{ NEW BOOK BY CITY-BASED AUTHOR } Unveiling the untold history of Raigad Fort from archives

PUNE: City-based historian, Raj Memane, has authored a new book titled Maharajancha Raigad based on in-depth research of as many as 92 Modi script documents/bundles from the Pune Archives.

- Dheeraj Bengrut

The book offers fresh insights into the 18th century administrative, military and cultural history of Raigad Fort, the capital of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s ‘Swarajya’. Praised for its scholarly rigour, the book is a significant contribution to Maratha historiography.

Unlike the Raigad Fort-related literature published by several scholars before Memane - which by their own admission is based on a study of only some of the 92 Modi script bundles available - Memane has meticulously studied all 92 Modi script bundles and extracted thousands of notes, and it is this exhaustive research that has culminated in his new book. Recounting a particularly moving experience during his research when he discovered an unpublished Modi script letter written by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj himself, Memane said, “Reading his words in the original hand was a deeply emotional and unforgettable moment for me...”