An observatory in Muzaffarpur, which had “excellent astronomical equipment”, has been allowed to go to rack and ruin and sink into oblivion.
INCONSPICUOUS in the midst of massive trees with frills of red gulmohur and yellow amaltas, the majestic facade of Langat Singh College in Muzaffarpur, Bihar, is a curious sight. This sprawling structure was modelled on the early modern European style of Balliol College in Oxford, United Kingdom, which is outlandish for Muzaffarpur. The white metallic dome on its roof and the adjoining igloo-like masonry structure that stare one in the eye right at the entrance of the building complete the picture of a fairyland comic thriller. These dome-shaped structures, telltale signs of an era gone by, are the remnants of an astronomical observatory.
The origins
The large dome rotates on a circular track and has a sliding opening on the top through which a telescope can be focussed on celestial bodies. Under the dome, there were telescopes and other instruments used in astronomical observations. Just a little distance away is the planetarium. A miniature version of modern planetaria, it once had a machine that recreated views of the sky with stars on its arching ceiling. Both the observatory and planetarium are non-functional and closed now. But where are their machines?
There are conflicting stories about the origins of the observatory. Old students of L.S. College believed that the telescope was gifted to India by the British imperial government on the occasion of its victory in the First World War. However, college records tell a different story. According to them, in February 1914, Professor Romesh Chandra Sen of GBB College, as the college was known then, sought guidance from J. Mitchell to establish an astronomical observatory at the college. An amateur astronomer and the principal of Wesleyan College, Bankura in West Bengal, Mitchell responded with detailed suggestions. Accordingly, the college acquired in February 1915 a telescope from England with a four inch object glass with a 1½ inch finder, a dewshade, and a rack and draw tube. More accessories, including an astronomical clock and a chronograph, were acquired in the coming months.
The observatory was operational by the spring of 1916. On April 7, Mitchell congratulated the college authorities on their “excellent astronomical equipment” that only a few possessed and said he expected them to send him research findings in the future. Soon, they requested the Survey of India in Dehradun for the accurate latitude and longitude of the observatory. In December 1919, the Trigonometrical Survey sent them the coordinates of three points in Muzaffarpur town. Consultations took place also with the Mathematical Instrument Office, Calcutta (now Kolkata), and more instruments and accessories were added in following years.
Thus, observation and research work went on in full swing. The observatory interacted with the astronomical observatory at Presidency College, Calcutta, on such issues as difficulties in making observations, problems of “double stars” and “sunspots” and the paucity of literature on astronomy. Thanks to the enhanced activities of the observatory, the Department of Physics, which was in charge of it, appears to have attained some amount of autonomy by February 1920, as letters from the observatory now emanated from the “Physical Laboratory” instead of GBB College.
Meanwhile, a new building for the college was inaugurated on July 26, 1922. It was planned in such a way as to accommodate the observatory above the main office comprising the principal’s office and the college administration and the dome sits overhead like a crown. More equipment, accessories and literature were procured.
INCONSPICUOUS in the midst of massive trees with frills of red gulmohur and yellow amaltas, the majestic facade of Langat Singh College in Muzaffarpur, Bihar, is a curious sight. This sprawling structure was modelled on the early modern European style of Balliol College in Oxford, United Kingdom, which is outlandish for Muzaffarpur. The white metallic dome on its roof and the adjoining igloo-like masonry structure that stare one in the eye right at the entrance of the building complete the picture of a fairyland comic thriller. These dome-shaped structures, telltale signs of an era gone by, are the remnants of an astronomical observatory.
The origins
The large dome rotates on a circular track and has a sliding opening on the top through which a telescope can be focussed on celestial bodies. Under the dome, there were telescopes and other instruments used in astronomical observations. Just a little distance away is the planetarium. A miniature version of modern planetaria, it once had a machine that recreated views of the sky with stars on its arching ceiling. Both the observatory and planetarium are non-functional and closed now. But where are their machines?
There are conflicting stories about the origins of the observatory. Old students of L.S. College believed that the telescope was gifted to India by the British imperial government on the occasion of its victory in the First World War. However, college records tell a different story. According to them, in February 1914, Professor Romesh Chandra Sen of GBB College, as the college was known then, sought guidance from J. Mitchell to establish an astronomical observatory at the college. An amateur astronomer and the principal of Wesleyan College, Bankura in West Bengal, Mitchell responded with detailed suggestions. Accordingly, the college acquired in February 1915 a telescope from England with a four inch object glass with a 1½ inch finder, a dewshade, and a rack and draw tube. More accessories, including an astronomical clock and a chronograph, were acquired in the coming months.
The observatory was operational by the spring of 1916. On April 7, Mitchell congratulated the college authorities on their “excellent astronomical equipment” that only a few possessed and said he expected them to send him research findings in the future. Soon, they requested the Survey of India in Dehradun for the accurate latitude and longitude of the observatory. In December 1919, the Trigonometrical Survey sent them the coordinates of three points in Muzaffarpur town. Consultations took place also with the Mathematical Instrument Office, Calcutta (now Kolkata), and more instruments and accessories were added in following years.
Thus, observation and research work went on in full swing. The observatory interacted with the astronomical observatory at Presidency College, Calcutta, on such issues as difficulties in making observations, problems of “double stars” and “sunspots” and the paucity of literature on astronomy. Thanks to the enhanced activities of the observatory, the Department of Physics, which was in charge of it, appears to have attained some amount of autonomy by February 1920, as letters from the observatory now emanated from the “Physical Laboratory” instead of GBB College.
Meanwhile, a new building for the college was inaugurated on July 26, 1922. It was planned in such a way as to accommodate the observatory above the main office comprising the principal’s office and the college administration and the dome sits overhead like a crown. More equipment, accessories and literature were procured.
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