The Heritage Packaging Museum completes 15 years in Bengaluru

The museum celebrates the anniversary with some new additions to their collection 
A vintage record player
A vintage record player

Vimal Kedia always had an interest in collecting antiques and vintage articles from all the cities he travelled to, both in India and abroad. But the artifacts would always get lost or misplaced by someone. That’s when he had the idea of starting the Heritage Packaging Museum in 2002, India’s only such museum. “We have all kinds of packaging material from the 20th century and you can trace the evolution of the products over the years from our artifacts,” says Vimal Kedia, the founder, adding, “While initially, it was only personal interest, I realised it would be more rewarding to showcase it to the world.”


The museum has products such as Agfa cameras in leather cases, VAT 69 bottles, army hip flasks, vintage Pepsi and Coca Cola bottles, wooden cigar boxes and more. “The oldest article we have is a gunbox which once belonged to Tipu Sultan. It is made of metal and is from the early 1900s,” reveals Vimal. Their collection of luggage bags is fascinating in that it showcases the evolution of technology, from wooden trunks and fabrics to plastic cases.  Even the Pepsi cans, all from the USA, show the progression of cans made from different metals, such as tin and aluminium.


Tuning in
This year marks the 15th anniversary of the museum and to celebrate the occasion, they have added a range of musical instruments to their collection. They now also house vintage clarinets, harmoniums and a 70-year-old gramophone in wooden casing.  Japanese electronics were very popular in India for a long time and musical gadgets were no exception. The museum now houses a 40-year-old Sansui record player as well, apart from nd a unique 3-in-1 music player that has a radio, cassette player and a record player.  

Although Vimal refuses to divulge where he gets these priceless objects from, he shares that all cities have antique dealers through whom you can source these products if you’re lucky. “When houses or buildings are being demolished, there are experts who look for rare collectibles that we can showcase. But over the years, I know exactly where to go in each Indian city to get the artifacts I need,” he says, before signing off.

Entry free. At Electronic City. Details: 71116200

 anagha@newindianexpress.com
 @anaghzzz

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