Maharashtra Mandal London
A living archive of one of the oldest Marathi institutions outside India, from its founding papers of 1932 to the decades of gatherings that followed.
This collection survives because Mukund Nawathe kept it. Over many years he preserved the Mandal's photographs and records, and entrusted them to be looked after so the community's memory would not be lost.
Ninety years of the Mandal
A short history drawn from the Mandal's own records and public sources.
Founded during the Round Table Conference
N. C. Kelkar, a noted Marathi writer and politician, founded the Mandal while in London for the Round Table Conference. Dignitaries including Dr. Ambedkar and Barrister Jaikar attended the inauguration tea party.
A committee drafts the constitution
A committee was appointed to gather members' views and draft a constitution setting out the Mandal's aims, membership and governance. The letter of authority, held in this collection, was signed by D. V. Tahmankar of the Kesari newspaper.
Events until the war
Through the 1930s the Mandal ran meetings, musical evenings and concerts for Marathi speakers in Britain, until the outbreak of the Second World War interrupted its activities.
Revival after the war
Balasaheb Kher, then High Commissioner of India in London, helped revive the Mandal in the post-war years, and community life resumed.
A home of its own
The Mandal acquired its own premises on a 99 year lease for around £72,000, renovating a rundown church building into a warm community centre at Dollis Hill.
Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav begins
The Mandal began celebrating a public Ganeshotsav at its premises, now its signature annual event.
A registered charity, over ninety years on
Now a UK registered charity (number 243443) serving the wider Marathi community, the Mandal continues its cultural, social and educational work, and is working towards a permanent Maharashtra Bhavan.
Mukund Nawathe
Mukund Nawathe was a life member of Maharashtra Mandal London, carrying membership card number LM N 008. Long after many of these papers might have been discarded, he chose to keep them: committee letters, membership records, and photographs spanning decades of the Mandal's life.
Before he passed away, he handed the collection on with a single request, that it be preserved. This archive exists to honour that request, and to keep these memories available to the community he cared for.
Do you have papers or photographs of the Mandal?
Many members keep programmes, letters and photographs in their own homes. If you have something from the Mandal's history, it can join this collection and be preserved alongside Mukund Nawathe's papers. If you recognise a face in a photograph here, that is just as valuable.
- You send it inUpload a scan or a photograph through the site, with whatever you know about it.
- It is reviewedNothing is published automatically. Every submission is checked by the archive keeper first.
- It is cataloguedThe item is watermarked, described and dated, and credited to the MML well-wishers who gave it.
- It joins the collectionIt becomes searchable alongside everything else, for the whole community.
Disclaimer and notice
This archive is published in good faith, for the benefit of the community, with no commercial intent.
Notice
Documents and photos are from the personal collection of Late Shri Mukund Nawathe. They are made available to general public in good faith and to preserve the legacy of Maharashtrian and Indian diaspora in the UK and to do justice to Shri Nawathe’s passion and love for MML and for the Maharashtrian community in general. No commercial benefit is intended in publishing these documents apart from fulfilling Shri Nawathe’s last wishes. No copyright is intentionally breached, however, any concerns (only from the owners of the respective copyright) may be communicated to Mr Ketkar.
Similarly, the various documents uploaded may include contact details of individuals connected with MML or otherwise involved in social or other community activities. In this context, no breach of GDPR is intended; however, please bring any concerns and requests to redact your own information from a document to the attention of Mr Ketkar.
Corrections and removals
Real people appear in these photographs, and many have family living today. If you are shown in an item here, or hold rights in one, and you would like it corrected, credited differently or taken down, please write to the archive keeper. Requests are acted on promptly and no explanation is required.
Documents are published for viewing on this site and carry a watermark. Original full-resolution scans are held privately and are never distributed.