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Pune’s treasure trove of historical artefacts
It has historical documents, coins (some as old as 200 BC) , artefacts, maps, paintings, rare books and early Marathi newspapers
Hailed as one of Pune’s greatest institutions, Bharat Itihas Sanshodhak Mandal (BISM) was founded on July 7 in 1910 by historians VK Rajwade and Khanderao Mehendale. It is because of these two historians that the study of history developed as a scientific branch of knowledge in the city.
Bharat Itihas Sanshodhak Mandal is a treasure trove for any history lover as it maintains information dating back over 700 years. It has historical documents, coins (some as old as 200 BC) , artefacts, maps, paintings, rare books and early Marathi newspapers.
Selected pieces from this mammoth collection are exhibited in the institute’s museum. The extensive library has been a favourite of many noted historians over the years. It is here that one can see a railway time-table from the year 1862 or even look at the painting gallery which has a collection of over 1500 paintings, with 130 of them on display, including a collection from the Peshwa Era. The mandal in Sadashiv peth also houses Khare Museum, where one will find a collection of various artefacts across different dynasties including furniture, weapons, canon and balls. BISM also has a library and archives of a collection of over 800,000 documents in Sanskrit, Marathi, Kannada, Persian and other languages.
Some of the institution’s collection is open for public viewing, while the rest is made available only to research scholars.
BISM also organises special exhibitions from time to time, where a lot of the collection is on display. Training workshops in ancient languages and scripts, especially in the old Modi script which is very popular, are also conducted.
What Bharat Itihas Sanshodhak Mandal is an institute that maintains information dating back 700 years.
Where1321 Sadashiv Peth (next to Bharat Natya Mandir), Pune 411 030. Phone: 020-2447 2581
When All day
