Companies at the Heart of Everyday Life | Salar Jung Museum, Hyderabad

Exhibits

Aurangzeb’s sword and Noor Jehan’s dagger are some of the 430,000 deadly, or simply eye-popping Indian, oriental or western curios that find their place in Salar Jung Museum. Many are showcased in glass exhibits made by Kitply Industries. Founded in 1982 by P.K. Goenka, Kitply employs a staff of 10,000 and more, and has 30 sales offices. It is spread across a network of more than 1,000 dealers in the Middle East, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Nepal.

Security systems

Salar Jung Museum is bit of a guards’ nightmare–last year around 11 lakh visitors came through its doors, making it India’s busiest. Keeping its lines in order and visitors in place is Pune-based Honeywell Automation which has installed the museum’s security and fire alarm systems. The 900 crore company was founded by Anant Maheshwar in 1988, and has 2,500 employees.

Cooling solutions

Besides kacchi biryani, spices and colourful bangles, the City of Pearls is known for its strong Deccan sun. Visitors beat the heat by taking refuge in the confines of Salar Jung’s centrally air-conditioned halls, thanks to Blue Star, a cooling company founded in 1943 by Mohan T. Advani. There are few banks, offices, restaurants and factories in India that would not have used their air conditioners and water coolers. The company is today valued at a cool 2,500 crore.

Restoration services

Located on the Musi river, Salar Jung was founded in 1951. It has three main buildings—Central, Eastern (Mir Laiq Ali Khan Bhavan) and Western Blocks (Mir Turab Ali Khan Bhavan). Of the 38 galleries in the museum, 14 were refurbished by Nawab Kasim Ali Khan Associates. Besides modernising the auditorium and galleries, the 6-employee company, established in 1976 by Kasim Ali Khan, has also worked on the overall look of the building.