Beneath the Dinosaurs, Jagnanan Keeps the Museum Moving

Walking through the Theodore Roosevelt Rotunda entrance at the American Museum of Natural History, visitors are immediately met by a towering Barosaurus rearing onto its hind legs, defending its baby from a stalking Allosaurus. The Barosaurus seems to command the space: enormous, elegant and proud beneath the museum’s cool air on a hot late spring day.

Long before exhibits reach museum galleries, however, many first pass through a chaotic and stuffy basement directly below, where Devindra Jagnanan has spent nearly three decades keeping things moving. Jagnanan is the supervising clerk in shipping and receiving at the museum, leading a seven-person team that handles mail, packages and exhibits arriving from around the world.

His territory is lined with rows of boxes of different sizes, office supplies, papers, yellow Post-it notes stuck to the walls and a large white x-ray machine. The team’s day begins at 9 a.m. with the constant beeping of sorting machines, the sound of scissors slicing through tape and cardboard boxes being ripped open. Sometimes there are surprised “ahs” and “ohs” over an unexpected package. Most of the time, there is laughter and conversation.

“It’s pretty busy here. Around 10 in the morning, things really pick up,” Jagnanan said, sitting at his desk among stacks of papers and photographs of his son.

Jagnanan has spent so long in the department that it is hard to imagine him anywhere else. But he still remembers arriving there himself. Born in Guyana, Jagnanan moved to New York when he was 20 years old.

Now in his fifties, dressed in long pants with his shirt tucked in and his hair neatly combed back, he recalled spotting an advertisement in the Sunday edition of The New York Daily News nearly three decades ago. The American Museum of Natural History was hiring for Shipping and Receiving.

During the interview, the manager tested him on computers and shipping equipment on the spot. Having worked at UPS beforehand, Jagnanan already knew the systems. Four days later, he got the job. Since then, he has been promoted from clerk to senior clerk and eventually supervisor, witnessing renovations and changes across the museum along the way.

Over nearly three decades, punctuality has become a point of pride. “Being on time is important to me,” he said, a faint smile rarely leaving his face.

A few years ago, the museum recognized him with an award for punctuality and hard work. “And now this Keepers of the City award. I’m very happy,” Jagnanan said.

The boxes arriving in his department come in every shape and size, and so do the problems. Packages get mislabeled. Shipping questions pile up. But opening boxes can also bring surprises. “Usually things arrive in big boxes, so you don’t know what’s inside until they’re opened,” Jagnanan said.

The contents could be taxidermied animals—tigers, deer, lions and alligators, a 500-pound machine or something even more exciting. “A few years ago, a dinosaur came in parts and everybody ran over to see it,” he said. “They were fixing it up here before taking it upstairs. It was beautiful.”

That unpredictability is one reason Jagnanan says he still loves the job.

“It’s the same work every week,” said Jagnanan. “But different days, different times, different people, different packages coming from different places.”