The Asiatic Society

One of the prominent landmarks of the city, a visit to the Asiatic Society is a must for the culture vultures. The Asiatic Society was founded by Sir William Jones (an Anglo philologist) in order to promote oriental research and studies in India. The society opened its doors to the public in January 1784. The Indian Museum was originally set up here before moving to its present building in 1878. Spread over an area of 15071 square feet, the Asiatic society not only houses an excellent library but has a museum of its own. Today, one of the major attractions of the city, the society’s library and museum continues to be major crowd pullers.
You can admire the huge collection here—about 117,000 books and 79,000 journals that are printed in almost all major languages of the world. One of the earliest printed books stocked by the library dates back to 1499. The collection of manuscripts (nearly 47000) is worth appreciating. Among them, the most noteworthy is Gulistan (a seminal work in Persian Literature), an illustrated manuscript of the Holy Quran and a copy of the Padshah Nama bearing Emperor Shah Jahan’s signature.
The museum that was founded under the supervision of Nathaniel Wallich continues to attract a lot of tourists. Admire the rock edict of Ashoka, the huge collection of coins, sculptures and artifacts—a tour of the museum will fill you with a sense of wonder. Certain masterpieces of renowned painters such as Joshua Reynolds, Thomas Daniel and Peter Paul Rubens adorn the walls. Apart from these, the society conducts seminars, workshops and research activities pertaining to oriental studies on a regular basis. A one of its kind, a tour of the Asiatic Society is a must include in Kolkata itinerary if you are the culturally inclined.