Funds from Germany to help iconic Pune museum achieve three-pronged goal; strengthen cultural collaboration
Dr Juergen Morhard
The ‘green, clean and smart’ museum initiative of the Raja Dinkar Kelkar Museum in Pune, is closer to its three-pronged goal, as the Federal Foreign Office, Berlin, Germany, and the German Consulate General in Mumbai have stepped in with funds to help. The German Consulate in Mumbai will give the museum located in the old centre of the Peshwa city, Rs 40 lakh for the green, clean and smart project which commences in June this year and is to be wrapped up by 2021 end.
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The museum has more than 23,000 priceless artifacts Top: (left to right) Dr Juergen Morhard (Consul General, German Consulate Mumbai), Sudhanva Ranade (Director, Raja Dinkar Kelkar Museum) and Ashumi Shroff (Economic Officer, German Consulate Mumbai)
Said Sudhanva Hari Ranade, director of the museum, decoding the clean, green, smart lingo, “We have put in some money but these funds too will help the project. The green aspect has been looked at. The rooftop already has a grid-tie solar system installed, which we did so in phases as the money came in. We are now concentrating on the clean aspect, where we want to invest in heavy duty vacuum cleaners, advanced floor cleaning solutions and water jets for maintenance.” Falling somewhere between the clean and green spectrum, Ranade said the museum was also aiming at, “building some more display cases. There are people who donate certain pieces to the museum and they expect them to be put on display right away, which may not be possible because of the display cases crunch. Then, we want to change the tapestry, background cloths for certain exhibits, this falls into the overall facelift for the institution.”
It is not just petrol that has crossed Rs 100 a litre currently. On a happier note, this quaint space, so full of character, “also turned 100 in 2020. My late grandfather had started his collection for this museum, a century ago,” laughed Ranade. At 100 something, it is time to focus on the smart side. "We have to work on the website of the museum which needs a contemporary upgrade. We have to work on the website of the museum which needs a contemporary upgrade. We have to make virtual tours, digital maps and see that this museum is more accessible by enhancing its visibility in the virtual space. A mobile app is also on the anvil,” explained Ranade.
In this way, in Covid-restricted times, if a visitor cannot come to the museum, this cultural hub that houses an impressive collection of more than 23,000 priceless artifacts will come to the visitor. Consul General Dr Juergen Morhard called the collaboration, “dynamic,” adding that “it will help transform the museum to a higher level of sustainability and strengthen cultural ties between Germany and India.”
The German connect goes back years. Said Ranade, “I can trace it back to 1967. Late Dr D G Kelkar, the founder of the museum, was awarded the ‘Excellence Award’ by the German government for his contribution to the field of museums and museology in India. The then German government specially invited late Dr Kelkar along with the former director of the museum, late Dr H G Ranade, to experience museums in Germany." The director hopes that co-operation gives cultural resonance to the phrase, ‘Pune tithe kaay une’ which means there is no dearth of anything in Pune, including at the Raja Dinkar Kelkar Museum.
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