Embroidered textiles, sculptures, antique vessels of copper and swords that belonged to the bravehearts of the Peshwa empire - all this and more can be found at the Raja Dinkar Kelkar Museum. It was established in 1962, and houses the largest one-man collection in the world; that of Dr Dinkar Kelkar. It took him almost 40 years to collect the items, and he handed over his extensive collection to the Department of Archaeology. Inside the museum, the Institute of Musicology and Fine Arts is also housed.

 

The exhibits of the museum are visually impressive and include a wooden statue of a galloping horse from the 19th century, a Gujarat Gallery with a wooden façade that is found in most houses of that state and a Meenakshi statue from the 18th century. You will also come across an interesting display of musical instruments and a collection of lamps with mythology as the theme; there are statues of Lord Ganesha, Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati as well.

 

In addition, there are intricately made vessels, boxes for storing spices, puppets and an ivory dice set. The Peshwai room has an interesting historical story attached to it. As the story goes, Peshwa Bajirao had fallen for the daughter of Raja Chhatrasal of Bundelkhand. He had brought her to Pune and built a replica of the Mastani Mahal for her here.