After the cement dried and solidified, a team of around 60 artists took over with a battery of colours. They painted the finest details on each subject, whether human or animal or the environment around.

The bare minimum lighting used enhances the effects to present a natural appearance.

Despite the extreme hot, cold and rainy conditions in southern Maharashtra, the museum images have withstood the ravages of the climate in the past two years since it was set up, said Sanket Sagvekar, a trustee.

'Built on an eight-acre plot within the 31-acre Siddhagiri Math complex, which is an 800-year-old pilgrim centre, the entire project cost around Rs.10 million, mainly raised through donations in cash and kind by devotees,' Sagvekar said.

Adrushya Swami said the museum will keep pace with modern developments. A mini-museum has been created for this.

'There are banks, fruit and agro-processing centres, bustling markets, cyber cafes, modern schools, colleges and other infrastructure that can help elevate our villages to global villages. This can curb the influx of the rural population to urban centres and truly pave the way for the all-round development of India,' Adrushya Swami said.

The museum has been steadily growing in popularity - from a trickle of a few hundred visitors, it now attracts an average of 15,000 visitors daily from which the Siddhagiri Math earns a sizeable income.

The money is ploughed back, partly into augmenting the museum with new exhibits coming up regularly. The rest goes into constructing other infrastructure for the villages in the vicinity.

The Math now wants to spread its wings outside the Kolhapur region. There are plans to set up similar projects at or around major urban centres like Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur and then around the country, Sagvekar said.

(Quaid Najmi can be contacted at q.najmi@ians.in)