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Nabokov and the curator of the Indian Museum of Calcutta
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From: Sandy P. Klein
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1040401/asp/calcutta/story_3070349.asp
Lover of arts, keeper of artefacts
calcuttans would know him better as the preserver of the past. But in his 38-year stint at the Indian Museum, Shyamalkanti Chakravarti has proved to be much more than that. He joined the museum as a curator in the archaeology section when he was 22, and retired as its director of eight years on Wednesday.
Born and brought up in Chetla, Chakravarti dreamt of becoming either ⌠a good journalist or a good professor■. He had to utilise skills related to both the professions in the line of work that he subsequently chose.
A Bachelor▓s degree course in Sanskrit at Asutosh College triggered Chakravarti▓s interest in ancient Indian and Asian history. His professors wanted him to pursue a Master▓s in literature, but Chakravarti chose the more eclectic subject of ⌠epigraphy and history■ for his MA at Calcutta University.
Curiously, a piece by Russian-born English author Vladimir Nabokov ≈ where the protagonist dreams of becoming a museum curator ≈ initiated Chakravarti▓s life-long occupation with museums. After completing his MA, there were two job offers before him, one to teach in a college and the other to join the Indian Museum. Chakra-varti did not hesitate to take up the latter. That was in the late 1960s.
There would be another curious turn in his life in a few years. He fell in love with a 10th-century sculpture that came to the museum, of a lady writing letters. The sculpture moved him so much that he decided to write a column in Ananda Bazar Patrika and subsequently did a PhD from Jadavpur University on Patralekha: Romance of Letter-writing in Indian Art and Literature.
Chakravarti is an Indologist of acclaim and an expert on Indian art, iconography, epigraphic studies and museology. His awards and achievements are numerous. He received Unesco training in museum methods in Japan and is the recipient of a special honour from Instituto Cultural Cabanas, Mexico, for his contribution to the field of art and culture. For two years, he served as the additional director of National Library.
Post-retirement, life doesn▓t promise to be a quiet affair either. He has already been requested to stay on in the museum▓s development committee; museums in north-eastern India are seeking his expertise; and Chakravarti himself is looking for a visiting professor▓s post.
A novelette on some of the museum▓s more interesting workers over time ≈ such as Trailakyanath Mukhopadhyay and Rakhaldas Bandyopadhyay ≈ is in his scheme of things.
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1040401/asp/calcutta/story_3070349.asp
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