Museum & research centre on rare docus to come up in city
KOLKATA: A unique museum and research centre of rare documents will soon come up in the city of joy. From a silver coin of Alexander the Great, a Mughal painting brushed with gold dust to the will of Dwarkanath Tagore, the museum will showcase the 'rarest of the rare' documents.
"We are confident that the museum will be one-of-its-kind in the country," said Biplab Roy, Administrator General and Official Trustee of West Bengal. Some of the rare documents to be on display include plans of important buildings, which had been sketched in England. One such plan is that of the Tagore Castle. The plan contains minute details of the house, which was constructed later.
"There are more than 2000 coins from 300 BC to the recent times," said Roy. These include gold and silver coins of the Mughal Period, Delhi Sultanate, Shivaji, Sher Shah, Pala and Sen Dynasty, Murshidkuli Khan, East India Company, among others.
The plans of Gothic buildings, which had been built in Kolkata and Bangladesh, will be on display. There are rare photographs, which had been clicked by the British photographers who came to Kolkata in the 19th and 20th century. "There is a rare photograph of Queen Victoria without her crown. There is a photograph of King Edward V, who was the King of England from April to June 1483," Roy said.
Arms used by the British police will also be on display. Roy said statues dumped at different police stations would also be showcased. "We have contacted the police stations and requested them to send them to our office,"Roy said.
These documents had been lying in the record room of the office of Administrator General and Official Trustee of New Secretariat Building for decades. When the building was constructed during the Chief Ministership of Dr BC Roy, the record room was set up on the ground floor.
The room was opened following the initiative of Roy and the treasure till date unknown was discovered. "We plan to set up a research centre as it will have interest among scholars across the globe. The plans of different buildings will be on display. Segregation of different documents and coins are going on in full swing, said Roy.
