Did you know the courtesans in India were the first musical legends? They were the ones who performed or sung in public without any hesitation. If one traces the first few recordings of songs in India, one could end up finding only women singers. Ever wondered why men were not the part of this musical troupe? That’s because singing and dancing were not considered an art; it was associated with people of low character.

Ever wondered what was the situation or condition when these musical legends were singing on the stage centuries ago? How about listening to the centuries-old voices, without any editing? Or what would be the sound emitted by different old musical instruments, when these were played without any technical assistance? How about learning the origins of classical music, understanding the basic concepts of Carnatic and Hindustani classical music and hear the music of the torchbearers of tradition?

These are some of the interesting facts one can learn about in the newly opened, India’s first interactive musical museum ~ Musical Experience Museum in Bangalore. This is a one-of-its-kind museum, which tells the entire story of Indian music through digital content and cutting edge technology. Unlike most other museums, it is an interactive one, where visitors get the driver’s seat.

A brainchild of musical stalwarts like musicologist Pappu Venugopala and Carnatic vocalist Manasi Prasad, the museum runs on the formula of “see, hear, touch and discover”. Here, one can play songs, touch the instruments, listen to the music, read about the artistes and know their work. Not only the experiential side, the museum also has artifacts and exhibits of music instruments over the eras. Here, one can learn more about the instruments that have been used by Indian musicians and of India’s musical journey and history.

Rich history

When it comes to music, India has a rich history. Whether it’s classical music ~ Carnatic and Hindustani ~ folk music, film music, Indian rock or Indian pop, since ages, these have been part and parcel of the vast Indian culture. Be it any occasion, it was always celebrated with music and dance. But now the only problem is very little has been done to preserve this ageold tradition. This museum can now take some credit and become a place to preserve, display and interpret our rich heritage, in new and audience-friendly ways.

The museum has been divided into eight galleries, each focusing on a unique aspect of music ~ from the diversity of India’s music scene to its history. There is an instruments gallery, a multiple touch screen, interaction zones and three mini theatres. Located in JP Nagar, Bengaluru, the museum stretches four stories and is spread over around 50,000 square feet.

“We have read a lot about our rich musical history. But nothing much has been done to preserve it. Therefore, I think this museum, which is entirely dedicated to music, can be a haven for music lovers and its preservance,” said Manasi Prasad.

One may have heard Amjad Ali Khan, Bhimsen Joshi, Ustad Bismillah Khan, Tansen, Tyagaraja, Purandaradasa and many other stalwarts from the music industry. Apart from a few famous names, many of these musical giants are disappearing from memory. One can only find them in records. Obviously, there is hardly any platform or no such platform, which informs about them.

Leaving a few books, there is nothing else where the present or upcoming generation can read or listen to their compositions. Their vast contribution to the music industry is fading day by day.

In this context, the IME has dedicated a whole section to these stalwarts. One can find various precious musical artifacts, such as the Shehnai of Ustad Bismillah Khan and the Silver Paan box and other artifacts of Bhimsen Joshi. In addition, several hundred rare photographs and audiovisual recordings are displayed in the multimedia exhibits.

Long journey

The Indian Music Experience (IME) became India’s first interactive music museum and vibrant music hub for people. However, its journey was not easy as it took almost eight years and several brainstorming sessions for the project to come up. The main purpose of this centre is to increase awareness and understanding about the diversity of Indian music ~ from traditional to contemporary. At the same time, it also informs, especially the young, about India’s rich musical diversity and to inspire creativity through music. “It took a lot of hard work and research. It didn’t happen overnight. It took almost eight years of rigorous work and research,” said the founder of the museum.

The year was 2008 when a group of residents of Brigade Millennium came together to form the Brigade Millennium Welfare Trust (later renamed the Indian Music Experience Trust) to promote social and cultural activities in the vicinity. Then began the brainstorming, surveys and consultations with several opinion leaders, artists and cultural leaders in India. A large majority indicated a need for and an interest in music-related activities. Then this musical museum came into mind.

However, the journey didn’t end here. To give a proper shape, M R Jaishankar, chief patron of IME, visited the Experience Music Project in Seattle, US, which is one of the foremost interactive music museums of the world. Thus, the idea of setting up a similar world-class interactive museum dedicated to Indian music was born.

“After visiting the museum, they came up with the idea of starting a similar museum. But we can’t replicate it in India. Therefore, the next big task was to decide about the architecture,” said Jaishankar. To set up the interactive design, an architecture design competition was held in 2010. In this eight young and talented architecture practices in Bangalore were invited to submit design proposals. Then a jury, comprising eminent personalities, chose the proposal submitted by Architecture Paradigm as the winning design. The team was then sent to study the finer points of museum design by visiting some of the best museums across the world. As a result of the study tour, world-renowned exhibition design firm, Gallagher and Associates came on board.

Once the design was finalised, the next job was to decide what to display. Then Manasi Prasad and Suma Sundhera did the rest of the research and gave shape to the museum. It was their sheer hardwok, which led Learning Centre, a part of the museum to be completed in 2015 and The Sound Garden, featuring 10 unique musical sculptures in 2017 and rest of the museum in 2018.

A walk-through

As already informed, the museum is divided in eight parts. The tour began with the sound garden ~ the park outside the building which features installation of wood and steel such as wind chimes, tubular bells, gongs, reeds and singing stones. These can introduce visitors to the principles of sound. Here one can listen to the sound of rain drops, ocean touching the beach, rustle of leaves, buzzing of bees and a beating heart.

Along with these, visitors can also hear innumerable natural sounds or create music with these installations. The sound railing brings single notes into melody, tubular bells are the welcoming bells that symbolically lay out a complete musical octave. Flower gongs are mounted on a flower-shaped musical sculpture to provide loud musical sculpture sound of different-tuned notes. The humming stone with its mysterious cave brings the phenomena of full body resonance.

Another section is Exhibition gallery, which is the core of the IME with multi-media galleries, interactive installation and instruments gallery. It provides the visitor a broad perspective of Indian music, highlight different genres and legendary performers. Then comes interactive installation gallery, which exhibits the interactive computer-based installations, which allow the visitor to engage in various activities such as creating a piece of music and recording one’s own voice. Then comes the instrument gallery.

This houses around 100 Indian instruments, along with details of their material, sound, manufacture and performance. In the learning centre, is a classroom, a seminar hall, and a library, providing space for seminars, workshops and appreciation courses. There is also a temporary exhibit area. This portion will house periodic showcases on a theme, or travelling exhibits from India and other parts of the world.