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Rightly dubbed as the Edison of India, Shankar Abaji Bhise’s creation would bewilder anyone. He created various new machines and held many patents.
Died on 7th April 1867
India has a history of producing some of the worlds most extraordinary talents be it Aryabhatta or C. V. Raman, Sushruta or Ramanuja the list is endless. One such genius is Dr Shankar Abaji Bhise born in 19th century colonial Bombay. His ingenuity and hard work brought him international acclaim, this gem of a person who dazzled London and the world is forgotten today in his own country.
Growing up in the British Raj where inventors were always wary of funds he learnt his sciences by reading the Scientific magazines which were available in the market. He once told a Media publication, “I owe everything to the mechanical education I received from those American magazines.”
He understood the importance of science and soon formed a science club in Bombay. In his early 20s, he started inventing things like tamper-proof bottles, electrical bicycle contraptions, a station indicator for Bombay’s railway system. A godsend blessing came to him when he heard about a competition organised by the British Inventors Journal for developing a grocery weighing machine. Defeating the whole lot of British contestants he made a name for himself. Soon Bombay administrators took notice of him and decided to get him to London and share his inventions with the world.
He came to London with a letter of introduction from the Legendary Dinsha Wacha who was a business tycoon himself this letter connected him to the Grand Old Man of India, Dadabhai Naoroji who also had a flourishing business in India. They got into an agreement and Bhise soon started creating his magic with a wide range of items right from automatic toilet flushers to an early model of the push-up bra. However, it was his Bhisotype that caught the attention of the world.
Front view of a Bhisotype Machine; Source: Public Domain
Naoroji suggested him to get a bigger investor and referred him to English businessman Henry Hyndman, called the “father of British socialism” and a ruthless critic of British Imperialism he promised to raise £15,000 for him but that plan never panned out which turned out to be a disaster for Bhise as he had earlier rejected an offer from Linotype Company to purchase a share in his company, even Naorojis funds dried out which forced him to leave London. After his return, he met Gopal Krishna Gokhale the stalwart of the Indian Independence Movement who was very impressed with his Bhisotype. He introduced him to Ratan Tata and soon started another venture unfortunately even this didn't work out. He got another opportunity this time in New York, even their he failed to market his Bhisotype but grew rich thanks to his invention of iodine solution which enhanced psychic abilities was heartily endorsed by Edgar Cayce, an American psychic and mystic.
In his final years, he drifted towards occultism his invention of the "spirit typewriter" which was another version of the Ouija board made headlines this tarnished his image in the scientific society. He passed away on 7th April 1935 in New York aged 68 even when he turned towards occultism he was still considered a true student of science leaving behind a legacy to cherish for all curious minds out there in the world.
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