Exhibition of old documents, dating back to 1561, enthralls residents

“Residents of Pune have called a meeting to discuss whether the civic body should purchase water for Rs 10,000 or not from Khadakwasla dam” (1875)...

“ A candidate appeals to the residents to vote for him in the civic general election considering his effort during the plague outbreak” (1898)...

Letters, directives, orders, verdicts, appeals, and several other important documents of history have been brought alive in a three-day exhibition organised by the Bharat Itihaas Sanshodhan Mandal. The mandal is holding the exhitibion as part of its centenery celebrations . On the very day, first hundreds of curious visitors, many of them children in school uniform, turned up to witness history unfolding before their eyes. The old generation was also present in big numbers. From pre-Shivaji era, Shivaji era, the mughal raj to the Peshwas, the documents have their own story to narrate. "The oldest piece of history is a letter dating back to 1561," says historian Mandar Lavate.

If these letters of a different time and era make interesting reading, here's directive that will make you sit up and take notice: The District Magistrate of Pune has issued an order banning employing children in plays, dramas and other such professional acts...Anybody violating the directives will be face severe action under the law. The directive, coming as it does in 1867, highlights the fact the "child labour" was opposed even nearly a century and half ago.

A huge colourful picture in the main exhibition hall belonging to the court of Madhavrao Peshwe takes you back to the time when the Peshwas held their durbar. Some of the pieces of history have yellowed, even a slight touch makes them vulnerable to fall apart, but there are dime a dozen of them that are still in tact and gives a feeling as if they were published yesterday.

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