Sarat Kumar Ray
Sarat Kumar Ray (Bengali: শরৎ কুমার রায়) (1876–1946) was a member of the royal family of Dighapatia. A noted scholar, he was the son of the Raja (King) Pramathanath Ray and lived in the Maharaja's Palace. Along with historian Ramaprasad Chanda, he co-founded the Varendra Research Museum,[1][2][3][4][5] which Lord Dundas the Governor of Bengal, inaugurated in November 1919. He was well traveled, and visited England in 1900. He was a friend of Rabindranath Tagore.
Early life
[edit | edit source]Ray was born in 1876 into the Dighapatia Raj family in Natore District, Bengal Presidency, British Raj. His father was Pramathanath Ray, the Zamindar of Dighapatia.[3] He studied at Rajshahi Collegiate School and Ripon College (renamed Surendranath College).[3] He earned a B.A. from Presidency College and a master's in physics from the University of Calcutta.[3] He joined the Bangiya Sahitya Parishad after being introduced to it by his teacher Ramendra Sundar Tribedi. Through the Parishad he became acquainted with Dwijendranath Tagore and Rabindranath Tagore.[3]
Career
[edit | edit source]Ray published his book, Sivaji O Guru Gobinda Singha, in 1908, for which an introduction was written by Rabindranath Tagore.[6]
Ray, along with Ramaprasad Chanda and Akshay Kumar Maitreya, worked to discover and preserve the archeological sites in the Varendra region of Bengal.[3][7] They also worked with R. D. Banerji to explore different sites. On 27 September 1910, they founded the Varendra Research Society.[3] Ray was the president of the society.[8] They needed a museum to preserve the antiques they discovered. Ray donated 63 thousand rupees and his brother donated the land for the museum.[3] The museum was inaugurated by Lord Dundas the Governor of Bengal, in November 1919.[3]
Ray backed Ramaprasad Chanda in his anthropometric research work circa 1910.[9]
Ray was a management member of Bangiya Sahitya Sammilani, Indian Music Society, Rajshahi Association, Rajshahi Public Library, and The Asiatic Society.[3] He was elected to the Bengal Legislative Council in 1930.[3]
Death
[edit | edit source]Ray died on 12 April 1946.[3]
References
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