The museum curator in Posewadi

Jadhavs personal museum,spread over an area of 8x10 sq ft,has a priceless collection.

It took Bhagwan Jadhav more than five hours to ride his two-wheeler from Gargoti in Kolhapur to Posewadi in Sangli district of Maharashtra,a distance of 90 km that would otherwise have taken him less than three hours. Balanced precariously on his moped that day was a 30-kg box gramophone. The ride gave him a backache and he was in bed for three days,but Jadhav wasnt complaining. After all,it isnt everyday that you get hold of such an invaluable antique piece. That was 11 years ago,in 2000. A person in Gargoti,a village in Kolhapur district,had donated him the gramophone for his museum

in Posewadi.

Today the gramophone occupies a prime slot in Jadhavs personal museum,Laxminarayan Puratan Vastu Sangrahalaya in Posewadi,along with an enviable collection of other such rare objects. Jadhav says he has never had to buy anything for his museum; every single piece has been donated by people in villages across Maharashtra.

While Khimjibai Haria of Gargoti gave him the gramophone,Rahul Tingre of Khanapur donated a four-wheel charkha and a Sangli resident gave him a sword. A 600-year-old topgola (cannon ball),which now adorns Jadhavs museum,was originally owned by Shahbuddin Bapu Tamboli,a villager from Posewadi. A vintage sewing machine that dates back to the 1850s,a coin from the 14th century and a classic film projector in working conditionthese are among the 12,000-odd antique pieces in the Posewadi museum. Besides,there are centuries-old lanterns,locks,swords,clocks,cameras,1,250 perfume bottles,ink pots from the British era,radios,typewriters,projectors,paan boxes and so on.

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The museum occupies an area of 8×10 sq ft,one of the rooms in Jadhavs house. Jadhav,who works as an office boy in a local bank,started his museum in 1995. Its already a big draw and gets visitors and history enthusiasts,not only from small cities like Kolhapur and Sangli but also from metros like Mumbai and Pune. School students and groups sometimes come to see the museum, says Jadhav.

The museum is open on Saturdays and Sundays and on working days,it is open to visitors after 8 p.m.,after Jadhav gets back from work. He doesnt charge his visitors. I got every item here free of cost,so why should I charge others? Besides,I am not collecting antique items for money,this has been a passion since childhood, says Jadhav,who has maintained a record for each piece,with the name and other details of the donor.

Encouraged by the success of the museum,the village sarpanch has offered to shift the museum to a larger space. Many people visit the museum despite its obscure location. People coming here have to travel for around two kilometres on a kuccha road to reach Posewadi museum. We will offer financial support to Jadhav in case he wants to shift the museum to Radha Krishna Temple in Tasgaon Taluka or Revan Siddhi Temple in Khanapur. A better venue will not just help visitors but will also provide bigger and better exposure to the museum, says Suresh Nichal,the village sarpanch.