SBI Museum Visit

Getting there. The visit was a guided tour called “Banking Legacy,” organised by Own the Past (Gurukul), with Jagat Seth Insights group as knowledge partner. It was on 3 October at 11 a.m. from 1 Strand Road, with entry from the western side.

Entrance and staircase. The museum is in a grand colonial-era building. You see a stained-glass window with a monogram, a wide marble staircase with wooden railings leading up to a landing hung with paintings, and a red-walled gallery with a large painting. Old fixtures are displayed as part of the building’s character. They include an antique fireplace with a carved mantel, an ornate wrought-iron grille and a Roman-numeral bracket clock on a pedestal.

The origins of banking in Bengal.

A “State Bank Archives” plaque marks the start of the collection.

Framed ledgers and reports include an Imperial Bank of India report and a Statement of the Affairs of the Bank of Bengal for the half-year ending 30 June 1857.

The most striking item is a Bank of Hindostan, Calcutta note of 1829. It is printed in blue and is a promise to pay “four Sicca Rupees” on demand to the bearer.

A display case shows early coins and handwritten documents.

Famous account holders. One framed ledger page is captioned Rabindranath Tagore: Current Account, July–December 1921.

The Imperial Bank and the Reserve Bank.

A “Second Incarnation” panel, with a group photograph of the men involved, covers the Imperial Bank of India’s creation in 1921 from the three presidency banks. It also describes how Mahatma Gandhi’s non-cooperation movement shaped that period.

An “Emergence of a central bank” panel explains how the Reserve Bank of India came into being in 1935. The RBI emblem, with its tiger and palm tree, is shown below the text.

Gandhi’s chest. A wooden chest is displayed with a photo of Gandhi. The caption mentions Gandhi’s ashes being kept in it and later submerged in Orissa, after about 40 years.

Banking tools and machines.

A cheque-printing machine

A large antique weighing scale and brass weights with measuring pans

A long wooden counter or table from the old banking halls

International and miscellaneous items. One case holds a euro banknote presented by the Deutsche Bundesbank to a SBI chairman in 2019. It sits alongside an Indore City coin or token, a metal cartridge case and small silver-coloured tokens marked 10 and 50.

Conclusion: The museum depicts a complete history of SBI and paves a learning ground for those interested in the past to enlighten themselves for a glorious financial future.