Mumbai's FD Alpaiwalla Museum launches upgraded website with QR-enabled exhibits and digital archives

A view of the exhibits at the FD Alpaiwalla Museum during its opening. FILe PICS/ASHISH RAJE

AMID a busy day of preparations, Dr Pheroza Godrej picks up the phone with a quiet and familiar "Good afternoon." The honorary advisor of the Framji Dadabhoy Alpaiwalla Museum at old Khareghat Colony is preparing for a gear shift. A year after its reopening in March 2025, the museum will launch its new upgraded website today, followed by a talk by former director of the Nehru Science Centre, Shivprasad Khened.

"We chose August 1 as the day of the launch since it is World Wide Web Day," Godrej points out. The website was always a part of the museum's extended outreach plan. The curators and the organising committee had already begun moving towards an effective digital platform. "You had to prioritise, and therefore, we could not do everything right away. But the website was always in the plan, and being worked on," she shares.

For visitors to the museum, the Braille signages were already a familiar experience. Collaborating with Dr Sam Taraporevala at St Xaviers' College, the signage were the first step towards creating an inclusive experience. This has now extended to the digital project. "The exhibits will be marked with QR codes that will be accessible on the website. This will allow for fun navigation of the museum from the site itself," she says, adding, "I keep hearing people tell me that it will be more difficult for senior citizens. But I always tell them, unless you try, you will never know."

A furniture piece from the Museum's collection

The website will also platform the digital archiving of the Museum's collections. "Once the platform exists, you can always add on to it. We already have a collection of 2700 rare books, and we will be archiving them on the website. We have also collaborated with institutes and museums across the country to study and archive our coin collection," she says.

A visitor peruses the exhibits outlining Parsi culture and lifestyle

The launch of the website was also driven by an increasingly young demographic showing interest, including visits from students from the neighbouring campuses of Sophia College and Wilson College. Dr Godrej reveals, "Children have taken to the museum like ducks to water. In fact, many of them have been so kind as to participate in an ongoing recorded project, a touch of oral museology."

Dr Pheroza Godrej

Not surprisingly, the lecture by Khened touches upon the civilisational journey from the past to the internet, and on to Artificial Intelligence (AI). "It is the World Wide Web, so we are trying to do as much as we can globally," Dr Godrej concludes. A new age is dawning, after all.

TIME 10.30 am to 5.30 pm (except Sundays)
AT FD Alpaiwalla Museum, Khareghat Memorial Hall, Old Khareghat Colony, NS Patkar Marg.
CALL 23616586
LOG ON TO fdalpaiwallamuseum.org