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| September 24, 2009 | A museum in Bangalore is a treasure house of army's history | | Bangalore: A museum in Bangalore houses a rich collection of archives, documents and memorabilia of the Indian Army's oldest unit of Engineers, the Madras Engineering
Group (MEG), popularly known as the Madras Sappers and Miners. The Madras Sappers
Museum tells the tale of the rich history of the Indian military life. The museum
also houses a rare porcelain bowl, which was presented to the Indian Army by the
personnel of the Chinese defence forces, which is the only one piece in the world.
The uniform of the soldiers who sacrificed their lives during World War I and
II and also the gallantry awards given by British to the Indian soldiers are all
a part of this museum. Major General Brajesh Kumar, the present Colonel Commandant
of the MEG described the museum as cynosure for people in the military. "The Madras
Sappers Museum is not only a museum. It's a museum in an archive. So in the entire
historical period since 1790, we have kept artefacts, dresses and equipments,
which is being used and actually a panorama of how we have grown," said Major
General Brajesh Kumar. Formally, the museum had been inaugurated in January 1979
by Lieutenant General P R Puri, the then Colonel Commandant of the MEG. It was
the brainchild of Lieutenant General C A Barreto, the Commandant of the MEG and
Centre, with an objective to inculcate the Espirit-de-Crops among the veterans
as well as the youth by preserving the interesting history since the Madras Sappers
was formed in 1780. Personnel of the MEG fondly addressed as Thambis (in Tamil
language), apart from rendering meritorious service in uniform, have also carved
out names for themselves in the arena of sports. During the 1950s and 1960s, the
MEG hockey team was one of the strongest squads in India and had several players
who were Olympians and internationals. V J Peter, Murthy and Manuel were among
the stalwarts of yore. Likewise, the soccer team of the MEG was a leading contender
in numerous state and national level tournaments. The MEG also produced three
world class amateur boxers and the most famous among the trio was Muniswamy Venu
who won several titles. The museum authorities are now planning to open the museum
for general public, free of cost. | |
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