Radhakamal Mukerjee Art Gallery at Lucknow University's Tagore Library: A Look Inside
The Tagore Library of the University of Lucknow is one of the oldest and largest university libraries in Uttar Pradesh. In November 2020, as the university marked its centenary, VoxyTalksy took its camera inside the library to see the newly opened Radhakamal Mukerjee art gallery and museum.
What the video shows
The video was uploaded on November 21, 2020, during the University of Lucknow's centenary celebrations. According to its description, it was filmed on the day Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel inaugurated the Radhakamal Mukerjee art gallery and museum in the Tagore Library. A library official explains that the gallery displays modern and contemporary paintings by artists such as Asit Kumar Haldar and Nandalal Bose, along with old handwritten manuscripts in Persian and Sanskrit. He says the library holds more than five lakh books, has recently started a cyber library with 538 computers, and that around 500 students were using it daily after it reopened in June 2020 under Covid-19 rules. The camera then moves through the gallery, showing Haldar's paintings on themes such as Chandragupta Maurya, the Buddha and Ashoka, and finely decorated Persian manuscripts.
A library as old as the university
- The University of Lucknow came into being in 1920; the Lucknow University Act received the Governor-General's assent on November 25, 1920.
- The library began with the university in late 1920, built on the old Canning College library.
- Its present building had its foundation laid in March 1937 and was inaugurated on April 2, 1941.
- The university's own profile lists about 5.5 lakh books, around 10,000 theses, 50,000 bound journals and about 2,000 rare manuscripts in Arabic, Persian, Urdu and Sanskrit.
The art gallery
According to the university, the nucleus of the art collection was a donation made in 1935 by D.N. Bonerjee, and the first exhibition was held in 1942. The collection includes original paintings by Nandalal Bose, Asit Kumar Haldar and L.M. Sen, works in the Chughtai style and by Sudhir Ranjan Khastgir, Jaipur School paintings, sculptures and other art objects. The art objects were restored by INTACH with funding sanctioned by the Union Ministry of Culture.
Who was Radhakamal Mukerjee?
Radhakamal Mukerjee was born on December 7, 1889, in Berhampore, Bengal. He taught economics and sociology at the University of Lucknow from 1921 to 1952, served as the library's honorary librarian between 1941 and 1945, and later became the university's Vice-Chancellor. He received the Padma Bhushan in 1962 and died on August 24, 1968. Naming the gallery after him links the collection to one of the scholars who shaped the university's early decades.
If you want to visit
- The library mainly serves students, teachers and registered members; outside visitors should check with the library administration before going.
- Researchers who need to consult manuscripts should ask about the library's rules for access and handling.
- The library is on the university's main campus near Badshah Bagh, and university events and exhibitions are announced on its official website.
