There comes a time in our life when we all crave for a bit of nostalgia. It could be in those little things like automatic cameras or even the bulky parachute oil tins that we all so fondly remember growing up with. And, quite often, we find ourselves reminiscing about the good old times we had with these items. While we were all busy moving on with our lives, one man decided to immortalise memories of early packaging and trace its evolution.
Amidst the suburbs of Bommasandra, stands his unique museum of retro design and memoirs. Showcasing more than 1,500 items from various periods of time over the last 100 years, The Heritage Museum of Package and Design was started in 2003 by Vimal Kedia, MD of Manjushree Technopack Ltd, as a tribute to his passion for packaging. “A part of our warehouse was converted for this purpose. Here, you will see all kinds of items, few of them which were used by my father and even my grandfather. In fact, you can experience the nostalgic journey back through the memories of your childhood,” said Vimal who has managed to collect a wide variety of casings from across the globe.
The museum captures interesting stories of packaging materials which were specific to a particular period in history. The collection showcased varies from different materials like tin, leather, wood, copper, paper, plastic, glass and ceramic amongst a milieu of other packing materials. Each product has a story to tell. Some of the most treasured collections include an old tin metal box of Amrutanjan balm belonging to the pre-independence era. It was given away to pharmacies as a promotion box to all those who patronised Amrutanjan products. There is also Symantec collection of Pepsi cans from the 1950’s through 1970’s which showcases how a three-piece tin packaging evolved to a much lighter gauge aluminium can.
“There are some nostalgic items like a Cadbury fry chocolate tin which belonged to my father. We also have Coca Cola bottles from 1920’s and a huge collection of old liquor bottles right from miniature glass bottles to Vat 69 Whisky bottles on display,” he added.
Among his collection is a 1961 Ronson hair dryer which is as voluminous as a vacuum cleaner today. In order to use the dryer, the lady would be required to put a cap over her hair, connect it with a plastic hose which then went into the dryer motor console. The entire package is housed in a combination of plastic materials and rubber and makes for an interesting visual treat. However, Vimal’s personal favourite is a vast collection of vintage cameras right from the ones that were made out of wood, metal and finally to automatic cameras that were covered in plastic casing.
Vimal also plans to add more products to highlight the history and evolution of packaging in the museum. “A professional curator has been roped in to add spice to the museum by creating voice overs, videos and a special section of ‘new age packaging versus ice age packaging’. Apart from this we would like to focus on brands which have been phased out just to keep its memories and history alive in the mind of our audience,” said Vimal.