Maharashtra: Woman gets museum to add ‘Chhatrapati’ to Shivaji London display

Vanashree Shedge and the Tiger Claws exhibit

After Vanashree Shedge, 23, objected to a display board at the London-based Victoria and Albert (V&A) Museum referring to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj without his royal title, a curator assured her that the issue will be rectified. The V&A Museum has promised in writing to change ‘Shivaji' to ‘Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj'.

During their visit to London, on March 31, Vanashree, her younger sister Tejashree and first cousin Surashree visited the museum. The trio happened to observe a display board referring to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in first person singular form.

"The board describing tiger claws (a weapon) in room number 41 (South Asia) mentions Shivaji instead of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. This did not go down well with the three of us. On the museum premises itself we discussed the issue and came to the conclusion that this should be brought to the notice of the management," Vanashree told mid-day.

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The email sent by the museum

Vanashree has taken images of the tiger claws kept in the museum, which she shared with mid-day.

As per the image shared, the display reads, "Tiger Claws: In 1659 the great Maratha ruler Shivaji, survived an assassination attempt by disembowelling the emissary sent from Bijapur under the pretext of making peace. It has been claimed that this weapon was the actual one used but the same claim has been made for several others."

The coronation of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj took place in the capital of Hindavi Swarajya, the fort of Raigad. Coincidentally Vanashree hails from Roha, a town and taluka in Raigad district. It is located around 120 km southeast of Mumbai.

The Victoria and Albert Museum comments card

Vanashree and her relatives walked to a help desk counter and asked for a feedback form. "The woman at the help desk asked us the reasons for demanding the form. We explained our concern about the museum referring to Shivaji Maharaj in the singular form. Convinced, she immediately handed over the V&A comments card to us," Vanashree said.

The Raigad local mentioned in the card, "The King represents our country and is never addressed with his first name only. It is a disrespect for him and our country India." She also suggested that the museum should change the name in the display to ‘Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj'.

The Shedges were overwhelmed by the alacrity exhibited by the museum in replying to their comment. "On March 31, I left the note, which had my email ID. On April 5, I received an email from the museum authorities. One of the curators acknowledged the suggestion and even assured us the changes mentioned in the comment card would be made," she added.

Appreciating the museum's actions, the engineering graduate said, "In London, the museum authorities acted swiftly and even assured us about changing the board. There is a lot to learn from the culture and approach of the UK, especially museum authorities."

She shared that the museum authorities' reply with mid-day. "We are due to be closing the gallery in 2024 for a full refurbishment and will be rewriting and updating all the labels. We do not mean to disrespect anyone and have taken your (Vanashree) comments on board," read the email sent by Divia Patel, senior curator, Asian department.

Vanashree expressed gratitude towards V&A Museum. "Once the necessary changes are made, I hope to receive an email, informing me about the same," the elder daughter of Sameer Shedge said.

2024
Year the display will be corrected with the full honorific

31
Day in March when Vanashree visited museum