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Mysuru, known as the Cultural Capital, also boasts many museums, educational and research institutions. Adding to its accolades is the ‘Unique Health Museum,’ the first-of-its-kind in India, quietly taking shape at Teachers Layout. This museum aims to create health awareness among the public with special focus on students.

On International Museum Day 2024 (May 18), with the theme ‘Museums for Education and Research,’ Star of Mysore spoke to Dr. N.M. Shama Sundar, the man behind the ‘Unique Health Museum.’ This museum is the second in the world to showcase plastinated organs.

Speaking about plastination, Dr. Shama Sundar, an Anatomy Professor, explained, “Normally, specimens are preserved in bottles using formalin, a liquid that can cause eye and skin irritation. This method can cause specimens to lose their actual colour and may not appear realistic.”

Plastination, however, is a dry preservation technique that maintains specimens in their original colour and shape for a long time. When plastinated specimens are on display, one can touch and feel them in their natural form, providing better information than conventional preservation methods, he said.

“I am a surgeon, and when my junior wants to learn surgery, living patients cannot be used as juniors are not trained or qualified. Bottled specimens in formalin are inconvenient due to their irritating smell and form, making them unsuitable for cutting and stitching practice. Plastinated specimens have no smell and are real specimens, not plastic models. They are convenient for junior doctors to learn from and serve as alternatives to patients,” he said.

Former Dean of JSS Medical College and current Visiting Anatomy Professor at various Medical Colleges, Dr. Shama Sundar, adds, “When conducting workshops on organs like the heart or kidney, carrying bottled specimens is inconvenient and uncomfortable due to the smell and risk of spillage. Abhishek, a Science Communicator and Founder-Secretary of Gravity Science Foundation, Chamarajanagar and I frequently travel to conduct workshops. Plastinated specimens are easy to carry and provide hands-on experience, allowing the audience to see and feel both healthy and affected organs.”

“We conduct workshops and exhibitions at schools and summer camps for high school students and above. Usually, children see organs only in drawings or books, which do not convey the real size or colour. When they see real specimens preserved through plastination, they get a true sense of an organ, making learning more effective,” he added.

Some may hesitate to touch the specimens as they come from deceased bodies, so they can be covered with transparent covers for display. The museum features hearts, kidneys, lungs, brains, models, and photos to educate visitors. Apart from plastinated specimens, there are games and physics-related models in the museum to keep it interesting. Well-dressed dolls convey the message that a ‘healthy family is a happy family’ at the front of the museum. The overall idea is to make the museum engaging and convey the importance of health and happiness.

When asked about record body donation registrations during his tenure as Secretary of the JSS Body Donation Association, Dr. Shama Sundar explained, “40 years ago, there were fewer medical colleges and one body was sufficient for 10 students for an academic year. As the population and need for doctors increased, new colleges emerged, raising the demand for bodies.”

“Back then, we often received bodies of beggars. When they died, the Police would verify that the deceased had no relatives to claim the body and that the death was natural. The Police would then take signatures from residents and communicate to the medical college that the body could be used for teaching and research purposes,” he said.

“As the number of medical colleges increased, so did the need for bodies. We anticipated a shortage and sought a long-term solution. We decided to promote body donation. I feel that from a scientific perspective, burying or cremating bodies is wasteful, despite the sentimental and religious aspects,” he opined.

“I gave programmes on Akashvani and TV and wrote articles in newspapers and blogs in both Kannada and English. During lectures, we shared our idea of body donation, emphasising that hands-on experience with real bodies is essential for medical training. We simply conveyed that one cannot become a doctor by studying on computers alone,” he revealed.

The public responded positively and many pledged to donate their bodies. As a result, JSS achieved the highest body donation registration in India, with nearly 4,000 pledges.

Although the Body Donation Association was first set up in Belagavi, it received a weak response because just putting up a board was insufficient. We needed to create awareness actively. “I attended many programmes to speak about the importance of body donation, which garnered significant publicity and support,” he noted.

In body donation, family members of the deceased had no expenses. “We provided the ambulance, consoled the family and took the body. The biggest advantage was preserving the body for over 15 days, allowing relatives to pay their last respects. This was particularly beneficial for families with members abroad who arrived later. In some cases, even if parents had registered for body donation, their children might opt for cremation or burial instead. Both my mother’s and sister’s bodies have been donated to the Anatomy Department and plastinated,” Dr. Shama Sundar said. 

The ‘Unique Health Museum’, which was formally inaugurated on Oct. 23, 2023 by Padma Shree Prof. S. Ayyappan, former Director-General, ICAR, is open between 5.30 pm and 8.30 pm every day and shortly the Museum will be thrown open to public from 10 am to 8.30 pm.

A 10 Rupees Doctor !

Dr. N.M. Shama Sundar is a Senior Professor of Anatomy with over 36 years of experience and served as the Dean of the Faculty of Bio-Medical Sciences at JSS Academy of Higher Education & Research (JSS AHER) for five years. He studied at Yuvaraja’s College and did MBBS and MS (Anatomy) from Mysore Medical College.

He established JSS Body Donation Association 26 years ago, achieving the highest number of registrations (3,814) and donations (497) in India. He is the first in India and second in the world to design ‘Plastination’ technique. He has received over 185 awards and honours and has instituted the ‘Dr. Mannar Krishna Memorial Gold Medal’ in his father’s name, awarded for the highest marks in Anatomy.

Dr. Shama Sundar’s father was a veterinary doctor, his mother a housewife, and his siblings and their children are engineers. He has been a family physician at Mini Clinic in Siddarthanagar for 39 years, charging only 10 rupees, earning him the nickname ‘10 Rupees Doctor.’ Specialising in paediatric surgery, he has performed over 3,000 minor surgeries at low cost.

Gravity Science Foundation

Established on Oct. 15, 2018, the Gravity Science Foundation (GSF) aims to popularise science in rural areas and society while promoting basic science research among school and college students in Chamarajanagar and other underserved regions of Karnataka through comprehensive science education.

Recognised as one of the top 100 Meritorious Science Clubs in India, with only one from Karnataka among 3,367 clubs, the GSF conducts health camps, science talks, awareness programmes and demonstrations in schools and colleges across villages in Chamarajanagar, T. Narasipur, Kollegal, and beyond. — BNR

source/content: starofmysore.com (headline edited)

Biocon Biologics said on Tuesday that the US Food and Drug Administration (US FDA) has approved the company’s first-to-file application for Yesafili, a biosimilar drug for treating eye ailments.

The company said the medicine is similar to the reference product Eylea (aflibercept) intended for the treatment of neovascular age-related macular degeneration (AMD), visual impairment due to macular oedema secondary to retinal vein occlusion, visual impairment due to diabetic macular oedema and visual impairment due to myopic choroidal neovascularisation. Studies demonstrate that Yesafili matches Eylea in quality, safety, and efficacy, it added.

“The FDA approval of Yesafili (aflibercept) as the first interchangeable biological product to Eylea is a significant milestone for Biocon Biologics, marking our entry into ophthalmology, a new therapeutic area in the United States. This approval builds on our successful track record of bringing the first interchangeable insulin, Semglee, the first biosimilar trastuzumab, Ogivri, and the first biosimilar pegfilgrastim, Fulphila, to patients in the United States,” said Shreehas Tambe, chief executive officer and managing director, Biocon Biologics.

In the US, 19.8 million people live with AMD. In 2023, sales of aflibercept, a common treatment for AMD, were valued at around $5.89 billion, the statement added.

source/content: daijiworld.com (headline edited)

“We are seeing that the HAPS platform is becoming very popular these days, although it’s technically very difficult to achieve and hence not aggressively done in the past.

GalaxEye, a Bengaluru-based space-tech startup developing the world’s first private multi-sensor earth observation satellite, has also become the first company to successfully test its Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) technology on a subscale High Altitude Pseudo-Satellite (HAPS), an UAV developed by the National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL). The demonstration was conducted on May 10 at the Aeronautical Test Range (ATR) near Chitradurga, facilitated by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), marking a significant development in the realm of aerospace innovation. 

“We are seeing that the HAPS platform is becoming very popular these days, although it’s technically very difficult to achieve and hence not aggressively done in the past.  Once this platform becomes commercialised it will be better optimised than putting a satellite in orbit. This is a cost-effective surveillance solution and also stays above our heads for 20 hours to seven days unlike the limited power of drones,” said Suyash Singh, co-founder and CEO of GalaxEye, in a conversation with TNIE. Weighing about 5 kg, the mounted SAR on HAPS achieved an altitude of 3.5 km with stability for 2.5 hours and was continuously monitored.

HAPS can be considered a middle ground for drones and satellites, they operate in the stratosphere, offering unprecedented capabilities for prolonged aerial surveillance. Leveraging solar energy and advanced battery systems, these platforms can stay aloft for extended periods. At the stratosphere SAR emerges as a pivotal technology for all-weather, all-time imaging hence overcoming the challenge of cloud cover, which delays the traditional electro-optical cameras.

However, the IIM-Madras incubated startup seemed positive about India taking the forefront of SAR innovation and fostering technological self-reliance, aiming to redefine global standards. Singh highlighted that SAR holds immense potential for environmental monitoring and disaster management. 

An NAL spokesperson said, “SAR technology is vital for HAPS, and GalaxEye’s drone-based SAR capabilities show promise for integrating such systems into HAPS. While the initial tests are encouraging, a series of further tests will be necessary before these platforms can be deployed for practical applications.”

source/content: newindianexpress.com (headline edited)

This is the first time that an Indian watch brand has tested its wristwatch for the extreme conditions of outer space. To celebrate the milestone, Bangalore Watch Company has unveiled 50 timepieces of the space-tested watch – the Apogee Karman Line.

Earlier this year, an Indian watch was taken into space and dropped back to Earth. The watch, Apogee Karman Line by Bangalore Watch Company, survived extreme pressure and temperature changes, and came back in perfect running condition. The brand’s co-founder Niurpesh Joshi says it is the first step to eventually putting the timepiece on an astronaut’s wrist, much like a Sturmanski, worn by Soviet pilot Yuri Gagarin aboard his Vostok 1 in 1961, or a Strela strapped to Russian Cosmonaut Alexi Leonov in open space, or even an Omega Moonwatch that Edwin ‘Buzz’ Aldrin wore when he stepped out of Apollo 11 onto the lunar surface in 1969. 

 Joshi and co-founder Mercy Amalraj founded Bangalore Watch Company with the vision of representing modern India in its timepieces. Its collection Cover Drive is inspired by cricket, and MACH1 is an homage to Indian aviation; the Apogee line takes inspiration from India’s space missions. Now, an Apogee watch has literally made it to the final frontier. “We took two Apogee watches built in the exact same workshop and put them through additional testing to make sure that they would withstand the extremities of space, and sent one to space,” says Joshi. “We never used different materials to build this watch. It’s the same Apogee series watch in just a different-coloured case that we took, tested, and sent up. This milestone gives us the opportunity to call the whole Apogee series space-qualified.” The watch is named after the boundary, marked 100 kms above the Earth, believed to be the starting point of outer space. 

The Karman Line

The design of Karman Line is largely the same as the other Apogee timepieces. Crafted in 40mm black CerasteelTM and topped with domed sapphire crystal with two layers of anti-reflective coating, where it stands out from other Apogee watches is with its blue Muonionalusta meteorite dial. This ferrous-based meteorite was found along the borders of Sweden and Finland and is commonly used by watchmakers; Bangalore Watch Company’s manufacturing partners in Switzerland cut and processed the rock to make it a dial to be fitted inside this watch. The blue colour of the meteorite is reminiscent of blue skies in space. 

The indexes and hands are diamond cut, rhodium coated, and layered with C3 Grade-A Super-LumiNova® for nighttime visibility. The date window lies at 6 o’clock. The crown at 4 is for timesetting, and the one at 2 can be used to set the second timezone using the internal bezel. The caseback is closed and screwed down, and features an engraving of the Aryabhatta, India’s first satellite, like all other Apogee watches.

The other significant difference in this watch is its movement. While other Apogee watches house Sellita movements, the Karman Line is powered by La-Joux Perret G100 manufacture movement, which offers the watch 68 hours of power reserve and drives the time and date functions. The watch is flanked with a genuine leather strap closed with a 316L steel tang buckle featuring BWC logo.

The flight

The watch went up to an altitude of 114,000 feet (35 kms) in the Earth’s atmosphere, four times higher than the height of Mount Everest, where it was still within the gravitational pull of the Earth. To make this flight happen, Bangalore Watch Company joined hands with a UK-based space-engineering company, who created a carbon-fibre spacecraft and a hydrogen-filled high-altitude balloon to carry the Apogee watch to outer space. The watch was mounted over a special-created spacecraft and left completely exposed to the extreme environment of about -60 degree celsius. 

Any watch that goes into outer space has to be tested for extreme conditions, including abrupt temperature and pressure changes. Joshi says that on ground, the watch was put through a battery of tests for the same, though these were far less punishing than the final conditions it was exposed to. “We didn’t know how high the watch would go, we tested it to the maximum extent we could on the ground [-30 degree Celsius], and it went till 35 kms at -60 degree Celsius and the watch still worked flawlessly. And that’s something we’re really proud of,” said Joshi. It was only after the watch passed all the tests that it was handed over to partners in the UK for the space flight.

The launch

As per Joshi, the three main aspects of this project were the location, mode of launch, and testing the watch. “First, we zeroed in on the company who would carry our watch into space. Second, we had to decide how we were going to send it – either in a rocket or a high-altitude balloon. We couldn’t spend hundreds of dollars sending it in a rocket, so the best way was to send it in a high-altitude balloon. The third decision was to build a spacecraft where it was exposed to the elements of space. It was a challenge for us to build a spacecraft that was only 2 kgs and could support a watch over it, and had multiple 4K cameras focusing on the watch,” says Joshi. The company was secretly working on the project for the past 18 months before it reached the milestone. 

The descent

After reaching the maximum extent in space, the watch stayed there for a brief period and then the balloon was deflated through a remote mechanism. The spacecraft then free-fell back to Earth at a speed of about 350 kmph, and as it approached the ground, a drogue parachute was deployed to slow it down to almost 8 kms/hr. Through this controlled descent, the watch touched down on Earth and was found in a perfect running condition. It was traced to have landed at about 20 kms from where it took off because of the winds.

The next milestone

After successfully testing the Apogee for space, Joshi aims to put this watch on the wrists of astronauts. “It was just a space-inspired watch with some pretty-looking fume dials three years ago, and now we have meteorite dials and have even pushed ourselves to make it space-qualified. We are now looking forward to the future where we can put these watches on the wrists of not just Indian astronauts, but the astronauts of other countries as well. The next milestone will be to put the Apogee to human-rating, which will involve fire-retardant, shock-absorbent testing and more.”

Also expected are more updates in design and materials. “When we launched Apogee, we made a titanium watch. We wanted to make it even better so last year we introduced a proprietary material called Cerasteel, a combination of stainless steel and ceramic. It’s harder, you can play around with colours, and is more robust than stainless steel. Now we continue to make improvements to and investments in this series, and hopefully tell the world that we are a very serious watch company trying to do very serious stuff.”

Images: Courtesy Brand

source/content: watchtimes.in (headline edited)

Air India will work closely with SIA Engineering Company Limited (SIAEC) on the planning, construction, development and operationalisation of its base maintenance facilities here, they said.

Air India on Saturday announced it has appointed SIA Engineering Company Limited as its strategic partner for the development of its base maintenance facilities here.

As part of the partnership, Air India will work closely with SIA Engineering Company Limited (SIAEC) on the planning, construction, development and operationalisation of its base maintenance facilities here, they said.

In a statement, Air India said, “Projected to be ready in 2026, the facilities will comprise both wide-body and narrow-body hangars, including associated repair shops, to support the growing Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) needs of the aircraft fleet in Air India Group.”

“The collaboration with SIA Engineering Company will not only help Air India become more self-reliant for the maintenance of its own fleet but it also reiterates our commitment to strengthen India’s aviation infrastructure by boosting the growth of the country’s MRO industry,” Campbell Wilson, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, Air India, said.

Air India had earlier announced setting up a state-of-the-art Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MRO) facilities at Kempegowda International Airport Bengaluru (operated by Bangalore International Airport Ltd) starting with airframe maintenance through the development of wide-body and narrow-body aircraft hangars for all checks.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

source/content: business-standard.com (headline edited)

Eighty-five per cent of the products manufactured in this factory will be exported, significantly catering to the data centre segment, as well as to buildings, industry, and infrastructure.

Schneider Electric, a global player in energy management and automation, has invested Rs 100 crore in a new cooling factory in Bengaluru, officially launched on Thursday. The company has also earmarked an investment of Rs 3,200 crore in India by 2026 to expand its presence across the country.

The cooling factory in Bengaluru, spanning about 6.5 acres, will focus on developing “innovative” cooling solutions to meet the growing exponential demand for the data centre ecosystem in the country, the company said.

Schneider Electric Infrastructure Ltd

“The new manufacturing facility embodies our commitment to the vision of an Atmanirbhar Bharat. It underlines our technological advancement, standing as a beacon of innovation and progress, poised to meet the demands of the data centre industry. India is a crucial market for us, we are set to invest Rs 3,200 crore by 2026 to expand our presence in the country. This factory, a part of that commitment, will go beyond manufacturing, creating job opportunities in the state of Karnataka and fostering the growth of the local economy,” said Deepak Sharma, zone president Greater India, managing director and chief executive officer of Schneider Electric India.

Eighty-five per cent of the products manufactured in this factory will be exported, significantly catering to the data centre segment, as well as to buildings, industry, and infrastructure. Fully owned by Schneider Electric, this factory will play a crucial role in the company’s global supply chain.

“This new factory is equipped with cutting-edge technology and specialises in manufacturing cooling products and solutions that are tailored for data centres, telecom, commercial, and industrial applications, both in domestic and international markets,” Schneider Electric said in a statement.

The primary focus of the factory will be to produce the latest generation of row cooling systems, high-efficiency chillers, and other precision air conditioning systems.

The global data centre cooling market size was estimated at $18.65 billion in 2023 and is expected to grow at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 16.8 per cent from 2024 to 2030, according to Grand View Research. The increasing demand for energy-efficient data centres is anticipated to create lucrative growth opportunities for energy management players.

“The data centre industry is currently facing numerous challenges, and one of the significant issues is energy volatility. With the exponential growth of artificial intelligence, the demand for data processing is increasing rapidly, leading to an increased demand for cooling solutions,” said Pankaj Sharma, executive vice president, Secure Power Division and Data Centre Business, Schneider Electric.

“To cater to this growing need, our factory is equipped to manufacture efficient cooling solutions that not only address the cooling requirements of high-density computing environments but also contribute to building resilient and sustainable data centre infrastructure,” Sharma added.

source/content: business-standard.com (headline edited)

Advancements in medical procedures have come as a boon to many, saving them from the cusp of death. But the stress of arranging funds makes it harrowing for many, especially in rural areas. However, a hospital in Gadag district in North Karnataka has been serving the needy by performing kidney transplants at a nominal price and is also creating awareness about kidney transplants and other organ donations.

The Rural Medical Services KH Patil Hospital and Research Institute in Hulkoti village in the district carried out a successful kidney transplant on April 24, which the doctors here claim to be a first in a rural hospital. The hospital is equipped with modular operation theatres with the necessary medical equipment to carry out complex surgical procedures. The donor in this case was a 55-year-old woman who donated her kidney to her 32-year-old son. Both the donor and recipient have recovered well after the procedure. The donor was discharged three days after the operation, and the recipient five days later.

The hospital is the dream child of late KH Patil, senior Congress leader and former minister. Patil had envisioned a well-equipped hospital with all the amenities in Hulkoti that would enable complex medical procedures. This dream has now become a reality thanks to the dedicated team effort of the hospital management and staff under Dr SR Nagnur and leadership of Dr Avinash Odugoudar.

The doctors here claim that they are not doing it for commercial purposes, but to help needy patients. “Kidney transplants in Bengaluru cost anywhere between Rs 15 and Rs 20 lakh, but in Hulkoti it is Rs 5 lakh,” said a doctor.

The hospital team has shown that with the right human resources, equipment, perseverance and commitment to serve, such procedures are achievable even in a rural hospital. A lifesaving procedure is now affordable and accessible without any hassle, they claim.

Dr Odugoudar (Consultant Urologist and Transplant Surgeon) and Dr Deepak Kurahatti (Consultant Nephrologist) have not only trained the staff, but also guided and motivated the team to perform this operation at the hospital.

Dr Odugoudar, who completed his training in Urology at KMC Manipal and thereafter earned a fellowship in Renal Transplant from Liverpool and Robotic Surgery for Uro-Oncology from Leeds, UK, returned to his village of Hulkoti with the intention of serving his people and making renal transplants affordable and accessible to the common people.

Dr Kurahatti has undergone training at Apollo Hospitals in Bengaluru. The team also comprises Dr Bhuvanesh Aradhya, Dr Pavan Koliwad, Dr Sameer Desai, Dr Meghana Hipparagi, Dr Vishal K and Dr Vinayak Panchagar, who have worked at various hospitals.

After the first successful operation, the hospital management is now determined to continue to spread awareness about renal failure and facilitate accessible, affordable transplant services.

The team has been raising awareness about kidney diseases over the last three years. On the second Thursday of March every year, the team, in collaboration with Sankalpa Super Speciality Hospital in Gadag, organises events to educate people to identify the early signs of kidney diseases to expedite early diagnosis and appropriate treatment. A dedicated ‘Transplant Clinic’ is run every Saturday to evaluate and educate patients and their families about kidney transplants.

Dr Naganur said, “The most transplanted organ in India is the kidney. However, the current number of transplants (11,243) is insufficient to meet the estimated demand of 2,00,000 renal failures a year. India has a very high burden of chronic diseases such as diabetes and hypertension. Many patients rely on dialysis for their entire lives, while waiting for a donor or financial support for a surgery in private hospital. Hence, we thought of performing this transplantation in rural areas to make it affordable for rural people.”

source/content: newindianexpress.com (headline edited)

The land, in the upscale Koramangala 3rd Block, was sold to Isaac by a couple — Arvind and Geeta Reddy — who ran a family business prior to their retirement.

In what is touted as Bengaluru’s most expensive land deal, Ajit Isaac, founder and chairman of staffing company Quess Corp, has purchased a 10,000 square foot plot at a staggering Rs 70,300 per square feet, a total of Rs 67.5 crore. 

The land, in the upscale Koramangala 3rd Block, was sold to Isaac by a couple — Arvind and Geeta Reddy — who ran a family business prior to their retirement.

The deal was closed last week and the land will be utilised to develop a residential property, sources with knowledge of the matter, told DH. Prior to this, a 9,488 square foot plot sold to TVS Motors in the same locality at Rs 68,597 per square feet…

The tony neighbourhood, also referred as ‘Billionaire Street’, is home to the who’s who of the city, including Flipkart co-founder Sachin Bansal, Infosys co-founders Nandan Nilekani and Kris Gopalakrishnan, Raja Bagmane of Bagmane Developers, Narayana Health’s Dr Devi Shetty and politician Rajeev Chandrasekhar. 

Property consultancy Colliers, which was the deal advisor for the transaction, declined to answer DH’s query seeking a comment.

“These are not comparable transactions vis-a-vis the broader market dynamics,” Shantanu Mazumder, executive director for Bengaluru at property consultancy Knight Frank India, said. He credited a supply crunch in the prime locality, combined with rising aspirations and appetite of Indians to pay for boutique end-use projects, for the high valuation.

However, it must be noted that the Garden City has been in the spotlight for its soaring property prices. According to a Knight Frank report released earlier this month, average residential real estate prices in Bengaluru during the January-March quarter of calendar 2024 grew 9% year-on-year, second only to Hyderabad at 13%. Sequentially, this marked a 4% growth from the previous quarter (October-December).

Isaac set up Quess Corp in 2007, which has since grown into a $2 billion company with its footprint spread across nine countries, employing a workforce of over 5 lakh. He has also drawn attention for his philanthropic engagements.

source/content: deccanherald.com (headline edited)

From ancient tree specimens to various insects that depend on wood and a xylarium with samples from over 300 species of trees, the Woods Museum cum Interpretation Centre in Bengaluru also offers courses.

In a city known for its green cover, one does not often think about the trees that contribute to the fundamental needs of humans. At the Institute of Wood Science and Technology in Bengaluru’s Malleswaram, the Woods Museum cum Interpretation Centre (WMIC) highlights the various uses of wood and houses specimens of various species of trees.

Of particular interest are the ancient tree specimens housed within the museum, which largely caters to students from schools and colleges. One of them, a teak log cross-section, was taken from a tree that sprouted sometime around the foundation of the East India Company in 1600, and lived until shortly after Independence. Another such teak cross-section is nearly eight centuries old.

The museum, established in January 2012, also has a large collection of posters devoted to various facts about trees and wood — from what the darkest wood in the world is to what kind produces the most heat when burned.

Among the interactive displays, which can be handled by visitors, include various wood samples showing the contrast between regular wood and wood that has undergone processes such as heat treatment. Other display cases show the various insects that depend on wood in their ecosystem. The effect of pests on trees is also on display in the form of a completely hollow trunk of a Gulmohar tree that once stood in Malleswaram.

Of particular interest at the museum is a xylarium which houses wood samples from more than 300 different species of trees. The idea behind the xylarium is to serve as a wood repository to compare with other wood samples that may need to be identified. These samples are taken from the main xylarium of the Institute of Wood Science, which currently houses over 2,000 different wood samples. This is one of the two primary xylariums in the country, with the other one in Uttarakhand’s Dehradun.

An interactive Interpretation Centre for the museum is also currently awaiting funding.

Another interesting spot is the Institute’s Advanced Woodworking Training Centre located below the museum. Taking wood a step further than carpentry, the Centre, which was originally set up as a joint venture with the Italian government, offers courses ranging from a month to a year, catering mainly to hobbyists, prospective workers in the woodworking industry, and entrepreneurs looking to learn about the field. The Centre also makes use of precision Computerised Numerical Control machines, which were also used to create an engraving of the Mysore Palace for the Wood Museum.

The Wood Museum is open on weekdays until 5 pm.

source/content: indianexpress.com (headline edited)