With more than 20,000 artefacts of regular use, this Pune museum stands testimony to Dinkar Gangadhar Kelkar’s passion for recording history.
On January 14, 1981, former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi paid a visit to the Raja Dinkar Kelkar Museum in Shukrawar Peth — and was surprised by what she saw. “For many years, I have been talking of the necessity of collecting and preserving articles which have been of everyday use in households all over India but are now becoming rare and unavailable. What fine workmanship and attractive designs they have…I was delighted to find that long before and without knowing of my idea, Dr Kelkar had, on his own, put my idea into practice. He and his wife have made an excellent collection,” she wrote in a letter dated April 5, 1981.
Dinkar Gangadhar Kelkar, popularly known as Kakasaheb Kelkar, had single-handedly built a museum containing artefacts of regular use that represent the exquisite history of craftsmanship of the country. Among the collection are an elaborate hair dryer from 18th century Thanjavur, a mirror made of jade, an array of sindoor, kumkum and jewellery boxes and a brass foot-scrubber or vajri set with bells that once aided the shringar (makeup) of women.
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