Past forward: Modi script exhibition offers glimpses of bygone era

Aurangabad: In a treat for citizens, a special exhibition of Modi script documents from 1778 AD to 1830 AD is being held at the history museum of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University (Bamu).
Several of these documents correspond to era of different rulers, including Britishers, Marathas, Peshwas and Holkars, and throw light on the social, political and religious contours which prevailed then.
Letters written by feudal leaders to British rulers seeking protection from dacoits, documents pertaining to loan taken by Peshwas and rulings pertaining to disputes coming under the ambit of erstwhile Satara rulers are some of the interesting Modi script papers the exhibition has on display.
Modi enjoyed the status of widely used communication language during parts of 18th and 19th century. It is basically a script used to write the Marathi language, which was the primary language spoken in the state of Maharashtra. The history department of the university is in possession of several documents penned in this script. "The study of these documents can offer a glimpse into then society and people," university authorities said.
The work of translating these Modi script documents into Devnagiri script (Marathi) is on at the university presently. "Some of the documents have been already translated into Devnagiri script, while the remaining are in the process of translation. These documents are treasure trove of history and will be preserved carefully for future generations," the authorities said.
The exhibition is open to all during office hours till January 19. History department head Umesh Bagade among other staffers of the university are involved in the organisation of the exhibition.