Bangalore: The third and the only one of its kind in the world, a wax museum on musical instruments was opened in Mysore last week. The museum is intended to be yet another tourist attraction of Mysore. The 19-gallery museum, called ‘Melody World’, has 110 life-size statues playing diverse Indian and Western musical
instruments.
This concept was initiated and developed by Shreeji Bhaskaran. His first Wax
Museum project (in March 2007) was WAX WORLD at Ooty and the second
opened in July 2008 at the historical location of Old Goa.
Apart from the famous Wax statue of H.E. Dr. Abdul Kalam (Unveiled by Dr.
Kalam in January 2004 at Bangalore) and other statues of celebrities, Shreeji has
also made wax statues of “The Last Supper” (22 feet in length and 500 Kgs of wax
used). This ‘Last Supper’ was unveiled and blessed by His Eminence Cardinal Paul
Poupard, the President of the Pontifical Council for Inter religious Dialogue at the
Vatican at a ceremony held at Goa on 20th November 2006 in the presence of His
Grace Dr. Filip Neri, the Archbishop of Goa and Daman. This is on display at the
Wax museum in Goa which has been recognized and included in tour packages by
Goa Tourism Ministry.
Based on music and musical instruments, Mysore wax museum exhibits over 100
wax statues and over 300 musical instruments, which has been purchased from
around the World and exhibited in various band settings consisting of wax statues of
musicians and background settings. Some of the bands represented are Indian
Classical North & South, Punjabi bangra, South Indian, Jazz & Rock, Middle East
etc. Clothes are tailor made to match the fabric and style. The wax used is paraffin
with some additives. Color is added to the wax when in molten state and cosmetic
coloring is applied at the final stages. While eyes and teeth are artificial, the hair used
may be natural or synthetic.
Wax statue making involves computerised digital imaging techniques, traditional &
conventional sculpting & molding methodologies. Depending on the complexity, the
cost of making a wax statue varies from Rs. 3 lakh to 15 lakh. Time involved in
making a statue is usually 4 to 16 weeks. Approximately 50 Kgs of wax is used for a
statue. Wax statues and musical instruments are not for sale.
The 3 Wax Museums in India employ advanced computer technology in museum
management and are managed by Shreeji and his wife Reena. While making wax
statues is an expensive and time consuming hobby (started in 2003), Shreeji is an
accomplished businessman and an engineer in Information Technology. He has many
IT projects to his credit especially in the Middle East and Australia. He holds an
Engineering degree in Electronics and MBA.
