Rammala Library: Inside Bangladesh’s century-old archive of books, rare manuscripts

Across the world, renowned libraries stand as witnesses to the evolution of human civilisation. Bangladesh, too, holds within its borders one such vast treasury of knowledge, though many have never even heard of its name. 

Even within the very region where it stands, countless scholars might have never stepped inside to drink from its fountain of wisdom.

The Rammala Library, more than a century old, is located in the city of Cumilla. In 1912, Mahaprana Maheshchandra Bhattacharya founded a small Sanskrit school, Ishwar Pathsala Tol, with a modest collection of sacred texts in the living room of his home. Over time, this humble initiative became the Rammala Library. 

In its early years, scholars like Pandit Gurucharan Tarkadarshanatirtha supplied Sanskrit scriptures from Calcutta, while Pandit Annadacharan Tarkachudamani sent rare texts from Kashi.

Today, the library stands with quiet dignity in a serene, spacious setting near the Cumilla Education Board. It houses more than 12,000 books and nearly 9,000 handwritten manuscripts covering literature, culture, history, geography, religion, and philosophy.

The library also preserves rare Bangla periodicals — including Bangabasi, Hitabadi, Sanjibani, Sahitya Parishad Patrika, Probasi, and Shanibarer Chithi — many of which are unavailable anywhere else in Bangladesh. Old copies of Sanskrit Aryaprabha are still kept safe here.

The library contains an unparalleled collection on comparative religious studies as well; texts representing ancient and modern religions — Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist, Christian, Sikh, Jain, Jewish, Zoroastrian, Egyptian, Babylonian, Assyrian, and many others — are preserved in its archives. 

Yet the richest section concerns Indian culture. From Vedantic scriptures to the Puranas, Smritis, poetry, drama, grammar, philosophy, astronomy, Ayurvedic texts, economic treatises, translations of sacred literature, and research monographs by Eastern and Western scholars, the collection is immense. 

In various sections, books on religion, philosophy, history, biography, ethics, textbooks, and rare handwritten Sanskrit and Bangla manuscripts coexist with portraits of many distinguished figures who shaped Indian culture.

Rammala Library is, in every sense, a sanctuary of learning. Because of its rare holdings, scholars from across the world — including the US, England, Ireland, and Japan — have come here for research in the past.

The man behind the legacy

The library's founder, Mahesh Bhattacharya, hailed from the village of Bitghar in the Nabiganj area of Cumilla. Though he came from a humble, impoverished household and could not pursue his own education, Bitghar was known for its scholarly legacy. 

Mahesh left home at a young age in search of livelihood and threw himself into the struggle for survival. Determined to improve his financial condition, he worked tirelessly, embracing hardship with a smile. Once he managed to save a modest sum, he founded a company named Bhattacharya & Co. and began a business selling homeopathic medicines. 

From that moment, he never looked back. Through relentless effort and unwavering perseverance, he rose to prosperity and became a philanthropist.

Gradually, he devoted himself entirely to social welfare. With his own resources, he established the Nivedita School and Girls' Hostel, the Bitghar Education Society, Ishwar Pathsala, the Rammala Library and Museum, and Rammala Student Hostel. 

His maternal grandfather, Prankrishna Shiromani, had been a renowned scholar; his father Ishwardas Tarksiddhanta was also a gifted scholar who kept 10 or 15 students at home, feeding and teaching them despite the family's poverty. His mother, Rammala Devi, prepared meals for all of them, and though uneducated herself, she had a deep reverence for learning. It is in her honour that the library was named as such. 

Founded by Maheshchandra and currently run by the Mahesh Charitable Trust, the library was built to disseminate education and preserve Bangla culture. The trustee board currently has seven members who primarily oversee the library. 

The trustee board's member secretary, Chandan Debnath, said with considerable pride, "Rammala is not just the pride of Cumilla, but of the whole country. The rare artefacts preserved here are invaluable. However, proper conservation has now become the main challenge."

Chandan also mentioned that although the library was previously open to visitors, that is no longer the case. "There have even been incidents where manuscripts were stolen by people who came to visit. We've seen groups come in, and it's simply not possible to keep an eye on every single person. That's how some manuscripts went missing. Since then, we've had to close public access," he said.

In the past, to oversee the library, Mahesh brought Rashmohan Chatterjee from Chandpur to Cumilla. Rashmohan, a bachelor devoted to education, cared for the library as though it were his own child. Under Mahesh's patronage and Rashmohan's dedication, Rammala evolved into a true research centre.

The library suffered severe damage twice — first during the 1947 Partition of India and again in 1971 during Bangladesh's Liberation War. As a result, many priceless materials were lost. The building fell into disrepair; ancient manuscripts, neglected and uncared for, gathered dust in fragile, unprotected stacks, stored in rooms with windowpanes missing and roofs leaking.

Today, the library stands with quiet dignity in a serene, spacious setting near the Cumilla Education Board.

Treasure trove of history

The library has three major divisions.

Research division: This division has three parts. The first is Indian Culture. Ancient India produced a singular civilisation whose radiant legacy is its vast literary heritage. Eastern and Western scholars continue to study and reconstruct this vanished civilisation. The Rammala Library was founded to collect, preserve and disseminate this heritage, as well as to safeguard the sacred sites shaped by great personalities over the ages.

Then come the scriptures and classical literature. Manuscripts and texts on the Vedas, Puranas, the Ramayana, Mahabharata, Bhagavata, Manusmriti, Shakuntalam, Tantric literature, the works of Kalidasa, Buddhist Tripitakas (Hinayana and Mahayana), Jain scriptures, Ayurvedic classics like Charaka Samhita and Sushruta Samhita, foundational works on astronomy and astrology, logic, Mimamsa, classical Indian literature, Arthashastra, and Niti-shastra.

The last one in this division is comparative religion, which includes The Sacred Books of the East, The Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics, The Sayings of Confucius, Confucianism and Taoism, The Divan of Hafiz, Bengali translations of Hadith by Girishchandra Sen, The Encyclopaedia of Islam, rare Gaudiya Vaishnava texts by Sri Sanatan Goswami and Sri Rupa Goswami, Chaitanya Charitamrita, Gaudiya Vaishnava Darshan, and various scholarly works on the Bhagavad Gita. 

The division also houses Rabindra Rachanabali, Aurobindo's works, Sarat literature, English drama, epics, poetry, prose, and historical studies such as HG Wells' The Outline of History, Peoples of All Nations, The Historians' History of the World, and Asoka and Inscriptions.

General division: Books in Bangla and English covering religion, philosophy, ethics, history, essays, poetry, fiction, drama, literature on Ramakrishna and Vivekananda, biographies, travelogues, children's tales, and various journals and periodicals in Bangla, English, and Hindi.

Manuscript (Puthi) division: This section contains a treasure trove of handwritten Sanskrit and Bangla manuscripts — 300 to 400 years old — about 2,000 of which were written on palm leaf. 

Nearly 8,000 manuscripts were gradually collected from the regions of Tripura (now Cumilla), Noakhali and Sylhet. A printed catalogue from 1939 records the names of 27 donors who contributed manuscripts. Subjects include the Vedas, Tantra, lexicography, poetry, grammar, astronomy, history, Puranas, religion, the Ramayana, Mahabharata, Satyanarayan Panchali, Satya-Pir literature, and others.

The University of Dhaka has microfilmed about 2,500 of these manuscripts. Many scholars, local and foreign, come to study these rare works. Former librarian Pandit Rasamohan Chakravarti compiled Sarballasa Sanskrit Tantra in 1941, earning wide acclaim; the edited text was later published in Udbodhan magazine. 

Many consider Rammala's manuscript division to be a powerful vessel for preserving and transmitting the intellectual heritage of the Indian subcontinent.

Handwritten Sanskrit and Bangla manuscripts — 300 to 400 years old — about 2,000 of which were written on palm leaf, are stored in the library.

A living archive in need of rescue

Despite its immense contribution to the history of Bangla literature, the library has long been neglected, and many invaluable texts are deteriorating.

However, some initiatives have been taken by the government to save this heritage from perishing. 

Information Adviser Mahfuz Alam remarked after recently visiting the library, "Rammala Library is an invaluable repository of our cultural heritage. Its manuscripts and books are the very documents of our nation's history and tradition. These must be preserved digitally without delay."

He added that the small museum attached to the library also holds ancient coins, artefacts, and historical relics, all of which require modern conservation measures.

Saymon Zakaria, deputy director of Bangla Academy, has worked on the Rammala Library for a long time. He said, "It would be good if an initiative is taken to digitise it. However, if there is any plan to take the manuscripts out of Rammala and move them elsewhere, I don't think that would be right. The manuscripts could be damaged. 

"Instead, if arrangements could be made within Rammala's own premises so that researchers from home and abroad can come and, if needed, stay there while working, many would be interested. This library is, after all, one of the most fascinating libraries for researchers anywhere in the world," he added.