Antarang :: India’s First Sex Museum

Antarang, India’s first Sex Museum, opened in Mumbai in 2002. Antarang is the country’s only sex museum, but surprisingly very few people know about its whereabouts. It is purposefully located in Kamathipura, Mumbai's red-light area. “It is ironic that in the land of Kamasutra, we have sex dealt with in a prudish way. Very few people are aware of the museum's existence. The museum is run by the government as a part of anti-HIV program.

Antarang is a one-room exhibition displaying models of human anatomy and illustrations. This is the only sex museum in India. Since the museum is located in the red light district a great bulk of its visitors are prostitutes who visit the museum together with their partners being taken there by health workers.

Antarang, whose floor tiles are painted to look like sperm, was opened in 2003. It became popular among prostitutes and some of their clients after health workers began taking them there.

News as on January 12, 2008 >> Antarang, India’s only sex museum at Kamathipura, will be shifted inside the premises of Wadala's leprosy hospital for the next two years.  A ward inside the leprosy hospital will be the new  house the museum. The  museum was started by the Mumbai State Government in 2002, following a sudden surge in HIV/AIDS cases in the city. It was abruptly shutdown in July last year citing maintenance problems.