From 19th-century archives to 3D reality: The ‘Thambi’ mascot of the Madras Sappers comes to life in a new exhibit

Munisamy, the iconic mascot of the Bengaluru-headquartered Indian Army’s Madras Engineering Group, popularly known as the Madras Sappers, has recently been brought to life via 3D printing along with murals of some of their iconic military achievements. The prints were done by IND in a BOX, at the direction of Colonel Uday Sankeshwar, Director of the Madras Sappers Museum and Archives.
Munisamy is said to represent the archetypal quality of a ‘Thambi’, as the personnel of the Sappers are affectionately called.
According to Shilpa Spoorthy from the ‘IND in a BOX’ team, “We 3D printed the two-foot bust based on a description given to us as well as an archive photo. With both the bust and murals having to be recreated from archival black-and-white photographs, digital artist Sriram Seshagiri was responsible for translating the two-dimensional images into physical exhibits”.
It will now be displayed as a permanent exhibit at the Museum at Pune’s College of Military Engineering, she said. This exhibit will be displayed alongside those from other Sapper units throughout the country.
Munisamy was a mule operator during the inter-World War period. Up to World War-II, mules and other animals were used by armies around the world to aid in logistics, especially in inhospitable and mountainous terrain.
Regarding Munisamy, Colonel Sankeshwar said, “He enforces the epitome of the Madras Sappers. When we refer to a Thambi, he is the Thambi we refer to. He has all the characteristics, from the moustache to the stern eyes and face.”
The 3D printing method has also been used to recreate two murals from the Sappers’ history – ‘The Opening of the Mandalay Gate’ and ‘The Zojila Pass’. The former refers to the recapture of Fort Dufferin in Myanmar’s Mandalay from the hands of Japanese forces, while the Sappers had famously played a key role in ensuring a proper track for Indian tanks to be used against Pakistani positions in Jammu and Kashmir’s Zojila.

A model of a train created by French manufacturer Decauville that ran within the limits of the Madras Engineering Group premises in Bengaluru (Express Photo)

The initiative also includes a model of a train created by French manufacturer Decauville that ran within the limits of the Madras Engineering Group premises in Bengaluru. According to Colonel Sankeshwar, this narrow-gauge train ran until 1967, having performed the role of regular transport for most soldiers between the Assaye and Meanee Lines within the cantonment.