Mysore is a hub of art and culture. The city greets tourists with numerous sight-seeing options. On my recent trip to Mysore, I had the plan to explore the unexplored part of the city. It was almost evening 5 pm, when we visited Sand museum. The sun was setting and we were plunged in the thought of what's next. As it was late evening, almost all the tourist place would be almost set to close. Fortunately, on checking maps, I noticed Melody Wax museum Mysore, located in the walkable distance and would be open till 7:30 pm. Hurray !! This was perfect and we started heading towards the place.
In 10 mins we noticed a laughing buddha and superman at the entrance and many boards of Wax museum. Inside stood a 100 years old building which is transformed to the museum. We bought the tickets including camera (very economical I would say).
A brief note on the place: Melody Wax museum is a unique music-themed museum. It has a collection of 100+ life-size wax statues and 300+ musical instruments belonging to different parts of the world. The museum was inaugurated in 2010, has 19 small rooms showcasing various forms of music. It has the largest collection of musical instruments in Karnataka.
About the artist: The museum showcases the steady passion of Mr Shreeji Bhaskaran, a Bengaluru-based IT professional. With wax statue making as his hobby and his love of music has turned this place attractive. Being the owner and sponsor of this museum, he has also created Wax world at Ooty and wax museum at Goa. It is a salute to all musical artists from all around the globe.
I would like to mention the most remarkable subjects of the museum.
The Life-size statues
The museum houses 100+ life-size statues. The prominent ones which impressed me are:
Music bands
The bands on display include Indian classical, both north and south, Punjabi Bhangra, south Indian, Jazz, Rock, Latin American, Arab etc. This is a tribute to all the bands of the world. This is also great learning to know the music culture of various lands.
Honestly, I was unaware about most of these bands. This was worth to realise how big is the world of music.
Antique instruments:
The museum is a hub of musical instruments and age old antique gadgets.
The process of wax statue making is complex and it consumes 50 kg of wax for one life-size statue. The cost would range from 3 lakhs to 15 lakhs, depending on the technology used. The museum is not funded by Government or any organisation. The whole maintenance and statue making is self-funded by Shreeji Bhaskaran. I would take this opportunity to thank him for this wonderful music collection and wax statues.
The statues and musical instruments take you a tour right from stone age to the present era of music evolution. I was fascinated to know and learn about many musical instruments. This museum gave me the chance to explore various forms of music. A music buff and children would surely enjoy it.
Visiting tips:
- Situated well within the city on the road to Chamundi hills, Melody World Wax Museum is easily reachable.
- The wax museum is open to public every day from 9:30 am to 7:30 pm.
- An entry ticket of Rs. 40 is charged per head. It's free for children of age group 0-5years.
- Photography is allowed and an extra Rs.10 is collected as camera charges.
- Horror world is present in the same campus, give a test to your courage.
- Good visit for children and people yet to explore a wax museum.
- The statues and instruments are not for sale. Few instruments are allowed to be played.
Every time I passed by this place I was wondering what is it like inside, but because of time restrictions I always skipped this place. Nice pictures and detailed article :)
ReplyDeleteThank you Sakree! :)
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