A Visionary Viewed Through lens: Pictorial Album of Rajendralala Mitra (First Indian President of The Asiatic Society)

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On the occasion of bi-centenary of Rajendralala Mitra, The Asiatic Society, Kolkata pays tribute to its first Indian President and path-setter in various arenas through the present album which highlights in a nutshell the life and multi-dimensional activities of this nineteenth century pioneer. With profound admiration and deep respect The Asiatic Society reminisces its indebtedness to Rajendralala in his dissemination of knowledge about the glorious heritage of ancient India, igniting thereby a subtle sense of nationalist spirit and in establishing the fact that the hitherto unexplored, vast Orient had priceless treasures to contribute in the advance march of the civilization.

Born in 1822, Rajendralala, despite his chequered career at the initial stage as a victim of circumstances, developed a strong fascination for both Indian and European languages and his erudition in both Indian and European languages and literatures paved the foundation of his career at The Asiatic Society where he joined as Librarian and Associated Secretary with a monthly honorarium of Rs 100/in 1846. This association with Society was a blessing for both Rajendralala and The Society in the sense that he could find access to and work on the plethora of manuscripts and archival materials, preserved in the library of The Society which were subsequently edited by him and published by The Society, viz Notices of Sanskrit Manuscripts (1870-1893 in nine volumes ),Catalogue of Curiosities in the Museum of The Asiatic Society and many others. Several Sanskrit texts were edited by him and subsequently published under The Bibliotheca Indica Series of The Asiatic Society. The Society on the other hand, established by Sir William Jones in 1784 with an avowed objective to explore Asia and Africa, could succeed in deciphering. propagating and publishing various gems of Oriental wisdom through the creative endeavour and zealous perseverance of this stalwart. These publications along with Asiatic Researches and journals made The Asiatic Society a research centre of towering magnitude. The editorial principle which Rajendralala adopted, though considered inconclusive in modern parlance is lauded by scholars even in present times. His numerous articles publushed in The Journals of The Asiatic Society which deal with various topics starting from inscriptions to social mores exemplify his profound knowledge in Indology and penetrating insight in social scenario.