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Magazine
VIGNETTES
From Sir, with love
SANGEETA BAROOAH PISHAROTY
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The Museum of National History in Golaghat, Assam, is the result of one man’s passion to give something memorable to the children of his village.
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With prior appointment, one can watch his documentary films for a nominal amount. He made as many as 32 films…
Dedicated to children: The Museum in Golaghat.
A silent wish that many of us dock in our hearts is to be remembered warmly after death. Some succeed in achieving it, some not quite. But for Robin Banerjee, it had become his sole aim. Particularly towards the end of his long life. To present all that he had to the people of a sleepy town, Golaghat, his adopted home for decades, perched not far from the Assam-Nagaland border. And in consequence, be remembered warmly, evermore.
That he so earnestly loved children, that he had considerable means and no heir and a clear vision, helped his cause. Add to this advantage his oeuvre of award-winning films on wildlife canned across the world, his recognition as a Padma Shri, way back in 1971, his wide travels, his varied interests, particularly in things often unnoticed and, so, unknown.
Robin uncle, as local kids would hail him, passed away just six days before his 95th birthday four years ago, but by then, his singular aim in later life, Robin Uncle’s Museum of National History, had already taken shape. Dedicated to the children of the area, for whom even a zoo is 300 km away, the museum is a clear boon.
Highly popular
A first in any town across Assam, it is no surprise that busloads of children from nearby towns and villages roll in. With a sprawling front garden full of seasonal flowers, the museum is housed in Banerjee’s beautiful bungalow, built on the lines of the typical high-ceiling, tea garden houses of the British era.
While he turned his study into an auditorium, the huge guestroom that had lodged many a renowned wildlifer on a visit to the Kaziranga National Park a few kilometres away, now showcases natural processes and the universe’s evolution through the centuries, complete with miniature models in glass cases.
“Sir brought artistes from Kolkata to make these models. Towards the end of his life, he used to fall sick quite often and yet continued to work. He would often say, ‘I don’t have much time and lots to do’,” says Nitish Das, Banerjee’s trusted housekeeper for years, who is now the museum’s caretaker. Nitish proudly informs us that not only he but Banerjee’s cook and another helper too still stay in the outhouse of the bungalow. “We have nowhere to go and Sir told us ‘you will always look after the house even after I go’. So, we are allowed to stay here as long as we want to.” Maintained by ABITA (Assam Branch of Indian Tea Association) till recently, it is now looked after by Vivekananda Kendra, which runs a reputed school built on the land donated by Banerjee.
Neatly placed in the museum, “as per Sir’s direction”, there are also a variety of artefacts picked up from across the world, some of them from the interiors of Africa where he had filmed a few documentaries. There are as many as 587 dolls collected from across the world and 262 other showpieces gifted to him by different countries.
Varied collection
As many as 93 artefacts adorn the museum, including a Naga warrior’s head-hunting basket, a huge landscape of Tibet made of fish bones, a horse made of turquoise, an old piece of tree bark that looks like a python among a number of other items from Banerjee’s personal collection. A native of West Bengal’s Barhampur district, Banerjee was also an avid painter, a talent that perhaps got encouragement during his schooling at Santiniketan. As many as 200 of his paintings now adorn the museum walls. Also, there are 19 award-winning photographs that he clicked in different parts of the world.
With prior appointment, one can watch his documentary films for a nominal amount. He made as many as 32 films, out of which six were yet to be edited at the time of his death.
Well before his death, Banerjee, besides donating land for the school, also sliced out a piece from his residential land for a doctor’s club, the first in this little town, with a free dispensary adjacent to it. This brings us to Banerjee’s primary profession, that of a medical doctor, which actually brought him to the State in the 1950s, to work under a Scottish doctor in Chabua Tea Estate. After he finished his medical studies at Liverpool and then at Edinburgh, he joined the British Navy’s medical wing. Friends of Banerjee often trace his bachelorhood to a romance with a nurse from New Zealand whom he met during World War II. She died in the war and he left the West. In remorse. Never to fall in love again.
Hooked for life
Banerjee’s first brush with Assam’s wildlife was during a visit to Kaziranga National Park, following which he decided to settle down in Golaghat. He soon filmed a documentary, “Kaziranga”, which was aired on Berlin TV in 1961. The credit of exposing the park to an international audience rests on Banerjee through this film. And this slowly drew him away from the doctor’s kit, to pick up the camera and venture into the wild. A story that often does the rounds in local circles is that of a resident python at Banerjee’s house. It is said to have come to him on its own and many people talk of seeing it at his house. “It left him one day and never returned,” says Nitish. His master’s dog, though, can still be seen walking around aimlessly.
Not quite close to his stepmother, Banerjee gradually lost touch with his family. Nitish says, “Two of his nephews contacted him some months before his death. They were to visit him, but one day before that, he passed away. On getting the news, they decided not to come.” Banerjee’s grave lies in his front garden. Nitish says, “Sir chose the place long back. He wanted to silently watch the kids flitting in and out of the museum.”
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