A museum titled “Dr. Rezaul Karim Folk and Heritage Museum” is currently under construction in Jamalpur.
From prehistoric times, Bangladesh has been a land of an ancient and illustrious civilization. After the Paleolithic Age, during the Neolithic Age, humans learned to use fire and to produce pottery by firing clay. It is mainly in the Neolithic Age that we find clear evidence of the development of advanced human civilization. Much later, during the Chalcolithic (Copper) Age, significant changes took place, and in the subsequent Iron Age, humans learned to use iron and gradually entered more advanced stages of civilization. Evidence of such evolutionary development of early human civilization has also been found in Bangladesh. Therefore, Bangladesh possesses a proud and glorious cultural history.
Jamalpur district, which was part of the greater Mymensingh region of Bangladesh, belonged to the Kingdom of Kamarupa during the rule of the Gupta dynasty in the 4th century CE. In the 7th century CE, the travel accounts of the Chinese pilgrim Xuanzang (Hiuen Tsang) mention the Pundra Kingdom of ancient Bengal, which included North Bengal, the western part of the Brahmaputra, the eastern part of Bengal including Mymensingh under the Kamarupa kingdom, and Assam. Jamalpur was one of the regions within this Kamarupa kingdom and the Mymensingh area.
Within Melandah Upazila of Jamalpur district, the “Dr. Rezaul Karim Folk and Heritage Museum” is being established in Purba Shyampur village. Construction work is currently in progress. With funding from the Rabeya Rashid Mia Memorial Trust and through the generosity of the Trust’s Honorable Chairman, Dr. Karim, this museum is rapidly taking shape and is expected to enlighten the public. The museum will serve as a vast repository of the thousand-year history of the Bengali nation and the folk heritage of simple rural life. Through its rich collections, the museum will help create a living connection between people and their roots.
The museum will display the heritage of ancient Bengal, including cultural elements and archaeological artifacts of Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist, Christian, and other religious and ethnic communities. Exhibits will include stone and metal sculptures, terracotta plaques, ancient and medieval coins, weapons, woodcraft and handicrafts of Bangladesh, folk art, folk sports equipment, folk painting, traditional toys, folk medicine, photographs of folk festivals, folk food, folk musical instruments, folk technology, pottery, nakshi kantha (embroidered quilts), and ancestral household items once used by Dr. Karim. In addition, the museum will feature ethnographic, archaeological, geological, and zoological collections of Bangladesh; various coins and architectural elements from past eras; porcelain artworks; textiles and costumes; dolls; manuscripts; contemporary art; world art; and artifacts representing world civilizations. These collections will create opportunities for research for students, teachers, researchers, and scholars, while enabling the general public to reflect on and understand their own heritage.
A museum is an institution where archaeological, historical, and cultural artifacts are collected and preserved. Objects of scientific, artistic, and historical significance are conserved and displayed for public viewing. Amid the overwhelming tide of global culture, the folk traditions and age-old cultural heritage of Bangladesh are becoming endangered. To preserve and make these traditions visible for future generations, the “Dr. Rezaul Karim Folk and Heritage Museum” will serve as a guiding beacon.
Musharaf Hossain
Lecture, History of Art
Shilpacharya Zainul Abedin Fine Art Institute, Mymensingh.
&
Member
Rabeya Rashid Mia Memorial Trust
Purba Shyampur, Melandah, Jamalpur
