Walk across to the ���archives vault���, and the sheer opulence is instantly palpable. Collectibles range from brittle parchments, old documents to memorabilia and rare autographs ��� all amassed from SBI���s maze of pan-India branches. Numerous documents are being collected from external sources like chambers of commerce. Prized curiosities acquired recently include SBI���s first minute book signed by the late John Matthai, the first chairman of SBI in its new avatar, the accounting records of Annie Besant and a rare photograph of India���s first Independence Day celebrations at SBI���s Kolkata office.
"It is a continuous process. The bank continues to collect material from people who���ve been associated with SBI in some way or the other. People are also being invited to donate their belongings with relevance to SBI and Indian banking. Old pensioners also tend to be a great source when it comes to memoirs," notes Abhik Ray, who recently retired as chief of SBI���s history cell.
Before relinquishing charge on March 31, 2009, Mr Ray literally walked ET down memory lane through SBI���s heritage gallery. It was an immensely sobering experience as he unfurled the bank���s rich history. On display was literally an embarrassment of riches ��� the country���s first paper money in the form of a promissory note introduced by the erstwhile Bank of Hindustan in 1770, Prince Dwarkanath Tagore���s Rs 60,000 loan document of 1817, the first legal tender issued by Bank of Bengal in 1809, JRD Tata���s resignation letter of 1943 as director of Imperial Bank of India protesting against the tardy pace of Indianisation of the bank!
In case you didn���t know, SBI���s illustrious borrowers include Prince Dwarkanath Tagore and Pandit Iswar Chandra Vidyasagar. And on display are the records of current accounts of the likes of Rabindranath Tagore, Jagadish Chandra Bose, Ashutosh Mukherjee and Dadabhai Naoroji.
The seeds of this majestic though largely unexplored heritage room were sown back in 1980 when SBI started demolishing its historical old Kolkata Main Office as the foundations had grown weak. Faced with scathing criticism from various quarters for knocking down this historic edifice, the SBI management had promised to recreate a portion of the old structure in two of the 14 floors of its neo-classical local head office building. The archives were planned in 1987 by then SBI chairman Dhruba Narayan Ghosh. Subsequently in 1997, ex-chairman DG Kakodkar sealed the plan.
The history cell���s genesis, however, goes back to 1975 when chairman RK Talwar urged noted economist Prof Amiya Bagchi to chronicle SBI���s history. Mr Ray has been part of this endeavour right from the beginning.
Ever since the bank has started unearthing a wealth of historical material, scattered among endless sources and records. Interestingly, the bank keeps its archive open thrice a week for public viewing. SBI also invites scholars and researchers to make use its ever growing heritage library. On cards is a separate photo gallery within the illustrated hall.
Barely a month from now, the period museum will complete two years. And among the celebrated visitors who���ve checked out its treasures are Nobel winner James Mirless and West Bengal governor Gopal Krishna Gandhi. Here���s what the governor wrote in the visitors��� book: "Not funds ��� even for a bank ��� but a sense of history is what is needed to set up a museum and an archives of this stature. Again, not just a sense of history but sensibility to the means of presentation and display is needed to make that museum and archives a thing of beauty."
If anything, SBI���s museum doubtless promises to be one among West Bengal���s rich spread of museums and heritage galleries.
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