Raja Dinkar Kelkar Museum

Ever since the dawn of civilization, man has been acquainted with the ways of nature.  He learnt to understand and adapt these things to his day-to-day life.  The religious and cultural impact of this knowledge could be seen in his day-to-day implements. Indian culture has assimilated these forms of nature - trees, birds, animals, sky, earth, fire, water, sea - in the course of its evolution and this becomes increasingly evident from our arts, crafts, languages and religious rites. These works of Indian artisians and craftsmen inspired Dinkar Kelkar to put to put together single-handedly, a collection of artifacts and antiquities that would be the envy of any museum anywhere in the world.  The Raja Dinkar Kelkar Museum.

The origins of the museum go back to the early part of this century, to Dinkar Kelkar's childhood interest in history. During his school days, mathematics was not his cup of tea, but poetry certainly was not for him the romantic themes that most poets of his age pursued, but rather, historical poetry. "I was a lone traveler. in my free time I used to read historical books", he wrote.

During his holidays, Kelkar attempted to make contact with several families with houses that were centuries old. The traditional artifacts in their houses fascinated him, and over the years, he began to acquire these objects d'art arranged them in a room in his own, to give it a historical ambiance. That room was the beginning of the Raja Dinkar Kelkar Muesum.

As time went by his collection grew. By now he was a young married man, with a 'jumble' of ancient artifacts. Then, suddenly, he was struck by domestic tragedy. He lost his only son, Raja that loss became the turning point of his life. He lost interest in everything else and single mindedly pursued the acquisition of objects d'art. He named the museum after his son and his memory spurred him on his quest for the past. What started as a hobby raged into a passion.

He traveled across the country in search of art. There are more than, 25,000 exhibits in the museums. There are glass statuettes, lamps, palanquins, carved artifacts, tinware, ladles, combs, bowls, stones, hukkas, spittoons, locks, musical instruments, leather dolls, miniature paintings, paintings on glass, intricately carved wooden doors of ancient dwellings and temples, hanging oil lamps, hundreds of nut-crackers. A clay figurine from a fair. A carved settee from and old Parsi home. A toy horse from a ruined palace nursery. The list is endless. Each bit of treasure was scrutinized with microscopic intensity as Kelkar decided whether it would form part of his one man show. All these objects are divided between 12 rooms that are classified according to the age to which it belongs. The Mastani Mahal is regarded as a masterpiece among the exhibits.

The museum devotes considerable space to an old Indian habit: the chewing of paan or the betel leaf. The exhibits reflect the elegance of craftsmanship as well as the vivid imagination of the artist. There are, for instance, mango-shaped lime boxes, surrounded by a row of bird and animal figures, heart-shaped and elephant-shaped betel boxes with wheels attached to them.

But perhaps the most fascinating in this paan section is the array of nut-crackers used to slice areca nuts.

The museum has about 400 nut-crackers, almost 80 per cent of which originated in Maharashtra and the rest, from Gujarat, South India and Rajasthan. Most of them are made from brass, and some from silver.

Some of them are erotic by design. There is for instance, one in the form of an amorous couple, in which the partners come together when the nut is sliced, and the handles come together and are separated when parted so that the nut can be inserted for slicing. Another one looks like a mother hugging her child from one side and a couple in embrace on the reverse. Besides, there are numerous other ornamentation on the nut-crackers including those of peacocks, parrots, swans, horses, rams and dragons. Kelkar has also recreated an entire set of a Gujarati courtyard in one of the sections. A new attraction is a section on dolls made of leather.

Lamps form an important part of the museum. There is a huge lamp that is a depiction of the sun-god. At the bottom layer are the chariot and the sun-god. At the bottom layer are the chariot and the sungod's four wives performing 'arati'. Keklar's work has been acclaimed by lovers of art from far and wide. He has generously donated his life-time work to the Government of Maharashtra which has formed a trust to run it. The artifacts are exhibited by rotation. As Kelkar says, "I have lit an everlasting incense stick. I want people to enjoy the perfume". And, sure enough every person who has been to the Museum has gone back with the feeling of having experienced an intense, pro-found flavor of the past.