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| RESEARCH INSTITUTE
MUSEUMS |
ANTHROPOLOGY MUSEUM |
In the year 1973-74 the department of Sociology and
Anthropology, Deccan College, Pune, sought affiliation with the University of
Poona. In 1977, the Wenner-Gren foundation for anthropological research,
New York, U.S.A. donated a collection of 23 plastic cast reproductions of
fossil and contemporary primate material to the department. This marked
the beginning of the Anthropology Museum. Housed in the Humanities
building within the Pune University Campus, the museum is intrinsic to all
research students of Anthropology. The museum is divided into the
following sections: Introductory Exhibit- to acquaint the viewer with the
scope of the museum and the discipline of Anthropology; Prehistoric and
Physical Anthropology gallery- depicts the course of the physical evolution of
man, and has plastic casts of Paleo Anthropology evidence of fossilized human
remains; Material Culture Gallery - to give a cross-cultural perspective
of Indian tribal culture to the viewer, Tribal Art Gallery - a newly
opened gallery with specimens of Warli paintings and representations of North
Indian Art. |
VAIDIKA SAMSHODHANA MANDALA |
| Vaidika Samshodhana Mandala has been carrying
research publication in Vedic Studies, coordinated with Avestan Studies, since
the last 64 years. |
| With the advent of research schemes, the Mandala has developed the Museum of
Sacrificial Utensils and Materials. The Vedic Sacrificial Institute is
the pivot of the Ancient Indian Culture. The study of the Sacrificial
Institution thus becomes quite essential for the proper understanding of the
concepts and values of the religion and culture of Ancient India. |
| The various sacrificial utensils and he charts and diagrams with their
particulars and specific details are planned to be displayed in the Museum in
the most magnificent and enlightening order. This Museum may prove quite
interesting to the common visitor. To the world of scholars and research
students, certainly it would be the unique place for their studies and
research. |
AHMEDNAGAR HISTORICAL MUSEUM |
| The Godavari - Pravara culture in the district has an
uninterrupted existence in the course of history, right from the chalcolithic
age in 1200 - 700 B.C. the rule of the Nizam in Ahmednagar has had
a major impact on the history of the Deccan during the 16th Century. The
region can boast of many dynamic personalities like Malikambar, Chandbibi and
Shahaji Raje. It is natural, that with such a background, the region has
an old tradition of historical research. The local enthusiasts,
perceiving the need to take care of the objects collected their preservation
and with further research and publication, established the institution under
the guidance of Sardar Mirikar on 1st May, 1960 the collection was exhibited in
the two small rooms of the institution. |
| Today, on display are various objects including more than 50,000 historical
documents, over 10,000 manuscripts, 8,000 coins, approximately 400 historical
paintings, numerous weapons, stone, copper and brass statues, copper-plates
etc. besides other interesting artefacts. |
| This institution must rank highly not only as a museum but also as a research
institution. It will not be an exaggeration to say that it is possibly
the only such institution which conducts various activities to make the new
generation aware of our history and cultural heritage. |
DECCAN COLLEGE MUSEUM |
Deccan College Research Institute Museum dates back to
1939 when the institute itself was established. Rao Bahadur D. B.
Parasnis had a sizeable collection of historical objects which he exhibited at
his residence in Satara in 1925. Thereafter, the Government took over the
collection and handed it over to the Deccan Research Institute when it was
constituted in 1939. Deccan College built up its own collection of
archaeological objects and exhibited it separately. Therefore the
exhibition of objects related to Parasnis collection is called the Historical
Museum. |
The Historical Museum has many important objects
including letters (approx. 10,000 in number) bearing the seal of Maratha
generals, statesmen, ambassadors and the Peshwa himself, Maratha Bakhars,
documents in the personal record of Nana Phadnavis, letters from the governor
of Madras, Lord MacCartney (1781-85) and other British statesman, original
Pharsi letters of the Sultan of Bijapur and Mughal Emperors, Pharsi
manuscripts, ancient maps of the land and towns; paintings, books printed in
Dutch, English and Marathi from a very early period, etc. The map of
Paris on 20 pages and the maps of the first and second Maratha-British battles
merit a special mention. It is also necessary to mention the works of the
Pharsi poet Jamil in Nizam's court and the illustrated manuscripts of Yusuf and
Julekha, and a Dutch book printed on lithograph. The oldest printed book
dates from 1588. The archaeological museum, attached to the college's
Department of Archaeology, is creation of the post-independence period.
It houses archaeological specimens collected by its staff and students in the
course of their research field trips and those recovered from excavations
carried out by their teachers. It has the finest collection of Stone Age
tools not only from different parts of the country but also from other
countries. Similarly, their protohistoric gallery (Bronze Age) is perhaps
the best in the country as far as the collection of artefacts is
concerned. The Iron Age is represented by a rich variety of iron
implements from Vidarbha megaliths from 700 B.C. 300 B.C. |
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 artefacts 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
flavour of the past.
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MUSEUM OF ARTHROPODA |
| The Museum of Arthropoda is unique, since it is the
only museum of its kind in Pune, perhaps in India, which transports the visitor
into the amazing world of joint-legged animals - the Arthropoda - the largest
and economically, the most important group of the animal kingdom. The
primary objective of the museum is to educate the citizens of tomorrow. |
| The museum, however, does not limit its aims and objectives only to educating
school-going children. It undertakes to inculcate in them the habit of
nature study; in the context of its relation to human life and environment,
economic importance and application in the field of medicine, industry,
agriculture, social life, etc. |
| The museum is the creation of one man, Shri S.M. Ketkar. Right from his
days of M.Sc. (Zoology) he began colleting specimens of insect and other
Arthropoda, which today forms the nucleus of his museum. Established in
1961, the museum's display sections have been elaborately arranged and
systematically classified according to the various classes of Arthropoda:
Crustacea (lobster), Insect (beetle), Myriopoda (centipede), and Arachnida
(scorpion, spider and mite). |
| The museum also conducts educational and research activities, biological
competitions for school students, nature study tours and short term courses in
entomology. |
MAHATMA PHULE MUSEUM |
| In the latter half of the19th century, when the
museum movement was sweeping across India, the need was felt to exhibit and
promote indigenous and traditional Indian approach to industry and
craftsmanship. |
| In Pune, eminent personalities like justice M.G. Ranade, Vishnushastri
Chiplunkar, Bhausahen Natu, Gajendra Keer, Kero Laxman Chhatre and other came
together and organized an exhibition of objects of 42 kinds at Walvekar Wada in
Dane Ali. On show were raw materials, cotton and silk clothes, objects
made from wood, stone, clay and glass, paintings and statues, etc. The
purpose of the exhibition was to display traditional handicrafts and import
substitutes, to encourage craftsmen making such objects. |
The objects exhibited were made locally, which were import substitutes, and the
exhibitions and conferences were to encourage native industrialists and
craftsmen to further their efforts at self-reliance. The response of the
craftsmen and the visiting public prompted the Poona Exhibition and Museum
Committee to establish a permanent museum. |
| After independence, in order that the aspiration of Maharashtra in the
post-independence era be reflected by the museum, it was reorganized to display
through exhibits and other means, the history, art, culture of Maharashtra and
its socio-economic industrial life and the progress made; as also its
relationship with life in other parts of India, the birth and development of
various branches of science and their application in industry and agriculture. |
| In birth centenary of Mahatma Phule, the Government of
Maharashtra propose to introduce changes in the museum and promote it further. |
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