A majority of them
were Chitpawan Brahmins.
These Chitpavans have Kaushik
Gotra. When Hindu Shahi
dynasty fell to the armies of
Mahmud Ghazni these Brahmins
fled and sought refuge in
Maharashtra.
The art collector Sanjay Godbole
is one such Chitpavan
Brahmin. By physical standards
they are not on the leaver
side. They have big eyes, fair
complexion. It tells us about
their once snowy address. Here I
shall not dwell upon the
anthropology or anything of that
sort. For such a thing is
never my intention here. But
reader ought to now that Godbole has a Kashmirian
connection too. He is one of the
very few intellectuals in the
country who have interest in
Kashmiri ethos and culture.
Sanjay is popular among those
who want to know about Kashmir.
After Exodus Pandits were
scattered in different parts of the country, Maharashtra and
especially its cultural capital
Pune too received hundreds of
Pandit families. Sanjay did
for them when others faltered.
He provided them with an
intellectual forum. But these
intentions of his have not met
with the requisite response. I
think it is primarily because in
those times the community was
concerned with sheer survival.
When things such as survival is
the concern then such
things like culture and
tradition take the backstage. But now
people are rediscovering anew
their roots and here the jovial,
portly fellow Sanjay is always
ready to help them.
Sanjay lives in the centre of
the city of Pune, which is the
cultural capital of Maharashtra.
His home is on the main street
of Budhwarpeeth opposite CPO. To
me the house seems to
be like a 'Time Machine' that
the famous author HG Wells
wrote about. But this one does
not fly. All machines have not
flown. Davinci's famous one
failed to fly. But Godbole's Time
Machine is of different nature.
The house is a store house of
past. It seems as if past has
crystalised on this Pune street and
refuses to take off. His home is
big, old and gloomy. But still
it has many tales to tell. The
staircase, doors, windows, shelves,
ailing, (wooden or otherwise)
watertanks, pipe fittings, and
other assortments are all
antique. The glass windows are delicate
and worth seeing. The whole
house reminds us of the
blend of traditional and later
Raj styles.
He belongs to a leading
publishing house of Pune. His
father and grandfather were
leading publishers of the city. But
Sanjay did not evince any keen
interest in publishing. He went
on his own way to become an art
collector against the wishes
of his father. Despite heavy
odds and no home support he
pursued his passion. He lives
alone with his sister. Recently,
he lost his mother who was a
great support to him. He is
young but still bachelor.
Sanjay started collecting
artifacts twenty five years ago.
His home represents a veritable
Time Machine. I do not know
if HG Wells would have got one
built how deep into past he
must have travelled. But Sanjay
made the travel 80 million
years into the past.
He put on my both hands a big
round stone like fossile.
And it was the egg of an Indian
dinosaur found in Gujarat.
The suffix of the dinosaur is 'normadayansis'
named after
Narmada river where these
fossils have been found. From
80 million years to the later
Raj (British Rule) we can find
many curious articles of
antiquity. His collection is perhaps
second largest private
collection in Maharashtra after Kelkar
museum.
Sanjay has antiques belonging to
all great dynasties that
ruled the country, Mauryas,
Sungas, Satkarni Kings, Cholas,
Guptas, Sultans, Mughals,
Pathans, Marathas and British
all find place in his
collection. Godbole is adept in seating
past with comfort and care. He
has a good collection of
swords and guns which are
priceless. Kashmiri Samavar,
Sharda and Devnagri, Urdu and
Persian manuscripts,
brassware, paintings etc. form a
bulk of his collection. His
artefacts about Indus Valley
civilization are important. He
has a huge collection of
newspapers, photographs and even
the name plate of a Viceroy.
Persian scrolls, Farmans, etc.
also make his collection lively.
A meticulous art collector he
is well versed in Kashmir
history and culture.
There are few who can rival his
knowledge about Indian
history and culture. He is an
accomplished Urdu poet and is
considered an important poet in
Urdu. His poetry has been
published in India, Pakistan,
Iran and Turkey.
Sanjay bemoans about the lack of
interest among the
youth in preserving traditions
and culture. People like Sanjay
Godbole need our all out support
and appreciation. There
are few men in the country who
are alike him and so he is
very rare indeed. His efforts
nonetheless shall persist and
inspire newer generations.
There is a connection between Maharashtra and
Kashmir. Centuries ago one
branch of Brahmi called North
Western one coursed Gujarat
went ahead and finally reached
Kashmir. It became there Sharda
or Sidhmatrika or Sidhdham (of
Al-Biruni). In the eleventh
century
many Hindus lived in
Afghanistan.
A majority of them
were Chitpawan Brahmins.
These Chitpavans have Kaushik
Gotra. When Hindu Shahi
dynasty fell to the armies of
Mahmud Ghazni these Brahmins
fled and sought refuge in
Maharashtra.
