Professor Razzaq's treasure trove

Photos: Kazi Tahsin Agaz Apurbo

Professor Abdur Razzaq - a gold mine of resources - is considered to be one of the most influential and knowledgeable persons born in our country. Though he was never promoted from assistant professor to a professor, Abdur Razzaq was always considered one of the greatest oral historians. In 1995, he was declared a National Professor.

It is said that after the death of his PhD advisor Harold J Lusky, Razzak returned home without his degree.  According to his students, Professor Abdur Razzaq thought nobody would understand the depth of his thesis than his advisor.  He came back with 500 books, which now sit as the foundation of the 'Gayantapas Abdur Razzaq Bidyapeeth'.

On November 9, 2015 'Gayantapas Abdur Razzaq Bidyapeeth' began its journey as a resource centre to the public. The centre includes 4,544 of Abdur Razzaq's book collection. The centre represents a comfortable place for scholars and readers.

After Abdur Razzaq's death in 1999, his collection of books was resting in the hands of his nephew Abul Khair, chairman of the Bengal Foundation. Since then there were plans on making a resource centre in Abdur Razzaq's name.  In this time period, some of the books were damaged and what remained became the resource centre.

The resource centre is filled with books on various subjects. As Abdur Razzaq was a man of political science, a huge number of books on this subject were owned by him. Most of the books are otherwise unavailable in Bangladesh. Literature on religion, culture, history and a lot of eminent biographies are also in the centre's collection.

One of the interesting aspects of the resource centre is that it works under the ethics of Abdur Razzaq. “We first thought of adding a membership to the resource centre, but we cancelled it,” says Abu Ilahi, an executive at the centre. “Abdur Razzaq welcomed everyone who would come to him seeking help and we want to do the same. Just a few formalities will give any scholar or reader access to this treasure trove of sources.” Students from various universities come to the library to indulge in the world of knowledge. “The collection is phenomenal. I come almost every day between my classes to read here. Though I never had the opportunity to meet Professor Razzaq, I at least can go through the elements which he is made of,” says Nasib Ahsan, student at University of Liberal Arts.

Though the centre is acting as a library, the authorities have plans to include other activities such as seminars on Abdur Razzaq himself. “This man was one of a kind. He had in-depth knowledge on every subject including gastronomy. He is no doubt a man to study in detail,' says Abu Ilahi.

The  Gayantapas Abdur Razzaq Bidyapeeth is situated in Dhanmondi, road 7A. It opens at 11:00am and closes at 7:00pm and is open to everyone.