Sumant Batra’s collection includes a vast assemblage of vintage typewriters where each machine tells a story not just of the history of typewriters, but their influence on society, economy and culture. Each apparatus is a tangible artifact of communication, a time capsule from an era when thoughts were hammered onto paper with tangible force
More than mere objects, these typewriters are custodians of culture. They have transcribed novels, business correspondence, and personal letters, their unique keys giving physical form to different linguistic worlds. Sumant’s collection, therefore, becomes a museum of lost voices and a testament to a bygone age of analogue connection. It is a celebration of the beautiful, clattering diversity that preceded our uniform digital keyboards, preserving the distinct mechanical soul of every language it holds.
Sumant Batra is the Founder and Managing Trustee of Indian Cinema Heritage Foundation. Indian Cinema Heritage Foundation is a public charitable trust set up to establish and operate Indian cinema heritage museum, archive, library, research and resource centre, and cultural spaces. The Foundation undertakes preservation, restoration and conservation of cinema and related memorabilia, artefacts, equipment, books, magazines, other material related to cinema history and heritage. It also undertakes research and documentation of the history and heritage of Indian cinema and its people, and preserve the legacy of the people who have contributed to Indian cinema. The Foundation is documenting the contribution of artists and technicians from Goa to Indian cinema.
For more details, visit www.cinemaazi.com/ichf
