Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture Gol Park, Kolkata

This centre, established in 1938 elsewhere and finally moved to its present premises in 1961, has a threefold aim:
(a) Proper interpretation and appraisal of Indian culture,
(b) Promotion of mutual understanding between India and other countries, and
(c) Promotion of the study of the cultural heritage of India and of humankind.

From a modest beginning, the Institute has now grown into a centre of learning and research, recognized by many esteemed educational centres. It has drawn the interest of the public as well as many leading scholars of India and other countries. The Institute has the following wings:

Activities:

1. The main library: Comprising general, junior, and children’s sections with an air-conditioned reading room, it had 3,02,296 books and 427 periodicals, in addition to 24,000 periodicals accessible online.

2. The school of languages: Teaching 6 Indian languages (Bengali, Hindi, Sanskrit, Pali, Tamil, and Urdu) and 15 foreign languages (Ancient Greek, Arabic, Chinese, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Latin, Persian, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, and Tibetan), with a significant number of students on the roll this year. Computer courses and coaching classes for civil service aspirants were also conducted. It has a separate library with 8792 books, 172 magazines, periodicals, and a reading room.

3. The research department Centre for Indological Studies and Research: Engaged in research work, both at the pre- and post-doctoral levels, and offers courses on subjects like Indology, Functional Sanskrit, Vedanta, Indian Philosophy, Major Religions of the World, and Ramakrishna-Vivekananda Movement. It has a library with 5070 books and Swami Vivekananda Archives with 4449 books, 635 souvenirs, and 300 annual reports of different organizations. It conducts national and international seminars and workshops on culture, philosophy, history, etc., and advanced workshops on Sanskrit.

4. An audio-visual mobile unit: It screened an educative film in several rural and urban areas, benefiting communities with exposure to educational content.

5. A museum and art gallery: It has a collection of paintings, sculptures, manuscripts, folk arts, ivory paintings, textiles, pata painting, litho prints, silver ornaments, terracottas, laminated photographs, and the like. This unit also houses the Sarada Devi School of Fine Arts and Crafts that conducts courses on painting, appreciation of Indian art, Dhrupad classical vocal, yogasanas, floral decoration, South-East Asian art, and culture through the study of the Ramayana.

6. An International House which accommodated guests.

7. A unit of Gadadhar Abhyudaya Prakalpa with children enrolled.

8. A coaching centre with children, mostly from SC and ST communities, at Rajendrapur (North 24 Parganas).

9. Publication of the English monthly Bulletin (75th year, 3462 subscribers) and the multilingual The Beacon of the School of Languages (2nd year, 100 subscribers). Books on Ramakrishna-Vivekananda and other religious subjects (18 new titles and 62 reprints; total number of titles: 341) were also published.

10. Study circles and cultural classes (at various places) with an enrolment of students.

11. Conferences and seminars for youths, teachers, and guardians with a large participation, weekly personality development classes (Vivekananda Anushilan classes) and values education programmes.

12. Welfare work: Providing milk, and pecuniary, medical, and educational aid.

13. Religious activities: Religious discourses, Bhakta Sammelans, and celebration of the birthdays of the Holy Trio and other religious festivals.