Nalbari youths’ recovers 800 rare manuscripts for scientific preservation

Nalbari, Sept 24: Nalbari district is known as the Nabadwip of Assam, a centre of Sanskrit education. Therefore, most of the people in the district have old manuscripts in their homes. However, due to lack of proper preservation, many such manuscripts have disappeared over a period of time while many valuable manuscripts are still scattered due to lack of proper preservation.

As such, a group of youths in Nalbari, under the leadership of the Kamrup Sanskrit Sanjivani Sabha, initiated special steps to preserve the valuable manuscripts scattered among the residents of different villages. The team of six youths, under the supervision of Prof Dr Gautam Choudhury, head of the Department of Sanskrit at the Nalbari College, and Prof (Dr) Jayant Sarma Shastri of the Nalbari Sanskrit College, has been preserving these valuable manuscripts since March last. These manuscripts include some valuable ones written on sasipat and tulapat.

These youths from Nalbari have visited several villages and held awareness meetings to inform the villagers about the importance of such manuscripts. About 800 manuscripts have been recovered through such work. Some of the manuscripts have been recovered and brought to the museum of the Kamrup Sanskrit Sanjivani Sabha in Nalbari, while others have been preserved in the respective homes in a scientific manner. The campaign is being conducted in Kaithalkuchi, Gamarimuri, Nardi, and Dhurkuchi villages of the district.

While talking to The Assam Tribune, Dr Dinamani Bhagawati, the president of the Kamrup Sanskrit Sanjivani Sabha, said that about 500 manuscripts were recovered from the residence of Durga Kinkar Sarma Shastri of Kaithalkuchi village. Similarly, about 700 valuable manuscripts have been found in the residence of Pranab Sarma of Gamerimuri village. These manuscripts have been properly preserved in the residences of the owners concerned.

The Kamrup Sanskrit Sanjivani Sabha was established in 1913 in Nalbari district and has been playing an important role in preserving valuable manuscripts scattered in different parts of the State. The Kamrup Sanskrit Sanjivani Sabha was born with the efforts of prominent Sanskrit scholars like late Mahamahopadhaya Dhireswaracharya, late Pratap Chandra Goswami, and late Sarat Chandra Goswami.

These valuable manuscripts of the Kamrup Sanskrit Sanjivani Sabha were first preserved at the residence of the late Pratap Chandra Goswami. These manuscripts were later preserved at the Nalbari Sanskrit College. A two-storey building of the Sabha was constructed in 2012 on land donated by the Nalbari Sanskrit College to facilitate the proper preservation of such manuscripts.

The Sabha has recovered these manuscripts from various villages and is preserving them very carefully. It is known that the Kamrup Sanskrit Sanjivani Sabha museum has the largest number of valuable manuscripts in the Northeast. The Sabha is currently working on digitisation and preservation of the manuscripts through the National Manuscript Mission, a Central government agency. A Manuscript Preservation Centre and a Manuscript Resource Centre have been set up for this purpose. There are about 3,000 rare manuscripts in the institution and special measures are being taken to ensure their proper preservation. Old manuscripts are carefully wrapped in medicated red cloth to prevent insects from damaging them.

The Kamrup Sanskrit Sanjivani Sabha arranges for the preservation of old manuscripts if anyone reports the presence of such manuscripts. In the past, if someone did not wish to give the manuscripts then the manuscripts were preserved at the homes concerned. However, recently, the youths of the Kamrup Sanskrit Sanjivani Sabha have been searching the villages for such manuscripts for proper preservation. Old manuscripts take more than a day to preserve.

Dr Dinamani Bhagawati said that the manuscripts in the Kamrup Sanskrit Sanjivani Sabha have resources for hundreds of people to get PhD degrees through research work. Meanwhile, many teachers and students visit the museum of the Kamrup Sanskrit Sanjivani Sabha in search of historical resources. He said that Dr Sangeeta Gogoi, director of the State’s historical and antiquarian studies department, visited the Kamrup Sanskrit Sanjivani Sabha earlier this month and promised to arrange for the recovery of some of faded manuscripts. This will enable the recovery of such manuscripts in the same handwriting with new techniques.

The Kamrup Sanskrit Sanjivani Sabha in Nalbari has been playing a laudatory role in preserving the ancient heritage of the State.