Time Past and Time Present : Two Hundred and Twenty-Five Years of the Asiatic Society

Contents: Foreword. Preface. Acknowledgements. 1. The Asiatic Society: 1784-2008: An overview. 2. The dialogue with the East: i. Introduction. ii. The house on Park Street. iii. Manuscripts. iv. Inscriptions. v. Paintings. vi. Etchings and engravings. vii. Lithographs. viii. Images. ix. Maps. x. Archives. xi. Rare books. xii. Gold coins. 3. Publications. 4. Busts. 5. A note on the Busts. Select Bibliography.

""The bound of investigations will be the geographical limits of Asia, and within these limits its enquiries will be extended to whatever is performed by man or produced by nature".

The statement contained in the Memorandum of Articles of the Asiatic Society prepared by Sir William Jones in the meeting held at the Grand Jury Hall of the Supreme Court, Calcutta, 15 January 1784.

Thus began the long journey of the Asiatic Society, Kolkata. Past and the present seem contemporaneous at this moment of its reaching two hundred and twenty-five years. A brief history of this journey with appropriate illustrations has been presented in this volume. The title of the volume, inspired by Thomas Stearns Eliot, implies the understanding that "Time Past and Time Present are both perhaps present in time future", to which we look forward with great expectation as the journey continues." (jacket)