P D Ravindra, 77, runs a science museum for children in Bengaluru.

Walking into the two-storey Amma Saraswati Loka in an industrial area in Banshankari, Bengaluru, is like entering an attic strewn with a medley of objects. Weaving his way amid tools, tyres, wooden planks and gadgets, P D Ravindra, a former chief of maintenance at Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), shows off his creations with childlike gusto. This workshop-cum-museum, named after his mother, houses novelties from waste and is popular with schoolchildren. The 3 Rs—Reduce, Recycle, Reuse—that form the foundation of environmental stewardship, are the 77 year-old’s watchwords. “When I embarked on this venture, I did not visualise it as a museum,” he says. Public response motivated him to establish his workspace as a museum for children. Deftly integrating science, history, geography, astronomy, mythology and environment in his creations, he drives home concepts in a fun way. An old fridge converted into a food warmer, a portable traffic kit, a cycle that works as a battery charger, an exercise bike that doubles as a wet grinder, a ‘granny’s wheel’ (in pic) that helps old people draw water from the well with considerable ease, a wave pendulum, a star-gazing umbrella, a dancing fountain, among other gadgets, are some of the attractions. “I want children to learn hands on,” says Ravindra, whose innate creativity surfaced during his 20-year stint at HAL, where he observed expensive aircraft and helicopter parts being discarded during overhaul. An award from the company for creating over 70 products from waste was the turning point in his life. After quitting his job in 1981, when he was barely 42, Ravindra operated from the footpath with all his sketches and drawings in a briefcase. Later, he used the money he earned from a project assigned to him by HAL to buy the site where the museum stands today. Entry to the museum is free. “We curb children’s imagination and creativity,” he says. “I want them to utilise this space to understand, innovate, and make whatever mess they want in that process.” Sriramya, whose seven year-old son Ishaan is exploring the museum with some of his friends, enthuses, “Ravindra sir explains scientific concepts to children as if he’s narrating a story.” Learning here, evidently, is child’s play!

—Chitra Ramaswamy

Photo: Chitra Ramaswamy
Featured in Harmony — Celebrate Age Magazine
January 2017