Maratha royal families come together to showcase centuries-old private armouries

The personal collection will be displayed at an exhibition from November 22 to 24 at Balgandharva Art Gallery

The erstwhile Maratha royal families have decided to open the doors of their arsenals to the citizens to help them peek into the past glory of the warrior clans that primarily thrived in the Deccan region.

The Marathas excelled in military skills, and the pages of history are dotted with tales of their martial prowess. However, with the passage of time, the sheen on their swords has gathered rust.

Now, in a bid to make the present generation familiar with the weaponry of the yore, members of former royal families are organising a three-day exhibition, showcasing the combative tools and related memorabilia at Balgandharva Art Gallery. Set to commence on November 22, the event will go on till Sunday.

Royal families such as the Dabhade family from Talegaon Dabhade, Shirole family from Pune (Shivajinagar), Jadhavrao family from Purandar and Wagholi, Garud family from Pune and Gwalior, Desai-Nimbalkar family from Nipani (Karnataka), Peshwa family from Pune, Vinchurkar family from Vinchur in Nashik, Raje-Shirkes from Kutare in Konkan, Jagtaps from Saswad, Pawars from Satara and Dhar (Madhya Pradesh), Gardi family from Maval, Dhamale-Deshmukhs from Mulshi, Warkhade family from Warkhad near Wai in Satara, among others, will be part of the weekend extravaganza.

Talking to Mirror, Satyasheelraje Dabhade from Talegaon-Dabhade, said, “The masses get to see ancient arms and ammunitions only in museums. Sometimes, periodic films and books bring to light these fascinating historical nuggets. At the exhibition to be conducted, they will get to see them from close quarters. For centuries now, these assets have been lying in our private armories. Many items are priceless and have great historic value. We hope that Punekars will enjoy and enrich their knowledge about the sacrifices made by their forefathers for the welfare of the nation,” said Dabhade.

“We have deployed enough police bandobast to avoid any untoward incident at the venue because of the presence of priceless articles,” added Dabhade. Abhayraj Shirole, a member of the Shirole royal family, said, “Golden arm guards, swords made in Spain with gold handles, copper inscriptions, farman (order) by Alamgir (Mughal emperor) printed in gold ink, snake-like sword (sarpaini), 5-m-long dandpattas (flexible long sword), family trees of royal families and many other items will be showcased at the exhibition.”

Ranjeetsinh Garud, from Gwalior’s erstwhile princely state, added, “The advanced technology invented by Maratha generals to combat the enemies will stun people. Unique katyars, portable khalbattas with carved wooden box, royal ancient gasha (sitting carpet), paintings dating back to 350 years depicting scenes from the battlefield and several other artefacts are part of the exhibition.”