Here’s another reason to visit the Birla Industrial and Technological Museum (BITM) today! The introduction of a new permanent gallery – Vintage Voyage- is already winning over people. From hieroglyphics to emails, from diagrams to gramophones, from fire alarm systems to interactive Morse codes, the gallery has them all. Inaugurated on May 18 on the occasion of International Museum Day, Vintage Voyage traces the evolution of communication through various stages.
Divided over four segments the exhibits highlight the past, present and the future of communication with special attention to their impact on modern society. Transmit, is all about Morse codes, telegraphy and the Wall Street crash. Broadcast displays radio, optical telegraphy and more. Tether has specimens of wireless communication including telephones and transmitters. Swadesh Connect leverages the contribution of Indian scientists in the field of communication evolution. Talking to Indulge, BITM director Subhabrata Chaudhuri says, “This vintage communication technology exhibition is our attempt to show and tell how the past connects to our present and broadens the horizon leading to the future. Each exhibit here is a rare collective. Additionally, each is a functional piece that charted the evolution of communication technology – as we know it today.”
He adds, “To communicate is an action. It is also a choice! As a species, we’ve been keen to communicate. Our technologies have advanced parallel to the urge to tell our stories – louder, clearer and faster. Innovating, automating, improving and sometimes scraping it all to make way for upgraded mechanisms – for better or for worse – the evolution of communicating devices is as alluring as the artefacts themselves. From hieroglyphs of yesteryears to emoticons of today - form and functions changed. What remained is the indelible impact that each of these technological changes brought into our methods of information exchange.”
As India celebrates its 75 th year, the Vintage Voyage gallery is updated with 75 artefacts, most functional and interactive. As an institute which imparts education in science and technology, this interactiveness attracts students and makes learning easier. Aditi Ghose, education officer, BITM gives further reasons why you should not miss the gallery. “Each artefact is accompanied by true tales revealing the societal impact of communication technologies - including the contribution of wireless telegraphy in reaching the survivors of the Titanic in 1912, the impact of Chicago Motwane Radio in amplifying India's call for freedom, or how a robust fire alarm system from the 1950s in Boston proved to be a saviour during the 911 outage in 2018.”
“Working Exhibits like the interactive Morse Code generator, Semaphore, Illusion exhibit with assorted stamps, Magneto Generator, Railway Signal system, Fire Alarm System generates curiosity among people and makes them want to visit more.” added Ghose.
When at the gallery do remember to check out the gramophone where you can hear recitations in the voice of the Rabindranath Tagore, or try to decipher secret codes through optical telegraphy which was used by Napoleon. The audio-video shorts played in loop gives an apt introduction to the gallery at the entrance and short videos which talk in details about the functioning of several of the artefacts are positioned throughout the gallery. The Vintage Voyage gallery is included in the ticket cost for entering the museum and no separate charges are levied. It is open to the public from 9:30 am to 6: 00 pm every day except Diwali and Holi. Though a guide is stationed at the gallery should you like to have a tour, special group tours are also available on request at the BITM reception. Every object has accompanying QR codes which allow visitors to navigate through the space at their own pace as well.