Chandannagar’s famous French museum is becoming a victim of neglect

The first accident happened in October during the Durga Puja holidays when the place was closed and it was a spectacular escape of artefacts. | Photo Credit: Special Editing

The famous French museum in Chandannagar, located in the area popularly known as Dupleix Palace, seems to have been a victim of neglect with the false roofs in two of its halls collapsing in recent weeks, a way for tourists including foreigners to escape.

This building, officially known as the Institut de Chandernagor, was where Joseph Francois Dupleix lived as governor-general when Chandannagar was a French colony; it is an important address in the city, where French is taught and which also has a historical library apart from the museum.

The first accident happened in October during the Durga Puja holidays when the place was closed and it was a spectacular escape of artefacts. The second time the ceiling came down, this time in the central hall, was on November 26, when there were people.

“It was a busy afternoon, there were many visitors, including a few from other countries. In front of them, a chunk of concrete suddenly crashed from the right onto the table where the handover of Chandannagar to India was signed. The immigrants barely survived, but they were traumatized and must have had wrong ideas about the maintenance of the museum,” said Basabi Pal, the director of the center since 2022, told. A Hindu.

“It was our luck that this lump fell on the furniture and not on any person. Otherwise, there would have been great danger and other bad consequences to follow,” Prof. Pal, who has spent almost his entire life in Chandannagar and has childhood memories of the museum, wrote to the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), which is responsible for its preservation, while explaining these incidents. two.

ASI said that conservation work on the building is still under consideration. “Our people have inspected the place and we have sent a proposal for approval to Delhi. Once we get the permission, we will continue with nature conservation,” said ASI officer Rajendra Yadav.

Prof. Pal said any delay is very dangerous and can cause serious damage, including loss of lives. “How can I convey the pain and frustration I’m living in right now, I can’t sleep at night, watching the terrible mess I’m finding in the museum? I feel powerless, unable to do anything to save this beautiful legacy that is close to my heart. I literally grew up here, I have witnessed all the adventures of this extraordinary institution, and all its activities as a cultural center, for more than sixty years. I always feel that this place is a living soul that knows better than most people around me, and it is this emotional attachment that brought me to the leadership of its management. But what was the result?” Prof. Pal, decorated by the French government with the Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Palmes Académiques, asked.

This institution, according to him, is facing neglect not only by ASI. Even the landmark library, run by the West Bengal government, has not had a library function for 12 years now.