The Nenapu museum was established with a vision of preserving the legacy of the State Bank of Mysore, which merged with State Bank of India in 2017. Before its union, senior officials of the bank formed a committee to institute a museum for the memories of the State Bank of Mysore. N Krishnamachari, the current managing director of the bank, inaugurated the museum in the head office premises. The museum is housed in the historical stone building that represents a blend of Indian and colonial architecture, with semi-circular arched windows, jack arched roofs, high ceiling and exquisite bracket details.
The museum has eight rooms archiving a rich collection of historical records and original documents that outline the significance of this century-old banking institution in Karnataka. It traces the origin and historical development of the bank from its inception and displays the bank’s certificate of incorporation, its first logo, list of first directors of the bank, images of the first head office building, first chairman and manager of the bank and its first balance sheet. It also depicts the bank’s progress, development and growth in other parts of the country over the years. One section is specifically dedicated to the founding fathers of the bank--Sir M Visvesvaraya and His Highness Sri Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar, their ideology behind setting up the museum and their vision for the bank.
Another section houses a collection of trophies, medals and shields won by the bank officials during various events, and showcases the achievements of the leaders of the bank. One of the main attractions of the museum is the room that showcases the history of paper notes and coinage in India as well as the evolution of banking in Karnataka.
Another interesting part of the museum is the bank of antiques featuring a range of furniture and machines used in the bank like adding machine, comptometer, clearing schedule machine, iron safe and a wooden cash box, to name a few. The last section exhibits a chronological list of all the nationalised and state level banks along with their year of establishment and founders.
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