In 2024, which in Turkmenistan is held under the motto «The Fount of Wisdom Magtymguly Fragi», scientists at the Institute of Language, Literature and National Manuscripts named after Magtymguly of the Academy of Sciences continue to actively search for new historical information about the era, life and creative path of the great classical poet in museums, books and manuscript repositories of foreign countries.
From the 21st of January to 9th of February, the head of the Institute’s department, Geldimyrat Muhammedov, and researcher Annaoraz Nurmuhammedov are going on a creative trip to the Republic of India to study the country’s manuscript and book collections in order to identify previously unknown sources of scientific value and obtain their electronic and microfilmed copies.
The researchers will search in such major centers of culture, science and history as the National Museum of India in New Delhi, the Raza Library in Rampur, the Bangiya Sahitya Parishat literary society and the Asiatic Society in Calcutta. Thus, the collection of the National Museum of India contains over 200,000 works of art of both Indian and foreign origin, as well as manuscripts. Established in the late 18th century, the Raza Library in Rampur is a repository of Indo-Islamic cultural heritage. This treasury contains 17 thousand manuscripts and 60 thousand printed publications in Arabic, Persian, Turkish, Hindi, Pashto, Sanskrit and other languages. The Asiatic Society Library in Calcutta has an even richer collection of manuscripts written in 26 writing systems.
The current trip is the fourth scientific mission of Turkmen scientists to India to search for and deliver to Turkmenistan copies of manuscripts and other sources of valuable information about outstanding personalities, history and cultural heritage of the Turkmen people. In particular, about a hundred copies of such historical sources were brought by Turkmen scientists ten years ago, when the 290th anniversary of the classical poet and philosopher of the East Magtymguly Fragi was celebrated.
