Vidya Prasarak Mandal, Thane is a leading educational institution in Thane, Mumbai. Dr. Vijay Bedekar, Chairman, Vidya Prasarak Mandal, is a great connoisseur of educational institutes in UK. He spends his quality time in Oxford,Cambridge and London every year and possesses the memberships and fellowships of leading research institutes, Libraries, Museums and Societies. I am so fortunate to join an educational tour to UK organised by Vidya Prasarak Mandal, Thane. It was organised from 19th May to 30th May, 2016. I was accompanied by my wife Mrs. Aparna Kulkarni-Dharmadhikari who teaches at St. Xavier's College, Mumabi.
The tour was such a success that i want to create a separate page on my blog. We visited prestigious colleges from Oxford University, Cambridge University and museums in London. It was wonderful experience. In preceding article I have shared my experience of my visit to British Library, London.
British Library in London is such an institution which should be the role model of preserving the legacy and rich heritage of one's culture. I saw some of the manuscripts of the great novels of Jane Austen, Hardy, P.B.Shelly,Dickens, Bronte sisters. I saw the manuscripts of the famous poem "How I love thee, Let me count the ways" written by Elizabeth Barrette Browning. I was marveled by seeing the handwriting of these great writers. In the special section called "Treasures of British Library" I saw some of the ancient manuscripts of Bible,remarkable among them was William Tyndale's translation of Bible in 1536. There is a music section where the audio tracks of poems and speeches of great poets and novelists are preserved in their own voices. I was thrilled to listen to the W.B.Yeats voice when he was reciting his poem "The Lake Isle of Inisfree". The handwriting of T.S.Eliot in his path-breaking masterpiece "Waste land" was remarkable one.
To my surprise I have seen one rare manuscript from 18th Century. It was Saint Dnyaneshwar's commentary on Bhagavatgeeta popularly known as Dnyaneshwari. It was embellished with rich tapestry, colours and fine binding. I thought it should have been in the custody of Indians. I have seen many Sanskrit manuscripts like Devi Mahatmya here. All the Sacred Books of all the religions were kept in a palpable manner. Buddhist Texts, Jain manuscripts, Hebrew Bibles, Geeta, Japanese texts, Chinese texts etc were the valuable additions to the British Library. Photography was not allowed inside the exhibition,otherwise I would have taken snaps of this exclusive treasure.
The tour was such a success that i want to create a separate page on my blog. We visited prestigious colleges from Oxford University, Cambridge University and museums in London. It was wonderful experience. In preceding article I have shared my experience of my visit to British Library, London.
British Library in London is such an institution which should be the role model of preserving the legacy and rich heritage of one's culture. I saw some of the manuscripts of the great novels of Jane Austen, Hardy, P.B.Shelly,Dickens, Bronte sisters. I saw the manuscripts of the famous poem "How I love thee, Let me count the ways" written by Elizabeth Barrette Browning. I was marveled by seeing the handwriting of these great writers. In the special section called "Treasures of British Library" I saw some of the ancient manuscripts of Bible,remarkable among them was William Tyndale's translation of Bible in 1536. There is a music section where the audio tracks of poems and speeches of great poets and novelists are preserved in their own voices. I was thrilled to listen to the W.B.Yeats voice when he was reciting his poem "The Lake Isle of Inisfree". The handwriting of T.S.Eliot in his path-breaking masterpiece "Waste land" was remarkable one.
To my surprise I have seen one rare manuscript from 18th Century. It was Saint Dnyaneshwar's commentary on Bhagavatgeeta popularly known as Dnyaneshwari. It was embellished with rich tapestry, colours and fine binding. I thought it should have been in the custody of Indians. I have seen many Sanskrit manuscripts like Devi Mahatmya here. All the Sacred Books of all the religions were kept in a palpable manner. Buddhist Texts, Jain manuscripts, Hebrew Bibles, Geeta, Japanese texts, Chinese texts etc were the valuable additions to the British Library. Photography was not allowed inside the exhibition,otherwise I would have taken snaps of this exclusive treasure.
Shakespeare's 400th death anniversary is being celebrated this year worldwide. To mark this, British Library, one of the leading center of English culture has organized an exhibition called "Shakespeare in Ten Acts". I paid £5 and witnessed a journey in to plays of Shakespeare. It started with audio visual depiction of Hamlet. The video clips and sound tracks of some famous soliloquies were also placed there. The court masque( the royal entertainment featuring music,elaborate costumes and special effects)in the Tempest is so well presented that i could visualize the magical feast of Prospero's magic.
The journey of Shakespeare from England to other parts of Europe, Asia and Africa was highlighted in the exhibition. The treatment of woman in Shakespearean plays was demonstrated by the fact that a woman acts in Othello for the first time on 8 December 1660. The exhibition also featured the King Lear restored to the stage in 1838. The most influential Shakespeare production of the last 50 years is undoubtedly Peter Brook's "A Midsummer Night's Dream", first staged at Royal Shakespeare Company in 1970. Then came Shakespeare Globe's Twelfth Night in 2002. The recent Shakespearean production of digital age was The Wooster Group's "Hamlet" that released in 2013. This mesmerizing journey was beautifully depicted in the exhibition with the help of pictures, costumes, manuscripts of the plays and more importantly the First Folio of Shakespearean plays was also kept here. I feel fortunate to witness this feast as i lived near the King's Cross Terminal which is very near to British Library.
The journey of Shakespeare from England to other parts of Europe, Asia and Africa was highlighted in the exhibition. The treatment of woman in Shakespearean plays was demonstrated by the fact that a woman acts in Othello for the first time on 8 December 1660. The exhibition also featured the King Lear restored to the stage in 1838. The most influential Shakespeare production of the last 50 years is undoubtedly Peter Brook's "A Midsummer Night's Dream", first staged at Royal Shakespeare Company in 1970. Then came Shakespeare Globe's Twelfth Night in 2002. The recent Shakespearean production of digital age was The Wooster Group's "Hamlet" that released in 2013. This mesmerizing journey was beautifully depicted in the exhibition with the help of pictures, costumes, manuscripts of the plays and more importantly the First Folio of Shakespearean plays was also kept here. I feel fortunate to witness this feast as i lived near the King's Cross Terminal which is very near to British Library.
