As you walk in, you’re greeted by the sounds of mellifluous instruments in the background. The ambient lighting makes for a warm welcome and you see happy faces sauntering around to explore the unique audio-visual exhibits, accompanied by sumptuous food. This is the Indian Music Experience (IME), Bengaluru, India’s first interactive music museum, which is now open later than usual every last Saturday of the month.
An initiative of the non-profit Indian Music Experience Trust, IME is trying to win people’s confidence back in visiting its space. “It’s been a difficult year for everybody. But music and food have a way of warming people’s hearts. Let’s all get together and have fun in the new year,” says Manasi Prasad, the director of IME.
The self-guided tour that starts at the Sound Garden is highly recommended. Spread across three stories and over 50,000 sq ft, it takes you through a kaleidoscope of India’s musicscape. It starts with an area dedicated to 11 unique installations, including stones, gongs, chimes, and storm drums that one can play. There are several audio-visuals related to Indian music and it all comes together as a multi-sensory adventure.
You have photos of fusion music pioneer Rahul Ram of rock band Indian Ocean displayed along with articles written about him. People can also listen to music by stalwarts through the interactive screens. Footages of popular festivals such as Sunburn are exhibited.Don’t miss the piano from 1904 from the sets of a recording studio with Kishore Kumar singing in the background. Also, learn about the songs that mark events such as birth, harvest season and marriage, especially of rural and tribal Indian communities.
At the end of the three-hour tour, food was calling us and we answered it with a voracious appetite. Sound Bites Cafe now holds special live music evenings with delicious food. Before we knew, we had a table full of comforting Indo-Chinese food. You can opt for buffet or à la carte and the menu changes every month and will include different cuisines each time.
While we were there, loaves of bread, fresh out of the oven, were dexterously carved in shapes of different instruments. The honey chilli potatoes made for a good appetiser but the medium-sized carby potato chunks laced with honey were better. Vegetable momos were the biggest winners, while the kung pao vegetables and burnt garlic rice made for a comforting meal. The chicken satay served on skewers was one of the best non-vegetarian offerings.
The meal ended with honeyed darsan, delicious crispy fried noodles coated with honey and sesame seeds.
In the background played Sufi music and songs by independent artist Intakhab Ansari. The café can seat only 30 people, so make sure you reserve a table and after that, it’s all about soak in the richness of the night.