A Digital Museum Tells Time-Honored Stories of the Indian Subcontinent Through Everyday Objects and Family Heirlooms

A Letter from Mother Teresa, submitted to the Museum of Material Memory by Siddharth Sunder. (Courtesy Museum of Material Memory)

A checkbook from the Imperial Bank of India, submitted to the Museum of Material Memory by Saba Qizilbash. (Courtesy Museum of Material Memory)

A wristwatch owned by Puran Singh, submitted to the Museum of Material Memory by his grandson, Shatakshi Singh. (Courtesy Museum of Material Memory)

A 32-caliber Colt pistol owned by Inderjeet Suri, submitted to the Museum of Material Memory by his granddaughter, Anviti Suri. (Courtesy Museum of Material Memory)

The “dekchi”—a brass cooking pot used to cook “biryani”—owned by Leela Chander, submitted to the Museum of Material Memory by her great-grandson, Vignesh Sivakumar. (Courtesy Museum of Material Memory)

The “bonti,” a kitchen instrument used to peel, chop, shred, slice and dice vegetables and fruits, submitted to the Museum of Material Memory by Kasturi Mukherjee. (Courtesy Museum of Material Memory)

A Digital Museum Tells Time-Honored Stories of the Indian Subcontinent Through Everyday Objects and Family Heirlooms

Nearly five years in the making, the Museum of Material Memory serves as a crowdsourced, upstart, Smithsonian-like archive for the South Asian region.

By Spencer Bailey

November 9, 2021

12 minute read

A gold dial Titan quartz wristwatch with a worn-out brown leather strap. A 32-caliber Colt pistol. A dekchi, or brass cooking pot for cooking the traditional rice dish biryani. A signed letter from Mother Teresa. An Imperial Bank of India checkbook. These are but five items in the collection of the Museum of Material Memory, an online repository of objects from across the Indian subcontinent, dating from or before the 1970s, including books, photographs, magazines, maps, jewelry, and family heirlooms.

#Museums #History #Asia #Culture