Credit: DH Photo
Concert diary
During a recent visit to the city, legendary flautist Hariprasad Chaurasia donated his iconic bansuri, concert
attire (a kurta, dhoti, and pearl necklace), and a 2012 performance diary
to the Indian Music Experience museum in J P Nagar. Also new in the stock is the yazh, a string instrument that goes back around 2,000 years old, known for its boat-shaped resonator carved like peacocks and fish.
Details: indianmusicexperience.org
Currency watermark
At Rezwan Razack’s Museum of Indian Paper Money on Brunton Road, visitors can now view watermark paper moulds — a security feature used in currency. The museum, featuring businessman Razack’s private collection, spans Indian paper money from the early 1800s. Highlights include uniface currency with Queen Victoria’s portrait, Portuguese and French Indian notes, and Prisoner of War coupons from the Anglo-Boer war.
Call: 080 2512 8555
Brain to mind
The Human Brain Museum and Bank at Nimhans, Hosur Road, displays 400 brain specimens along with organs like lungs, pancreas, and kidneys. It is open on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Its coordinator Dr Anita Mahadevan reveals that plans are on to transform it into a full-time experiential public museum focussed on both brain and mind. Details: thenimhansbrainbank.in
Saree with a message
Pavithra Muddaya talks about two significant donations her Austin Town-located Vimor Museum of Living Textiles has received. One came from a weaver — his mother’s wedding saree from the Independence era. The pallu depicts peace doves, Parliament, ships, and a globe, which Pavithra views as a call for global peace. The other is a one-metre torn saree fragment from a friend’s mother, featuring pure gold, silver, copper, copper-gold mix, lurex, and meenakari work — reflecting the collaborative nature of Indian weaving. Call: 94803 17054
Commemorative inks
Handwriting and calligraphy expert K C Janardhan has added commemorative inks by Sulekha Ink to J’s La Quill Museum at his house near K R Market. These inks honour figures like Swami Vivekananda (saffron), Satyajit Ray (blue black), Sukanta Bhattacharya (brown), Jamini Roy (six colours), besides a dark violet in the name of Janardhan. It also showcases new fountain pens from Indian manufacturers — Click (Indore), Kiko (Bardhaman), and Mohi (Aurangabad). Call: 98451 86482
Show on water crisis
Visvesvaraya Industrial and Technological Museum on Kasturba Road has added a vintage Brunsviga 20 mechanical calculator
of 12.32 kg — once an accounting
marvel in the 1950s. It has also launched an exhibition on Bengaluru’s waterscapes, examining human impact and solutions, and reintroduced liquid nitrogen demonstrations in its science show lineup. Call: 080 2286 6200
Globe radio
At his Short Wave Radio Museum in Basaveshwaranagar, telecom consultant Uday Kalburgi has expanded his collection by over 62 valve radios this year, totalling 260 sets. He has also restored 60% of them. Notable additions include a 1930 GEC London radio with a dial showing broadcast station codes instead of names or frequencies, a 1951 Philips Holland Radiogram combining a high-end radio with a Garrard record changer, and a 1946/47 Emor Radio UK Globe model — one of only 34 known to be surviving. Details: shortwaveradiomuseum.com
Sunday activities
The Museum of Art and Photography on Kasturba Road will observe museum day on Sunday with activities for the public, like sketching, sign language lessons, art label creation, textile trademark riddles, and a guided walk to understand art conservation and storage. Details: map-india.org