Would you want to see what stethoscopes looked like in the 19th century or a Minnit gas-air apparatus that would be carried by midwives in their bicycles to provide analgesia to British women in labour? Then head to the S.L. Bhatia History of Medicine Museum, situated in a well-known hospital in Bengaluru – St. John’s Medical College.
Medicine museums are hard to find, which is what makes them unique spaces. With a library, archives, and fascinating exhibits—photographs, original reprints, instruments, and models—the S.L. Bhatia History of Medicine Museum offers rare insights into the history of medicine.
An admin with a penchant for history
Although the Department of Medicine was founded in 1963, Major General Sohan Lal Bhatia, a distinguished physician, physiologist, and administrator, founded the museum in 1974. His appointment as the first Indian Dean of Grant Medical College in 1924 was followed by a position as principal and superintendent of the J. J. Group of Hospitals. As a member of the Bhore Committee, Major General S.L. Bhatia was instrumental in the establishment of the AIIMS, New Delhi.
“He was a philanthropist and gave his writings, archives and collections of original reprints of posters, and physiological instruments to the hospital and he helped in setting up the Museum of the History of Medicine. Some of the exhibits/instruments in the museum have been donated by the St. John’s Hospital. It’s a small museum but every nook and cranny of the museum has a story to tell,” says Radhika Hegde, curator of the museum.
Inside the museum
The museum is divided into different sections: modern section, surgery section, pharmaceutical section, instruments section and Indian section. The original second edition prints of Robert Thom’s paintings, which portray significant figures and events in the history of medicine from antiquity to the present, are unmissable for any visitor. These prints document major events, such as the first vaccinations against smallpox. Another reprint shows Trephining – an ancient practice done in Peru that involved cutting or scraping a hole in the skull with a surgical instrument.
Medicines speak volumes too
The space is a treasure trove of narratives that weave faith, medicine and art. An exhibit shows the wax models, indicating the practice of offering wax models of body parts at St. Mary’s Church in Bombay.
In the 1300s, the Black Death swept Europe. Also called the bubonic plague, it spread across many countries and was thus called a pandemic. The government would appoint a ‘Plague Doctor’ to tend to patients infected with plague. They would appear in strange costumes – a long waxed coat or gown, gloves, glasses, hat, and a beak. The museum has a model of a plague doctor.
A copy of the Field Service Hygiene Notes that were sent to the Royal Army Medical Corps in 1945 is one of the highlights of the museum. Also on display are a microscope and Major Gen Bhatia’s medical kits. More to intrigue, a portable midwifery kit from the 1920s, and mortars for compounding and grinding. The archive section above the museum has medical texts and papers from the 19th century. The library offers an intriguing variety of publications ranging from the herbal physician to the medical topography sketches of the 19th century. And then from Indian medicines to 18th century illustrations on human anatomy and children’s disorders.
Medicines, then herbs and ultimately a museum
According to curator Radhika Hegde, the museum is also working on an Indian medicine section, complete with a herb garden for young visitors to interact with. “The museum stands at the intersection of medicine, humanity and the arts. We realised that the museum has a limited reach. So, we actively started reaching out to professionals in the museum sector. Post-COVID, IFA (Indian Foundation for Arts) reached out and the museum was activated.” In the last few months, the museum has conducted a few events.
“We want to look at patients as not just a medical body but have conversations beyond that. We want to make medical students come here and make them empathetic,” says Hegde.
(The museum is at St. John’s Medical College, in Bengaluru. It is open from 10 am to 4 pm on weekdays and until 1 pm on Saturdays.)
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