Of Plaques Displaced
Shakespeare did warn us against the ravages of time, and time, it seems, has not left all of our 'gilded monuments' safe and within sight. This brief section, which might almost be seen as a postscript to the guided tour, brings to the readers a few plaques which are a part of Presidency University but not quite available for display at the campus.
Manoranjan Chaudhury
This plaque commemorates a first year student, Manoranjan Chaudhury, whose untimely death grieved his batchmates. It is impossible to say where this plaque was originally located; it was taken down at some point of time, and currently rests in a corner under the main staircase.
Robert Henry Halford
Mr. Halford was appointed Second Master in the Senior Department of the Hindu College on the 14th of May, 1840. The duty of giving instruction to the Senior classes in History and General literature was at the time conducted by the acting Principal, assisted by the second Master Mr. R. H. Halford. He officiated for the Head Master of the Senior Department twice; Principal Kerr praised Halford for having exerted himself "strenuously to support the efficiency of the Institution”, and added that “his abilities, long service and enthusiastic attachment to his profession point him out as peculiarly deserving of promotion when a suitable vacancy occurs".
As Gokulnath Dhar records, “Mr. Halford was deeply learned in philology. An old student of the College has recorded that this teacher was so very fond of using long words in conversation that when asked by the head of another institution to preside over a prize distribution ceremony, Mr. Halford politely declined the invitation by saying, "I am a vegetable being, averse to locomotion."”
The plaque was once housed in the erstwhile College Library in the Main Building, which currently serves as the Arts Library. What happened to it, though, is not known. All knowledge of this plaque must be credited to Gokulnath Dhar, librarian of Presidency College in the early 20th century, who diligently recorded the plaques and portraits housed in the college library in the Presidency College Magazine, 1921-22. He located a mention of this tablet in an extract in the annual report of Principal Lodge, in the General Report on Public Instruction in the Lower Provinces of the Bengal Presidency from 1st May 1848 to 1ist October 1848, which mentions that “a Tablet to the Memory of the late Mr. R. H. Halford, with the following inscription has been erected by some of the pupils of the senior department, under the sanction of the Committee of Management, and placed in the College Hall.” The adjoining inscription follows this excerpt.
Foundation Stone of Hindu College
Since its inception, Hindu College shifted its location several times until it was finally established at its present address at 86/1, College Street. As recorded by Rajanarayan Bose: Beginning on 20th January 1817 as a school with junior and senior departments, the institution grew into a college. Initially located at Garanhata, the institution moved to the home of ‘Firingi’ Kamal Basu, and then to Tiretta bazaar. In 1826, the college moved to its shared space with the Sanskrit College. The foundation stone for the shared campus building was laid on 25 February 1824.
Foundation Stone of Presidency College
The Hindu College was established on 20th January, 1817, and was renamed the ‘Presidency College’ in 1885. Among its celebrated founders and contributors were Raja Ram Mohan Roy, David Hare, Sir. Edward Hyde East (the then Chief Justice of Supreme Court of Fort William), Raja Radhakanto Deb, Rani Rashmoni, Baidyanath Mukhopadhyay and Rasamay Datta. First started in a rented house on Chitpur Road, it later shifted to the building of Sanskrit College in College Street before moving to the present building, the foundation of which was laid on 27th February, 1873, as per the copy of the ‘Foundation Stone’ displayed in the museum.