About my work by Sayan Bhattacharya

POSTED ON 14/12/2009 IN Birmingham Museums Trust British Museum India Programme 2009 Uncategorized

The material for this blog post has been provided by Sayan Bahattacharya, a participant on the ITP in 2009. All the text and photos are by Sayan, seen here on the right.

National Seminar: 
Centre for Archaeological Studies & Training, Eastern India organized a National Seminar on Cultures of the North East India: Ethnic and Archaeological Background” between 5th & 7th November,2009 in Collaboration with Indian Museum , Kolkata. This Seminar was contributed immensely to the development of archaeology in India. It will help researchers working on the region (North East India) to organize their understanding on the basis of various new and old finds. We have invited 35 speakers for this seminar from the various parts of India and Bangladesh. Eminent scholars as well as young upcoming researchers from all over India have participated in the Seminar. We have also published our annual newsletter in the seminar. The Seminar was divided into various sessions like- History of Archaeology in Northeast India, Archaeology of Identity and Representation, Quaternary Geology, The Stone Age, Understanding the hiatus between pre-history to history, Megaliths: Past and Present, and The Historical Record, Ceramic Traditions, Specific problems. I have organized this seminar with the help of my colleagues. 

Museum Reforms Project:
The project entitled Museum Reforms is funded by the Indian Museum Kolkata and Ministry of Culture, Government of India. The project revolves around the importance of comprehensive study on the various problems and prospects of the museums in India through a global perspective. This part of the project has started from the month of October, 2009. I am supervising this project with Mr. Debanjan Mitra, Miss.Kazima Khan and Miss. Rupsa Munsi as project assistants. This part of the project aims to compile all the data that can be found over the internet and published documents. The research is done with a scientific approach which reflects in the methodology employed. Presently we are working on three modules-

  1. Collection and Store Managements
  2. Museum Shops and Souvenirs
  3. Attract various Audience Segment, including Students/Children.

Street Children activities: 

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 The Centre for Archaeological Studies and Training, Eastern India has collaborated with the State Archaeological Museum West Bengal to materialize the Street Children activity programme within the State Archaeological Museum.

The first phase of the said programme was commenced on 23rd November 2009, at the State Archaeological Museum, Behala. About 30 street children of an age group of 10-15 years participated in the program.

They were involved in various activities, which can be categorized as:

  • Creative
  • Interactive &
  • Learning

All of them have been provided with the necessary equipments and materials, including a bag. To encourage the children, the organizers also awarded the best three creations, in both the categories.During the entire program the organizers were constantly in interaction with the children, elucidating the museum items and enlightening the juvenile minds with the heritage of their nation.

In the first category there was a drawing and clay-modeling competition, where the participants were encouraged to recreate the artifacts and the other exhibited items in the museums, in their drawings and clay models.

The Centre for Archaeological Studies and Training, Eastern India has conducted a learning session for the children. The objective was to introduce the fundamentals of archaeology and the human past.  It was aided with animated videos to make the subject more lucid to them. The session was highly interactive in nature. In this context, it must be mentioned that all the participants have been provided with Bag, lunch and refreshments.

The organizers have a definitive plan to carry forward this program at regular intervals, in order to raise the consciousness of the commoners regarding the human past and their nation’s heritage.

I have actively participated and lectured in the above programme.

Explorations:

The dune ridge complex along the Medinipur coast is important geomorphic features which were related to sea level changes in the past. The dune ridge runs from the Subarnarekha River in the east and the Rasulpur River in the west. Preliminary geoarchaeological research has been conducted in the region by CAST in collaboration with the Marine Wing GSI. Mr. Kaushik Gangopadhya and I explored the area in March 2009.

Exploration at Kotasur and surrounding places (near Manikarnika River), Birbhum, West Bengal as a part of my PhD research programme in November, 2009.  During my exploration I have clicked few photographs which I would love to share with my friends- 

 

 

Paper Presented:  

2009: Presented a paper on “Cultural Resources and Heritage means of Indic Studies Interaction between Children and Museum” in the International Indology Conference (Tradition and Modernity in Indian Culture, Indology & Education about India) supported by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), Sofia University, Bulgaria and Indian Mission between 25 & 26th September,2009 in Sofia, Bulgaria. The participation was supported by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR).

 Meeting/Workshops attended:

I have participated in a meeting with the Director General, Archaeological Survey of India and his team in Delhi with regard to discussion on future collaboration of the Centre with Archaeological Survey of India.

I have attended a Workshop on Museum Reforms organized by the Ministry of Culture, Government of India as a Resource person in Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts (IGNCA) New Delhi on 2nd November, 2009.

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