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A school dropout of Rajasthan’s Bundi is no less than an archaeologist
A school dropout, 63-year-old Om Prakash Kukki is nothing less than an archaeologist despite lacking a formal degree
A school dropout, 63-year-old Om Prakash Kukki is nothing less than an archaeologist despite lacking a formal degree.
Kukki, who has studied till Class 8 and runs a small grocery store in Bundi, has a knack for making archaeological discoveries in Rajasthan.
In the last three decades, Kukki has discovered almost 102 rock painting sites, including long rock painting of early man, ostrich eggshells estimated to be 25,000 years old, earthen dices of Kushan period and copper tools and scraper belonging to the pre-Harappan period in Bundi, Bhilwara and Tonk districts.
Kukki, who is a father of two daughters and a son, has also discovered numerous stone tools of different periods, shards of pottery, utensils, ancient dice, coins and evidence of previously unknown civilizations in these districts.
“After Kukki discovered the rock painting sites in Bundi, a research team from the Indira Gandhi Open University surveyed the sites and discovered that they belong to Mesoproterozoic period. It means that the paintings date back to 1 crore BC,” said former history professor, Government College Kota, Dr Arvind Saxena.
Dr Saxena said that researchers, scholars and tourists from all over the country are visiting the rock paintings.
For this, the state archaeology and museum department of Rajasthan and Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) have felicitated Kukki. He has also been felicitated at the district and state level and by several social organisations.
“My passion for archaeology started at the age of 9 when I discovered ancient coins in Bundi town,” said Kukki.
For years, he has been wandering amidst ruins looking for artefacts and antiques. This has led him to discover weapons made of stone, terracotta pottery and utensils and coins belonging to various periods. One coin dates back to 6 BC.
“The Rock paintings discovered by me are from the Mesolithic, Chalcolithic, historic and Neolithic periods,” Kukki said.
Well known rock painting expert Ervin Neumayer from Austria has verified the sites in Bundi, which were discovered by Kukki.
Principal of Government Commerce College, Kota, and former coordinator of the archaeology department of University of Kota, Dr Sushma Ahuja, recognising Kukki’s contribution said the discoveries have been documented by Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts, Indian Rock Art and Research Centre, Nasik, and by the state archaeological department.
“I am barely literate and I gained knowledge on rock paintings and archaeological artefacts from experts and scholars who visit the sites after I discover them,” said Kukki.
Three decades of his life have been spent exploring the hills and river banks around Bundi. Without any governmental support or external funding, he has found evidence of unknown civilizations.
Now, Janardan Rai Nagar Rajasthan Vidyapeeth University in Udaipur, a private university, has decided to name a gallery of archaeological artefacts in Kukki’s name. The artefacts have been gifted by Kukki to the university.
Professor of archaeology department, Janardan Rai Nagar Rajasthan Vidyapeeth University, Professor Jeevan Singh Khadgawat said, “Prehistoric rock paintings, weapons of stones, shards of pottery, utensils made from terracotta and coins from various dynasties which ruled in India, constitute his vast wealth of findings.”
“The kind of work and contribution rendered by Kukki should have been done by the state archaeology department or Archaeological Survey of India,” he said.
“A student, Nalini Pradhan, has done research on archaeological discoveries from the pre-historic period in Bundi and it comprises Kukki’s works,” said Dr Arvind Saxena.
Along with managing his store, Kukki now works as a tourist guide.
“Although Kukki has not done any research work on the archaeological discoveries made by him following his limited educational qualification, he certainly has brought the rock paintings and archaeology of Bundi and nearby areas into limelight,” superintendent of the government museum of the state archaeology and Museum department of Rajasthan in Kota, Umrao Singh said.
“For the first time I was honoured on August, 15, 1995, at the district level for my 1993 discovery of the Stone and Copper Age at Namana, Gagosh, Rajgarh, Chatras, Bijnawar and Khatkar-all in the vicinity of Bundi,” he said.
In 2007, he was awarded by the then Governor of Rajasthan, Pratibha Devi Singh Patil. He has also been recognised by National Center for the Arts, New Delhi and World Rock Art Society from France.
Department of archaeology and museums, Rajasthan (India) awarded him with a certificate in 2008 for having a wide knowledge of cave paintings and archaeological sites located in Bundi and Bhilwara districts of Rajasthan.
Earlier, Kukki had set up a museum of his discoveries at his house. However, he later donated over 200 archaeological tools to the government Bundi museum and several such tools to the government museums in Kota, Jaipur and other parts of the state.
He now has only one desire —receiving the Padma Shri.
