Mymensingh Museum

MAG Osmani Museum is a museum in Sylhet, Bangladesh. The ancestors’ home of Bangabir General Muhammad Ataul Gani Osmani, the Commander-in-Chief of Bangladesh Forces (12 April 1971 - 7 April 1972) has been transformed into today’s famous “Osmani Museum”. It is situated at the heart (Dhopa Dighir Par) of the Sylhet City Corporation area in renowned Sylhet Division of Bangladesh.

It is about 12 km from the Sylhet Osmani International Airport and 3 km from the Sylhet Railway Station. Maintained and organized by the Bangladesh National Museum, this museum has been established to pay rich tribute to the great hero of Bangladesh for his outstanding accomplishments. This will surely act as a stimulus to the future generations. The foundation stone was laid on 16 February 1985 and it was inaugurated on 4 March 1987 by the then president of Bangladesh H M Ershad.

‘Nur Manzil’ is by and large a tin shade building having few rooms and other amenities including an exquisite piazza in the front. One has to cross few meters from the main gate to reach the Museum. A huge portrait of the General, placed in the center of the entrance hall greets the visitors. Receptionist welcomes the guests. One has to write name and address in the register placed in the reception. A befitting sitting place is also available in the lobby.

This historic museum comprises three galleries, where personal belongings of General Osmani and a good number of historical photographs are preserved befittingly. On both western and eastern side of the building there exist two small rooms, where Assistant Keeper and Care Taker’s office are situated.

On 21st February, a rally of students were coming towards Dhaka Medical College during the Language Movement in 1952. The police shoot towards the rally and instantly some of the protesters of the first line were killed immediately. One of them was Shahid Abul Barkat (1927-1952). Few days after, the Central Shaheed Minar was built in here and from 2000, UNESCO declared 21 February as the Mother Language Day.

Previous History: In 1947, Pakistan got independence from India. There was two parts of Pakistan- the east and the west. Eastern Pakistan was green by the bless of river God and populated with a lot of people and on the other hand, the western Pakistan was nothing but a desert, population was also low. Demographic, social and economical lifestyle of these two parts of land were completely different, language was different too. But the capital was established in the west and the rulers ruled the entire country living in the west. From 1947, Urdu was the only state language of Pakistan whereas the students of Dhaka university always wanted to make Bengali as a secondary language. Finally in 1952, after some students were killed in the language movement, the government decided to make Bengali as a second language. Later, the eastern part of Pakistan became an independent country by the liberation war in 1971 named Bangladesh.

Early Life of Abul Barkat: Abul Barkat was a student who came to Dhaka for his higher studies. He was born at Murshidabad, West Bengal (now India). He stayed at his maternal uncle's home during his stay in Dhaka. He was a student of Masters level while he is being killed by the police open fire on 21 February, 1952 (aged 24).

The Language martyr Abul Barkat was honored with the "Ekushee Padak" (the highest non military achievement in Bangladesh) by the Governmnet of the Peoples Republic of Bangladesh in 2000. His grave is situated in Azimpur Graveyard in Dhaka.

Currency Museum is located at Mirpur beside Bangladesh Bank Training Academy. This project is taken regarding the enlargement of the currency museum into money museum. The country’s eminent artists, architects and historians have worked together for the museum along with the central bank to make it launch.

Museum authority has collected local and foreign coins and banknotes in different ways to enrich this museum. The museum has now thousands of coins and notes from the Pala, Sena, Gupta, Sultani, Mughal and British periods. About 2500 coins and notes found in Wari-Bateshwar of Narsingdi will be reserved in this Museum. Bangladesh Numismatic Collectors’ Society handed over 100 coins of different eras to the Currency Museum of Bangladesh Bank.

The historically significant deposited coins included 48 of the Alauddin Hossain Shah era, 29 of Nasiruddin Nusrat Shah, four of Shamsuddin Ilyas Shah, five of Sikandar Shah, three of Giasuddin Azam Shah, three of Rukunuddin Barbak Shah, two of Nasiruddin Mahmud, one of Mahmud Shah, one of Shahjahan, two of Badsha Alamgir , one of Islam Shah and one of the Shah Alam era.

A museum, first of its kind in Bangladesh, will help young people to know about the currency’s history and its evolution. Not only the history of Money, this museum will also help people to get acquainted with the lifestyle, education, culture and various aspects of archaeological evolution of human civilization through coins and currencies of different eras.

It showcases coins and banknotes, which are witnesses to history, to uphold the history and heritage before the present and future generations. Efforts are already on to collect old coins and install digital signage, touch screens, LCD monitors etc to equip the ‘Taka Museum’ into a modern, prosperous, state of the art, rich in information and technology-based museum.It has been established with modern technology to attract visitors.

The Governor, Expressed his appreciation in people of the society who are coming forward to enrich the collections of the Taka Museum of the bank, Dr Atiur Rahman said those institutions and individuals who would handover old coins as presents to the museum would be gladly accepted and the presenters would be properly recognized.

Background History: A currency museum was set up in the Bangladesh Bank in 2009, which was displaying currencies of almost all countries of the world. Initiatives had been taken to expand this museum to open the 'Taka Jadhughar’. At the end, the central bank's existing currency museum is being restructured as the 'Taka Jadughar'. The restructuring of the 'Taka Jadhughar' took place on the premises of Bangladesh Bank Training Institute at Mirpur. Along with this, the central bank is collecting obsolete coins and banknotes to exhibit in the gallery.

Our National poet Kazi Nazrul Islam was born in Churulia of Burdwan(বর্ধমান) district, West Bengal on May 25, 1899. He spent a year of his boyhood in Kazir Shimla (কাজীর শিমলা) and Darirampur (দরিরামপুর) in Trishal, Mymensingh. He studied at Darirampur High School when he was in Class Seven and lodged at the house of Bechutia Bepari (বিচুতিয়া বেপারী) at Namapara, as his school was far from Kazir Shimla. In that regard, Namapara is given more importance than Kazir Shimla, say locals. Later, Kazi Rafizullah, a sub-inspector of police, took Nazrul to his village home at Kazir Shimla in 1914.

Nazrul memorabilia is symbolized by two Smriti Kendro (স্মৃতি কেন্দ্র) (Nazrul Memorial Center) in villages Kazir Shimla and Namapara, of Darirampur, Trishal draw the attention of visitors far and wide.

Nazrul memorabilia housed at the two center owns gramophones and records (released by His Masters Voice Company); manuscripts in Bengali, English, Hindi and Urdu and some rare black and white photographs of the poet. The memorabilia can be seen on the second floor of the center. The memorial centres also house a library with books authored by Nazrul and literary works on Nazrul by other writers.

Though the memorabilia collection is meagre, visitors flock enthusiastically to have a view. As every year, there has been a rush of visitors to the two Nazrul Smriti Kendra (memorial centres) at Kazir Shimla village and Darirampur in Trishal just ahead of the birth anniversary of the National Poet.