SCU to come up with centre in Nabadwip

Kolkata: The Sanskrit College and University (SCU) is coming up with a Centre of Learning and Research in Sanskrit literature at Nabadwip in Nadia district. The G+5 building on the bank of the river is being described as the second campus of the university.

"Our aim is to bring in all research activities regarding Sanskrit language and literature under the roof of this campus. Sanskrit scholars from across the globe will be invited to this state-of-the-art Centre and there will be exchange of thoughts and ideas. Nabadwip was a centre of learning and philosophy in medieval India and is still noted for its traditional Sanskrit schools," registrar of SCU Dr Arundhati Mukhopadhyay said.

Interestingly, the gate of the building will have the form of a 'Tilak', which is being designed by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee herself.

It has been learnt that 80 percent of the construction work that is being done by the state Public Works Department, is complete and work is expected to be over in three to four months. As per plans, the ground floor will house the administrative department, the first and second floor will have classrooms and the top floor will have a library that will be a combination of manuscript as well as digital format. The building will also have facilities for scholar's block and staff quarters.

SCU is in talks with the experts in Sanskrit to provide their collection of manuscripts to enrich the collection of the library and many have already shown their positive intent in this regard.

The building is coming up on 1.45 acres of land and the project cost is Rs 26 crore, which is entirely funded by the state government. "We will be connecting our two campuses - the existing one at College Street and the one coming up in Nabadwip, through satellite link with video chat facilities. This will ensure that students in the College Street campus are updated about the learning and research activities at Nabadwip campus," a senior administrative official said.

It may be mentioned that the transformation of Sanskrit College as The Sanskrit College and University was done by the Mamata Banerjee government through a legislative act of 2015 and it was only on June 2016 when it started its journey as an university. SCU presently has graduation and post-graduation courses in as many as 8 subjects with a student strength of around 400.