Varendra Research Museum
Varendra Museum
(Bengali: বরেন্দ্র জাদুঘর) is a
museum, research center and popular visitor attraction located at the heart of Rajshahi
town and maintained by Rajshahi University in Bangladesh. It is considered the oldest museum in Bangladesh. Varendra museum was the first museum to be
established in East Bengal in 1910. The museum started out as the collection for
Varendra Anushandan Samiti or Varendra Investigation Society got its current
name in 1919. The Rajahs of Rajshahi and Natore, notably prince Sharat Kumar
Ray, donated their personal collections to Varendra Museum. Varendra refers to an ancient janapada roughly
corresponding to modern northern Bangladesh
History:
Varendra (or Barind) was a region of Bengal, now in Bangladesh.
It included the Pundravardhana or Pundra
Kingdom region. According to
Cunningham the boundary of Varendra was the Ganges and
the Mahananda on the west, the Karatoya on the east, the Padma on the south and
the land between Koochbihar and the Terai on the north. The Varendra Brahmins
originated from this region.
Ancient Bengal did not have any Brahmins in its
community. It is popularly believed that Brahmins were brought in to preach
Hindutva, though really not the Vedic Hinduism as it is commonly believed, but
more of the Pouranik Hinduism type, which evolved after Buddhism flourished.
This Pouranik Hinduism is what we know as Brahmanism . Varendra (Barendra) Bhumi,
i.e. modern-day North Bengal, had its Brahminism
awakening soon after the south got its share. Shyamal Varma, a Kshatriya King
brought five Brahmanas from Kanouj---- Sanaka; Bhardwaja; Savarna; Sandilya;
Vasistha. The Bhatariya, Maitreya, Satar, Baghshree and Laheria villages soon
gave birth to the Brahmin clans of Bhaduri, Moitra, Sanyal, Bagchi and Lahiri.
These came to be known as the Varendra (Barendra) Brahmins
The Settlement of Varendra, spoken as Janakabhu (fatherland) was one of the
most flourishing territories of ancient Indian sub-continent. We come to know
from different literary and epigraphic evidences that a separate school of
artisans earned wide reputation here at the reign of Pala dynasty and the
streams of art making were uninterrupted until the Sena dynasty.
Some of the leading and enlightened citizens of Rajshahi felt the necessity
and justification of establishing such an institution that would explore the
precious past of this region. Henceforth, ‘The Varendra Research Society’ was established
in 1910, and the founder of the Society Kumar Sarat Kumar Ray, the scion of
Dighapatiya Royal family accompanied by Aksaya Kumar Maitreya, a leading lawyer
and renowned historian; Ramaprasad Chanda, a reputed scholar in history, art
and archaeology and others explored a good number of archaeological and
historical artifacts excavating in some villages of Rajshahi.
Then, the conviction grew in Kumar’s mind if a centre of archeological
research was to be established at Rajshahi, the finds should be preserved there
as the nucleus of a local museum. Accordingly, in order to collect, preserve,
study and research the history and culture of ancient and medieval Bangal in
general and of Varendra region in particular, three worthy sons of the soil
mentioned above took the noble effort to establish a museum.
Thus, the Varendra Research Society and Museum was set up at Rajshahi in
1910. In fact, it is not only the premier institution of its kind, but also the
splendid accomplishment of its organization in Bangladesh.
The role of the society concerning the museum was that of proprietor and
caretaker. However, this was formally inaugurated on 27 September 1910 and was registered in 1914 in
accordance with the Indian Society Act-1860.
Varendra Museum
was the first museum to be established in erstwhile East Bengal
in 1910. The museum started out as the collection for
Varendra Anushandhan
Samiti or
Varendra Investigation Society and got its current name in
1919. The Rajahs of Rajshahi and Natore, notably Prince Sharat Kumar Ray,
donated their personal collections to Varendra
Museum.
Varendra refers to
an ancient
janapada roughly corresponding to modern northern Bangladesh.
Excavation at Sompur Bihara was started by the society along with the University
of Calcutta in 1923. In 1964, the
museum became a part of Rajshahi University.
