A private museum for typewriters in Alappuzha, Venkatarama Iyer wants to create a memorial for his father

ALAPPUZHA: P Venkatarama Iyer is preparing a musuem for typewriters, which were the the pulse of government offices and was needed for all orders for more than a century. There is a story behind this idea which begins before India gains independence.

Venkatarama Iyer's father V Parameswara Iyer quit his bank job and started the AVP Typewriting Institute in Alappuzha in 1946. Parameswara Iyer's father died when he was nine years old. So he did not feel like leaving his mother alone. The institute started with a single machine, the Remington 16. Later up to 40 machines were set up. Thousands got jobs in that way.

Parameswara Iyer died in 2001. His son Venkatarama Iyer took over the institute. But with the advent of computers, typewriters became outdated. Yet the institute still exists. In 2021, when the institute turned 75, Venkatarama Iyer decided to create a museum of typewriters to preserve the memory of his father. In addition to his own machines, he plans to collect machines from other states and countries to make a total of 100 typewriters. Currently he has 40 typewriters in his collection which includes Malayalam, English, Arabic, Hindi and Swiss typewriters. The aim is to collect old typewriters in all Indian languages. Phone No: 9447144098