Cooch Behar,
June 3: The addition of two more galleries to the palace museum here
has been finalised by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).
`We have already begun a formal dialogue
with the district police so that the armoury gallery can be opened.
According to the district police, a 24-strong force, operating in
shifts, will be required to keep a round-the-clock vigil on the
armoury `said Bimal Bandopadhyay, the superintending archaeologist
of the ASI's Calcutta circle. He was on an inspection tour of the
palace yesterday.
Bandopadhyay said the police estimate had been forwarded to the
director-general of the ASI.
`Once the approval is granted by our headquarters, there will be
no difficulty in opening the arms gallery,`he said. According to sources at the palace office, the arms used and collected
by the Cooch Behar royal family are currently kept in one of the
palace rooms under the custody of the district magistrate. The room
is guarded by armed policemen. Though the ASI took charge of the palace in 1980, safeguarding
the arms is the direct responsibility of the state government.
District administration sources said the collection has more than
a hundred weapons. They are mostly double-barrelled guns used for
hunting, muskets, revolvers and pistols. There are also guns with
carved barrels and stocks, both of British and American make. `As the situation in north Bengal is a little tense, it is important
that the arms gallery be heavily guarded,` said Bandopadhyay.
According to sources, the ASI will have to bear the cost of police
deployment at the palace museum once the armoury opens. The senior archaeologist said along with the armoury, another gallery
would be opened next month. The renovation and the decoration of both the rooms that will house
the galleries are complete.
The other gallery will display weights and measures issued by the
royal government along with insignia worn by the servants then.
Medals given by the kings of Cooch Behar will also be on display.
`The existing galleries have many precious items on display, such
as idols from the Pala era, excavated from the ASI site in Gossanimari.
The idols date back to the 10th century,` said Bandyopadhyay. The
ASI excavated these idols in 1999.
The palace is also a repository of tribal art and culture of north
Bengal, with an entire gallery devoted to various tools, masks and
other items related to the adivasi way of life.
`The armoury, however, is always a great attraction for tourists.
Once it is ready, visitors will get a complete picture of the lifestyle
of the kings of Cooch Behar and the manner in which they governed
their kingdom,` the archaeologist said.
The other attractions of the palace museum are the collection of
oil paintings and statues.
Courtesy
The Telegraph |
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