The late Sir Rashbehary Ghose, in his Will, made a bequest to the University, of a sum of Rs. 2,50,000, for the purpose of founding a few Fellowships in the University. The following is a joint letter from the executors to the said Will on the subject of the bequest. 'CALCUTTA, The 22nd June, 1921. of the Calcutta University. We have the honour to inform you that Sir Rashbehary Ghose, by the seventh clause of his Will, dated the 23rd day of May, 1920 (of which we have recently obtained probate from the High Court), directed us, as his Executors, to make over to the Calcutta University, out of his estate, the sum of Rs. 2,50,000 for the foundation of a few Travelling Fellowships. It is his recommendation that the University should employ the said sum by following the clauses and rules which he recorded in English in the Schedule marked "Ka" to his said Will. A copy of English translation of the seventh clause to the said Will annexed to the Probate and of the said Schedule marked "Ka" is appended hereto. We shall feel obliged if you will place the matter before the University in due course for acceptance of the said bequest. We have, etc., HIRENDRANATH DATTA. BIPINBIHARI GHOSH. 7th Clause of the Will. 7. I have resolved to found a few Travelling Fellowships, under the supervision of the Calcutta University. In order to defray the annual costs of those Travelling Fellowships, it is necessary to make over Rs. 2,50,000, two and a half lacs of rupees, to the said University. Hence I hereby direct the Executors appointed by this my Will that they should as soon as they can within one year of my death make over Rs. 2,50,000, two and a half lacs of rupees out of my Estate to the said University. It is my recommendation that the Calcutta University should employ the said 2,50,000, two and a half lacs of rupees by following the clauses and rules which I have recorded in English in the Schedule marked "Ka" to the Will." Schedule "Ka." 1. That the sum of 2 lacs to be made over to the University of Calcutta be invested in approved Securities so as to produce an income, whenever practicable, of four per cent. per annum. 2. That the entire management of the said fund in all respects whatsoever and the application of its inccme be, subject to the general control of the Senate, vested in the Board of Management mentioned in my letter of the 8th August, 1913, to the University of Calcutta, founding four University Professorships. 3. That three Travelling Fellowships be founded, each tenable for on year, the Fellows to be remunerated from the income of the Fund. 4. That the Fellowships be open only to persons who have been at any time admitted to a Degree in the University of Calcutta. 5. That the Travelling Fellows be nominated by the Board of Management subject to confirmation by the Senate. The Board of Management shall have power to invite applications and shall satisfy themselves as to the general ability of a candidate for Fellowship to profit by a course of study abroad. Each candidate shall be required to submit a general scheme of the work he proposes to undertake during the tenure of his Fellowship. 6. It shall be the duty of each Travelling Fellow to investigate educational methods abroad (that is, outside India) in his special branch of study or to undertake research in any special branch of learning-such branch and the seats of learning where the investigation is to be carried on to be determined by the Board of Management in consultation with the candidate. Fellows shall submit periodical accounts of their work to the Board and supply such other evidence of the progress made by them as the Board may, from time to time, require. The 7. Each Travelling Fellow shall, on his return to India, submit to the Board a full report embodying the results of his studies and travels which shall be published by and be the property of the University. 8. The emoluments attached to a Fellowship shall be paid ordinarily in advance in two half-yearly instalments. The Board shall have power however to withhold the payment of the second instalment if the work done by a Travelling Fellow during the first half-year of the tenure of Fellowship be deemed unsatisfactory by them. A Travelling Fellow may be re-appointed or have his term extended at the discretion of the Board of Management. 9. Of the three Fellowships to be awarded each year, at least two shall be allotted to a Scientific subject. 10. The Senate shall have power, on the recommendation of the Board of Management, to frame supplementary rules for the efficient administration of the Fund. Such rules, however, shall in no wise, conflict with the principle laid down above, nor shall have the Senate power, under any circumstances, to spend any portion of the corpus of the Fund but, if one or more Fellowships are not awarded in any particular year on account of lack of suitable candidates or for like reason, the sum unspent may be temporarily invested by the Board and applied in the award of additional Fellowships in any subsequent year. The bequest was thankfully accepted by the Senate on the 6th of August, 1921. TRAVELLING FELLOWS. " 1922-23 Sisirkumar Mitra, Esq., D.Sc.-(Science). Sudhamay Ghosh, Esq., D.Sc.-(Science). 1926-27 Surendranath Sen, Esq., M.A., Ph.D.--(Arts). Pulinbihari Sarkar, Esq., M.Sc.-(Science). Premankur De, Esq., M.B.-(Science). 1927-28 Jyotishchandra Ghosh, Esq., M.A.—(Arts). Prof. Debendramohan Bose, M.A., B.Sc., Ph.D.-(Science). (B) Ramtanu Lahiri Research Fellowship. In August, 1908, Mr, S. K. Lahiri placed at the disposal of the University the copyright of his publication known as "Select Poems and expressed a desire that part of the income from the sale proceeds of the publication might be applied to the award of two annual gold medals to the two best graduates_one male and one female in Mental and Moral Philosophy, at the B.A. Examination, in memory of his father, the late Babu Ramtanu Lahiri and his deceased mother Srimati Gangamani Devi. The offer was thankfully accepted by the Syndicate and since then a considerable balance accumulated to the credit of the Fund. The net annual income, after defraying the costs of publication of the book and the medals, also amounts on an average to Rs. 5,000. In these circumstances the Syndicate, at the suggestion of the donor, and with the sanction of the Senate, have under Section 19, Chapter IV of the University Regulations, established a Research Fellowship in History of the Bengali Language and Literature to be maintained out of the income of the above Fund, supplemented by grant from the Fee fund of the University and have named the Fellowship after the late Babu Ramtanu Lahiri, the father of the donor. They had also appointed Rai Saheb Dineschandra Sen, B.A., as the first Ramtanu Lahiri Research Fellow for a term of five years on a salary of Rs. 250 a month. The duties of the Fellow have been defined as follows:(1) To devote himself to the investigation of the History of Bengali Language and Literature from the earliest times. (2) To deliver annually a course of twelve public lectures embodying the results of his investigation; the lectures to be published by the University. (3) To submit to the Syndicate every six months, a report of the progress of work done by him during the preceding six months. The Fellowship to be suspended if, on the report of a competent authority, the work done be not found to be satisfactory or up to the standard expected. FELLOW. 1913-28 Prof. Dineschandra Sen, Rai Bahadur, B.A., D.Litt. Rai Bahadur Dr. Dineschandra Sen, B.A., D.Litt., who has been engaged in the investigation in the domain of the History of Bengali Language and Literature, as the Ramtanu Lahiri Fellow since 1913 felt that if something were not done immediately for the collection and publication of old and unwritten Bengali ballads, which were handed down from generation to generation by professional rhapsodists, they would soon be irretrievably lost to the country. These ballads, he maintained, were most important and interesting as they revealed the art, literature and traditions of the early times. At the instance of Dr. Sen, the D. P. I., Bengal, offered to help the University with a small Government grant on their furnishing Government with a scheme for enabling Dr. Sen to carry on his researches on a wider scale. The D. P. I. also offered to help one of the assistants of the Ramtanu Lahiri Fellow with a Government Post-Graduate Scholarship. The Syndicate at their meeting held on the 28th November, 1924. appointed a committee, consisting of Rai Bahadur Dineschandra Sen, B.A., D.Litt., and Mr. Syamaprasad Mookerjee, M.A., B.L., to draw up a scheme for submission to Government. The following report submitted by the Committee was adopted by the Syndicate on 12th December, 1924, and a copy thereof was forwarded to the D. P. I., Bengal, with a request to move the Government of Bengal for necessary funds : 66 The first essential step will be to provide facilities for the appointment of qualified persons who can undertake the arduous task of collecting ballads from the remote and unknown corners of the province. It is clear that the nature of work to be done in this connection is such that it will not be well performed by the employment of graduates. They are, generally speaking, accustomed to the ease of town life and to studies principally conducted in libraries or at home. They are hardly capable of undergoing the hardships and privations which are involved in journeying through the rural districts and in visiting the poor peasants who dwell in mud huts, and are the custodians, so to say, of the songs and ballads of the countryside. The graduates are, again, not expected to be sufficiently intimate with the modes of living of the poor and, what is more, possessed of tactics and practical wisdom to 66 coax a cautious peasant into unburdening his store of traditions and memories. The collection of ballads does not accordingly require the assistance of persons equipped with high academic qualifications. It is thus undeniable that we must have our band of special collectors. The question is how to appoint them. We are of opinion that we should have at least three men on our staff who will be kept in charge of collecting ballads and songs. We, however, do not think that it will be desirable to appoint them on fixed salaries at the very outset. We have made enquiries and have found that there are some persons, about eight in number, who are competent to work in this field and are willing to place their services at the disposal of the University. Almost all of them have sent us specimens of their collections which, though promising, are not adequate for testing their capacity for work. We should encourage such persons to send in specimens of their collections and should appoint those three amongst them, who will satisfy us that they have the highest aptitude for work in this field. This was exactly what was done in the case of Babu Chandrakumar De who had at first sent us a few instalments of ballads for which he was paid remuneration from the University and was subsequently appointed in the Department of Old Bengali MSS. on a fixed monthly salary. The University now pays him at the rate of Rs. 60 per month which includes his travelling and other incidental expenses. In consideration of his special merits and high and approved qualities of his work we recommend that his salary be increased to Rs. 85 per month. We are of opinion that it will be necessary to provide for a fixed annual grant which will enable the University to purchase ballads and songs which may be collected by independent workers other than the three persons who will be employed by us. A sum of Rs. 250 will, we consider, be adequate for this purpose. For the smooth working of this department it will be necessary to place at the disposal of the Fellow the services of a competent clerk who will perform such duties as correspondence and making fair copies of texts, commentaries, translations, introductions and notes. In our opinion such an Assistant should be in receipt of a monthly salary of Rs. 60. At present the University provides for the appointment of a temporary Assistant every year for the performance of such duties as enumerated above. We strongly feel that this arrangement should be made permanent. We also consider it desirable that definite provision should be made for a typewriter and certain contingent expenses which will include such items as paper, stamps, etc. It will be necessary furthermore to arrange for the printing and publishing of a volume of about 500 pages embodying the work that will be done by the Fellow in course of every year. We are of opinion that the University should undertake to arrange for the regular publication of the work. We may at this stage usefully summarise the actual financial effect of the scheme which we have outlined above. We propose to classify the items of expenditure under two heads, one concerning those for which the University should apply to Government for help, the other dealing with those for which the University itself should be responsible. Government. 1. Proposed increase of salary to Babu Chandrakumar ... ... De 2. Pay of three persons to be appointed for the purpose of collecting materials, at the rate of Rs. 50 a month each and a fixed travelling allowance for Rs. 20 a month each Purchasing materials from different independent 3. Rs. 300 per annum 2,520 per annum 250 per annum 3,070 per year University. 1. Cost of printing and publishing a volume of about 2. 500 pages Contingencies 3. A clerk on Rs. 60 per month Non-recurring Expenditure: A Typewriter We have carefully considered the possibility of arranging for the association with the Fellow of a competent M.A., trained in the approved methods of systematic and scientific study of Indian Vernaculars in the University, who might be awarded one of the scholarships at the disposal of the Director of Public Instruction. Such an arrangement will materially help the cause we are advocating, for it will ensure continuance of an organised school of researchers in this field. There are at present three Research Assistants working under the Ramtanu Fellow and we are of opinion that the nature of the work in which they are engaged is such as will not permit them to devote their energies to other directions just now. The first has taken up for research on The Sahajia Cult of the Vaisnabas," the second is engaged in collecting materials for social history of Bengal and the third is working in the field of philological research regarding the Birbhum dialect. They have not only to carry on research by constantly consulting the old Bengali manuscripts in the libraries of the University and the Sahitya-Parishad, but have also to devote considerable time to tracing other materials from original sources. They have to submit quarterly reports embodying the results of their work. In spare hours they have also to take up teaching work in the Post-Graduate Classes, so far as their own special subjects are concerned. It will, therefore, be not possible for any of them to work exclu. sively on the ballads along with the Fellow. We strongly recommend that the Director of Public Instruction should be requested to keep apart one of the scholarships at his disposal, to be awarded to a qualified graduate who will work in this field under the direction of the Fellow. In conclusion, we recommend a Standing Committee be appointed by the Syndicate to supervise generally the work of this department. Such a committee need not and should not be large in composition. The Ramtanu Lahiri Fellow will of course be on it and we propose he should have as his colleagues two more members, one to be nominated by the Syndicate and the other by the Board of Higher Studies in Indian Vernaculars." |