Peshwa Bajirao

"Not many books on the life of Sarsenapati Umabaisaheb Dabhade are found in bookstores. Very little has been written about her. I always feel that her story just remained in the original letters and in a very few books written in the old times. Her laurels did not reach the masses as they should have."

Kelkar’s passion for the artefacts was not limited to a time period nor to one form of an item. By 1960, he had collected more than 21,000 items—ranging from pots to instruments and paintings to daggers.

"With the defeat of the Marathas in 1818, connectivity between Pune and Mumbai assumed even more importance. A few years later, a military road branching off the Mumbai-Pune highway at Talegaon was constructed and linked to the barracks at Kirkee."