Bengaluru: An ongoing exhibition is paying tribute to India’s medical heritage — from practices dating back 3,000 years to the era of doctors in erstwhile Mysore. Titled ‘Sacred Science: Tracing the Threads of Ancient Healing’, it is the second in the series of photo exhibitions called ‘Vintage Salute’. Its inaugural show, in 2024, featured over 30 doctors who served the south Bangalore community from the pre-Independence era through the 1960s.
Filmmaker Maya Chandra, who has conceptualised and curated it with cultural enthusiast Radha Rao, describes the current show as a “multi-sensory journey through India’s sacred science”. It features over 65 visual exhibits, including rare archival photographs, sculptures, and paintings.
This edition honours India’s earliest female medical practitioners — including Dr Anandi Bai Joshi, Dr Rukhmabai Raut, and Dr Meenakshi Reddy. It highlights historic Mysore doctors such as Dr Padmanabhan Palpu, who helped manage the 1898 Bangalore plague, and Dr R Mugham Mudaliar, the royal physician to Maharaja Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar. A rare 1935 photograph of the staff of Vani Vilas Hospital, including its two founder-members, Dr Mary Albuquerque and Dr Shankrambal, sourced from family collections, is also on display.
A highlight is a Virtual Reality installation that recreates the ashram of Sushruta, regarded as the father of Indian surgery. AI-generated visuals also bring to life ancient training methods, such as dissections on vegetables. Original chromolithographs by Raja Ravi Varma, from the personal collection of Ganesh Shivaswamy, will also be on display. These offer an artistic lens into India’s healing traditions.
On Wednesday, a talk on traditional healing practices will be delivered by polyglot Shatavadhani Ganesh, and Dr Gowri Subhramanya, a fifth-generation ayurvedic practitioner.
On view until July 4, 10 am to 7 pm, at Indian Institute of World Culture, Basavanagudi. Call 98451 33803.