A state-of-the-art interactive music museum, The Centre for Indian Music Experience (IME) will be opened in Bangalore soon and then India will join a selected group of countries who have such museums.

The IME has been conceived as a vibrant music hub for celebrations of India's unity in spirit and diversity in creative expression. Visitors to this museum will be able to rediscover their connections to the living tradition of Indian music.

The museum has been built on a plot of about one hectare located in a posh locality of JP Nagar in Bangalore. The piece of land has been donated by a private developer, Brigade Group, in its sprawling 'Brigade Millennium Complex' of apartments.

The four-storey building of the museum with a covered area of about 4000 square metres has been built at a cost of about Rs 40 crore (6 million USD). The museum is expected a footfalls of around 5 lakh visitors annually. 

The IME will provide visitors an educative and unique cultural experience of India's rich musical heritage. The aim of this centre is to inform the youngsters about India's rich musical diversity, and to inspire creativity through music.

The museum accommodates an interactive exhibit area consisting of eight thematic galleries showcasing various facets of Indian music, an instruments gallery with 250 musical instruments, and several computer-based interactive installations that allow the visitor to experience the process of music-making.

A Sound Garden is the second major attraction of the IME. It features musical sculptures including reeds, chimes, tubular bells, plate gongs and musical stones that introduce visitors to the principles of sound.

A Learning Centre is yet another important component of the IME. It is planned for delivering curriculum-based music education and development of music teaching aids for schools. The Learning Centre consists of five classrooms, a seminar hall and a library to hold music classes, workshops and lectures on regular basis.

In addition to the above, the IMA comprises a cafe for refreshments and a gift store for music related memorabilia.

The realization of IME has been made possible by the passionate working of committed group of professionals of diverse fields. These include: the architect - Architecture Paradigm Pvt Ltd; the museum designer - Gallagher and Associates; sound garden designer - Svaram Musical Instruments and Research; film maker - Indrajit Nattoji, Director of Blink Pictures; and branding and merchandise - Foley Designs.

The museum designer Gallagher and Associates (G&A) is one of the leading professional design firms in USA which have to its credit the famous Grammy Museum in Los Angeles, California. The firm worked to define the visitor experience model and its relationship to a conceptual architectural plan. The G&A aided the architecture team in making some necessary adjustments to the building design as it relates to the museum experience, including retail and food services.

The Bangalore based architecture firm Architecture Paradigm Pvt Ltd founded by architects Manoj Ladhad, Sandeep J and Vimal Jain got this project after winning an architectural design competition way back in 2010. 

According to architects, "the design of the museum building follows the curves of the existing jamun and mango trees on the plot. The curved facade symbolizes the gradual expansion of Indian music, like flowing raga."

The museum building has a protracted period of construction, initially due to lack of clarity in its scope of work and functioning, and then due to scarcity of funds.

But "All's Well That Ends Well"  and now the construction work and furnishings are almost complete. It is expected that the IME will be dedicated to the nation in the month of June 2017.

All images courtesy Architecture Paradigm Pvt Ltd 

> via Hindustan Times