Mahesh Kalra

Biography

Mahesh is curator at the new Reserve Bank of India Museum in Kolkata having previously worked as curator (Numismatics & Other Artefacts) at The Asiatic Society of Mumbai (formerly The Bombay Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society) and Assistant Professor/Asst. Curator at Dinesh Mody Institute for Numismatics & Archaeology, University of Mumbai (June 2011- June 2014).

Mahesh has an M.A. (Numismatics & Archaeology, April 2010) and a PhD in History at the University of Mumbai (UoM). He also has a P. G. Diploma in Museum Studies & Conservation from UoM (2012-13); a Diploma in Persian, Dept. of Persian, UoM (2009-11) and a Diploma in Islamic Studies, UoM (2015-17).

Over the last 5 years Mahesh has been part of several Academic Research Projects and Fellowship Programmes:

• International Scholarship for Doctoral Research from the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin (SMB) for 3-month residency and travel to Germany (March-May 2015)

• N. Lowick Memorial Grant from the Royal Numismatic Society, U.K. for travel to Germany (March-May 2015)

• N. Lowick Memorial Grant from the RNS for ‘Study of Mughal Coins in U.K. Museums’ (Oct 2010)

At the British Museum
During his time on the International Training Programme in 2013, Mahesh was based in the Department of Coins and Medals and his partner placement was spent at the Birmingham Museums Trust.

Mahesh’s exhibition project proposal was entitled Gigantic coins of Mughals.

Legacy Projects
In November 2015 Mahesh attended the ITP Mumbai Workshop Creating Museums of World Stories. The workshop was held at CSMVS and was attended by many ITP fellows from different years and countries, UK partners and British Museum Colleagues. In his project group, Mahesh worked on an exhibition concept entitled Tehran: Jaan-E-Man focusing on the city of Tehran in Iran.

In 2017 Mahesh returned to the British Museum to participate in the first ITP+ Course on temporary exhibitions and permanent display with fellows from different ITP years and countries.

ITP Newsletter Publications
ITP Newsletter Issue 6 (2019), Your collection in focus: A hyperinflation banknote from Iraq