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00:00There is a capacity in the museum, but everything has to be registered.
00:05This is a very important thing.
00:07I can give you an example of this.
00:11Do you know that when the first Guptas were found, they were found from Kolkata?
00:17And they were found from Kalighat.
00:19At that time, no one knew who the Guptas were.
00:21So when the Guptas were found, what was done was that
00:27Where will this go?
00:29The land from which it came was Navakrishnan's.
00:32And he gave it to Warren Hastings.
00:34Warren Hastings sent it to the Court of Directors in London.
00:38When he sent it to London, he wrote a note that
00:43it should be sent to various collections, both public and private.
00:47This is a very important note.
00:49Public means British Museum, Ashmolean Museum, etc.
00:54But he wrote that it should also be sent to private collections.
00:57Then there was Mr. Hunter, whose museum is now the Glasgow Museum, the Hunterian Museum.
01:02So it goes to various collections like this.
01:06It also goes to the individuals who collect it at that time.
01:11There were individuals then and there are still individuals.
01:14As long as we live, there will be private individuals who will collect.
01:18This is also a way of generating interest.
01:21So we can see it in two ways.
01:23They also have to register their own material.
01:26So that we know what is there in which collection.
01:29But some will be housed in the museum.
01:32That is a major place where scholars will come, see, understand.
01:36So this is the reason why museums do not have everything.
01:40And those who get it can also keep some in their own collection.
01:45So there is a rule.
01:47You can follow the treasure trove act and read these.
01:50Do we have the image of the coins mentioned by the scholars?
01:55There is not a single coin of Kalikhar.
01:58Not a single one?
02:00Not a single one here.
02:02To be very precise, more than 200 coins were found.
02:06He had sent 172 to London.
02:09He had retained about 30.
02:11He would give one to those who would meet him.
02:14By doing this, a group of coins goes to Bharat Kalamahan Benares.
02:22There is only one coin in Benares.
02:25In fact, I did research on this in 2013 when I was working in the British Museum.
02:31And I found out that this hoard exists.
02:35But Warren Hastings did not know.
02:37Warren Hastings knew that all this was done here.
02:40He knew that there are 24 coins in the British Museum.
02:43All the rest were stolen.
02:45He was very saddened.
02:47And his friend, Nichols, who was a member of parliament,
02:52told him that all the coins were stolen.
02:56So we cannot show anything this time.
02:59Because there was an impeachment going on.
03:01They stole only 24 coins.
03:03I had read such an important thing.
03:06So there is such a hoard.
03:08We also have such a hoard.
03:10It was found in Kolkata, but not in Kolkata.
03:13At that time, we did not have any idea about the secret country.
03:16If you know history in this way, then only you can situate.
03:20So by understanding their history,
03:23gradually developing interest,
03:25seeing things in museums,
03:27these can be said to be a means of studying.
03:30And I am really thankful to the Indian Museum
03:32for arranging such gallery talks.
03:34Students are able to come for this.
03:37All these things were done so long ago.
03:39They are in their hands.
03:41You see, their thoughts are being read little by little.
03:44Seeing and reading.
03:46How do I understand this?
03:48You have been reading about the sun all your life.
03:51But how do you see the glow of the sun?
03:54If a person is blind,
03:56how does he feel the glow of the sun?
03:59As long as he feels it,
04:01as long as you understand it,
04:03that there is a heat in the glow of the sun,
04:07so exposure is very important.
04:09Visual exposure as well as the exposure to touch it, feel it.
04:15It is also very important to touch the coins.
04:17When we were learning for the first time,
04:20we used to ask the stalwarts,
04:22how do we understand that the coin is fake?
04:24At that time, we used to say,
04:27hold it and understand.
04:29What will we understand if we hold it?
04:31All the coins are the same.
04:33But you know, the sixth sense works.
04:35If you hold a coin for a long time,
04:38you will understand that there is a smell.
04:40There is a difference.
04:42What is there?
04:43It will take some time for the brain to process.
04:45The brain is just telling you that there is a smell.
04:48When you study it very well,
04:50you will understand that there is a smell.
04:52Exactly.
04:53And I, personally,
04:55when I held a coin for the first time,
04:57a different part of my life,
04:59I did it in the dark.
05:01I mean, in the dark,
05:03I used to wake up in the morning and say that I can do it.
05:05And when I saw it with the coin,
05:07yes, it is correct.
05:08It is not like I got it in my dream.
05:10I was thinking in the subconscious mind.
05:13You were thinking in the subconscious mind.
05:15I was thinking in the subconscious mind.
05:17The brain was still not a spring.
05:19You were saying that
05:21a coin says a lot of things,
05:23but it cannot be heard.
05:25Yes.
05:26That is what P.L. Gupta used to say.
05:27He used to say all the time,
05:28when you learn a coin,
05:29you should hear it.
05:30It took me 15 years to understand that
05:32what exactly,
05:34how can it be heard?
05:36That is a multiple story.
05:38There are many historians
05:40who say that
05:42when history is being changed,
05:44but in that case,
05:46this coin,
05:48or any other historical thing,
05:50cannot be changed.
05:52So, is it possible to change the history?
05:54It is possible to change it.
05:56It depends on your agenda,
05:58whether you are changing it or not.
06:00But,
06:02this is our place.
06:04At that time,
06:06we will not understand the source.
06:08This is your source.
06:10Study the source.
06:12What the source says,
06:14we always tell the students,
06:16don't go beyond your source.
06:18What is outside the source,
06:20you can guess.
06:22But, what is my truth,
06:24I have to prepare them for this.
06:26I have to teach them how to handle the source.
06:28After knowing this,
06:30Calcutta University is one of the universities
06:32which still holds this tradition
06:34of teaching sources.
06:36We study iconography,
06:38we study art, we study architecture,
06:40we study coins, which is known as numismatics,
06:42or epigraphy.
06:44Even now, it is our forte.
06:46In many places, it is not taught.
06:48In some places, it is taught,
06:50but we can go beyond that.
06:52So, we always listen.
06:54Ancient Indian history,
06:56there are still experts
06:58who are teaching
07:00this to the next generation.
07:02We are still trying.
07:04So, everything is not that big,
07:06it is also bright.
07:08Thank you, ma'am.
07:10The different types of motifs
07:12we can see on the coins,
07:14one part of it
07:16we will definitely learn
07:18from academics.
07:20When we study different types of coins,
07:22we will know that.
07:24After that,
07:26we can come to the museum
07:28and see that
07:30what I studied,
07:32can I understand it
07:34by coming here?
07:36Or, can I make my own
07:38thoughts
07:40in my own mind?
07:42That, yes, the coin
07:44says this, and then
07:46go home and recheck it.
07:48That, yes, this is what I think.
07:50The coin says this,
07:52and then go home and recheck it.
07:54That, yes, this is what I think.
07:56Your full name?
07:58Shilpinayya.
08:00Have you ever
08:02used a coin to protest?
08:04Yes, practically,
08:06I used a coin to protest.
08:08Last year,
08:10in 4 months,
08:12I worked in a private museum
08:14in Varanasi, Gyan Prabha.
08:16I used almost 2000 coins
08:18to protest.
08:20And that's when I realized
08:22what it is to protest,
08:24what it is to look at a picture
08:26and what it is to look at one's own hand.
08:28Practically,
08:30as long as we can be practical
08:32and learn about it,
08:34then our idea about coins
08:36will be much clearer.
08:38I am Antutam.
08:40Your full name?
08:42My name is Soumadip Mitra.