The first museum of weights and measures in the country sits in the Chamarajpeth market area of Davangere, Karnataka. Called Tula Bhavan, its exhibits include more than 3,000 varieties of weighing and measuring devices, some dating back at least three centuries.
A visitor can see, for example, wire gauges and a depth-measuring tape made in Germany and folding scales from America and England. The bulk of the collection, though, originates in India, and includes devices from almost every part of the country, including from the times of the Nizams of Hyderabad, the Mysore Wadiyars, the Adil Shahis, and the Keladis. Among the prize pieces are wooden beam scales from Mysore, and weighing stones used during the Adil Shah period.
The museum is the creation of a family which makes its living in the trade.
Chennaveerappa Yalamalli had been in the business of selling weights and measures for 45 years. His son Basavaraj joined the family business in 1982. In 1997, he decided he wanted to set up a museum to create awareness of varieties of measuring devices. He began travelling across the country to collect information and models for his project. In 2006, he had enough to start the museum.
When his father died in 2012, he took over the running of the business; two years later, in 2014, he set up the Chennaveerappa Yalamalli Memorial Trust to run and grow the museum.
The museum entered the Limca Book of Records in 2016, and in January this year, the Department of Posts declared it the ‘first of its kind’ in the country in its in-house magazine.
Mr. Yalamalli told The Hindu that he is sad that he has had little help from local authorities or the government, but he is happy that his son, Sriraj, has joined him, not just in the business but also in the mission of developing the museum.
