promoting use of condom in the high-risk Kamathipura red light area in Mumbai. This museum is serving its purpose very well and plans are afloat to set up similar museums away from the red light area so that more & more people are made aware to the perils of AIDS/HIV/STD.

There is no entry fee to this museum.