Visit to the Raja Kelkar Museum

To inquire into the unit ‘Where we are in place and time’, the students of PYP 3 visited ‘Raja Dinkar Kelkar Museum’ last week. Nestled in the heart of Pune city, the museum showcases a wide variety of artefacts, art forms and handicrafts from each and every part of India.

Collected by Dr Kelkar, each artefact on display offers a glimpse of the culture and ethnicities of India, shedding light on the past. On entering the museum, the children were overwhelmed by the simplistic beauty of the place, and the collections on display.  Carefully curated and classified under broad categories, the artefacts represent the domestic and regal life Indians led in the past. It offers a peek into the rustic household materials, painstakingly crafted sculptures and murals, arms and armour, handicrafts, textiles, and musical instruments used over time. Their keen interest in the art and detailing of the artefacts showed their awe and appreciation for the life of the people in times gone by

Replicating the essence of a feature film, the highlight of this visit came towards the end of the trip, where the students were able to see the room of Mastani, a brave Queen of the Maratha era. Dismantled from its original historical location (Shaniwar Wada), it has been carefully reconstructed in this museum. All the students were amazed and astounded with the intricate details on the walls, windows, tapestries, and furniture of her personalized quarters.

Not only did the children learn about the past, but they also realized that preserving, documenting, and caring for the aspects of a particular time period would provide footprints for future generations, helping to create a better human civilization.

On our way back, one could only imagine and wonder how a single individual had collected so many exhibits of the past during his lifetime. This virtual journey into the past would surely facilitate each student’s exploration into ancient civilizations, and help them unravel the essence of the past!

We are now looking forward to explore more ancient civilisations in detail over the coming weeks