Bhaskar Parichha
A senior government officer, a history enthusiast and an ace photographer. That is a rare combination. But Raja Parija does all this with ease. And he is more and more into exploring Cuttack and its myriad histories. Raja Parija has been studying and writing books on Cuttack – Odisha’s millennium city – for quite some time and systematically at that. This is his third book on Odisha’s medieval capital – the two other books being one on Subhash Chandra Bose’s birthplace and Cuttack’s inimitable Silver Filigree.Parija has also written a book on the appliqué works of Pipili.
Cuttack has been all things to all people – commercial town, educational hub as well as the seat of judiciary and health care. What was not known earlier is that Cuttack has about a dozen museums. The millennium city is one among the few cities in the country having as many as nine museums. The museums are of different categories and they unmistakably showcase the history, heritage and beauty of the city.
Parija’s coffee-table book ‘Cuttack – The City of Museum’ is both refreshing and educative. With the customary introduction and a city map at fag end of the book, Parija has chronicled the history of the museums in its entire splendor. As he writes in the preface, ‘this book is a humble endeavor to lend a bird’s eye view of the history of the establishment of these museums and their collections.’ The book describes the glorious journey of Museum Movement in the country since 1814 and in Odisha in particular since 1904.
Parija goes back to the history of museums in Odisha indicating the twin museums set up by the Maharaja of Mayurbhanj in early twentieth century. But the actual history of museums in Odisha began with the Odisha State Museum which saw its modest beginning at the then Ravenshaw College. Later on it was upgraded to a Provincial Museum only to be shifted to Bhubaneswar in 1960 when the capital of Odisha was shifted from Cuttack.
Cuttack being home to nine museums is an honorable figure. Perhaps, no other Indian city in India – with the exception of Ujjain – has such a large number of museums. The museums that have been written about in this fabulous book are: Odisha Maritime Museum,Odisha High Court Museum,Odisha Printing Museum,Madhusudan Museum,Netaji Birth Place Museum ,Swaraj Ashram,Ananda Bhawan Museum and Skill Museum. Imagine the incredible diversity and the astounding history behind these museums. While some of these museums have a rich past behind them, some have come about recently. The museum on Odisha’s legendary leader Biju Patnaik is one among the newly builds, although it existed in a different shape.
Of the nine museums the Netaji museum stands tall just for the inquisitiveness of the personality. The house of Subhash Chandra Bose where he was born has been converted into a museum with artifacts connected with his childhood days and also the Azad Hind Fauz. The museum houses photographs, charts, household items from the Bose household which tell us the story of Netaji’s parents, his birth, education and his political journey in India and abroad. The book has some rare photographs to substantiate the journey.
The second important museum is the maritime museum flanking on the banks of the Mahanadi River. This museum focuses on Odisha’s centuries-old maritime history, overseas trade and boat-building. It showcases the ancient Odisha’s seafaring activity, its unique shipbuilding design, the history of Odia sailors and the trade they carried out prior to independence. Each of the museums discussed about in the book is unique in its own and some are even only one-of-its- kind in the country. Take for example, the Swaraj Ashram which gives an account of India’s freedom struggle and Odisha’s role in it.
If preserving the history of a city is important for the future generations, it can be conserved only in a museum. With brilliant photographs numbering about a hundred and a superb design, the book is an enormous contribution to India’s museum history.
Museums are places where memories of different periods of history are stocked up and it takes only a passionate individual to chronicle the times gone by. Raja Parija’s book on Cuttack’s museums is a pleasant book and will be of great use for tourists, scholars, students and general readers. A must-read for history aficionados and those who care about their past.
Cuttack- The City of Museums
By Raja Parija
PageMaker Publication
Lane-8, Plot No -117
Bapuji Nagar
Bhubaneswar – 751009
Rs 899
2019
