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Raja Dinkar Kelkar Museum in
Pune houses an
enormous number of over 20,000 collections of objects and artifacts
collected from all over the world. Built in a Rajasthani-style, the museum
has a vast collection of paintings, handicrafts, armour-suits, musical
instruments and many other objects of art. The galleries give the onlooker
a clear depiction of the life and culture of the Marathas.
The museum contains the collections of dedicated lover of Indian art, the
late Dinkar Kelkar. He has spent almost 60 untiring years traveling and
purchasing objects form the remotest villages and towns of India. Kelkar's
passion and sense of humour are reflected in every item of the collection,
and his contribution to the study and preservation of art has already
become a legend.
The
museum is divided into 36 sections and confines its collections to the
arts of everyday life: pots, lamps, containers, nutcrackers, pen stands
and like - objects that one would find in the homes of the village
landlord, the farmer, the merchant and shopkeeper.
It also has a display of 17th century lamps and other articles belonging
to Mughal and Maratha periods. A masterpiece of the museum is the 'Mastani
Mahal' that was erected here in its original site.
The entrance of the ground floor gallery displays carved doors and
windows along with their panels and frames. These are set in such a way
that they give you a feeling of being just in front of the then existing
house from where the particular doors have been collected. A huge section
of the museum occupies the Vanita Kaksha - the women's parlour giving an
insight to the lives led by the women during that period.
The first floor has a collection of musical instruments of various kinds namely drums, flute and the string. The museum proposes to pour music into these instruments by making them enjoyable through cassette recording. There are samples of Indian textiles, puppets and other household objects too.
Part of the second floor displays a range of metalware - from locks, to ink pots, ritual bowls, 'Hookah' stands (hubble-bubbles), nutcrackers and lamps is quite remarkable. Lamps with sacred emblems like the peacock, the Goddess Lakshmi, elephants and birds, and hanging lamps that are suspended on heavy brass chains, and standing lamps used in the temple and the home are on display in the museum.
The collection of locks includes some humorous, rather
playful locks in the form of dogs, horses and even a scorpion. These locks
were used on doors and trunks, and had ingenious locking mechanisms and
keys. There are also nutcrackers embellished with impossible figures of
embracing couples, Goddesses, riders on horseback and many other designs -
some quite bizarre, others quite elegant.
With the traditional customs of betel- nut chewing and Pan (betel-leaf)
eating came the boxes and intricately designed containers for these leafy
digestives. Perforated boxes (to keep the leaf fresh) gave the craftsmen
scope for unlimited experimentation in form and embellishment, and a
generous sample of these boxes is on view at this museum.
There is also an interesting collection of the Chitrakathi
painting of Maharashtra. These scroll paintings were used by the village
storyteller, to the accompaniment of music and song. The pictures are bold
and very graphic. Something of the leather puppet traditions of Karanataka
and Andhra Pradesh are also reflected in these Chitrakathi paintings.
On the third floor there is room for holding exhibitions, which cannot be
displayed in the permanent show. An exact reproduction of the
aesthetically designed Mastani Mahal built by the Bajirao Peshwa during
the 19th century for his mistress Mastani captivates the visitors.
Timings: 8.30 am-6.00 pm
Closed On: Government Holidays
Suggested Viewing Time: Half an hour
Pune is well connected by air, rail and road with the important places within and beyond the state. For city transportation taxis, city buses and auto rickshaws are available.
Accommodation is available at the hotels in Pune.