A Three Night Tour of Murshidabad District of West Bengal

[rahul4640]

Gentlemen,
Went to Murshidabad district of West Bengal in last January. I think that most of you know about this place, as it is the place where the British first defeated Nawab Siraj-ud-Daulla, an Indian ruler in a war (at the battle of Plassey) and started their occupation. And for me, it was the place where I was posted over some thirty years ago, at the beginning of my service career.
Wish to show you few pictures, with some brief facts. Please excuse me if you find my post quite long. I took the Bardhaman route, starting from my home in Calcutta at around eight in the morning. I was accompanied by my wife and daughter. This was the route I took.


Entered Bardhaman town. Crossed the road over bridge near the train station over the railway lines, reached the T-junction at the end of the bridge, where I was to drive left. One thing I remembered that one Scorpio flashing red light belonging to some police official suddenly drove from the wrong side violating all traffic rules and made me pause there for a while.




The road was good. Few pictures of it.








Saw from the road that the women of the village were sowing paddy.


I had to turn right from here. This place is called Kuli.


Reached the bridge over river Bhagirathi to enter Berhampore town, which is the district head quarter of Murshidabad.


This is a view of the road I had to take, seen from the bridge above. I had to drive a little further to reach ground level and was to return back.


The road went past the river. A picture from the road, showing a ferry boat at the river.


Reached Murshidabad town at noon, at around half past one. Boarded a place called Sgnik Hotel. Nothing fancy about the hotel but it was overall decent.

At the evening we went to Motijhil (literally meaning pearl lake), which was located about one and half KM south of Murshidabad town. It is actually a horse-shoe shaped lake. Recently a nice park has been built there by the authorities. This park is really very nice. It had musical fountains, rides for children, food courts, accommodations, nice seating areas, light and sound shows, etc. I shall also like to tell you that this place also has also a good history associated with it. A very beautiful palace was built there in 1740 AD, by some close relative of that time ruler of Murshidabad. Nawab Siraj-Ud-Daulla took over this palace in 1756 AD, evicting one of his close relative residing there. Beside some graves and a mosque, no sign of the palace exists today. Here is a still a huge room having no doors or windows in it and closed on all the four sides. Some say that huge quantity of wealth belonging to the Ghaseti Begum (whom Siraj-Ud-Daulla evicted)had been kept hidden underground the room. Once laborers were employed to break open the masonry and excavate the treasure, but they ended up vomiting blood, so nobody dares to open it. This room is 65 feet long, 23 feet broad, 12 feet high plinth area, and overall 1339 square feet. (Source Wikipedia)






Thanks for reading. Next morning I went across various places in Murshidabad town and it’s neighborhood. Shall like to show it very soon in my next post.
Regards,
Rahul Biswas
Cossipore, North Calcutta.

 

[rahul4640]

Gentlemen,
This is some pictures from the visit of my second day. This is the Chowk Masjid (mosque) of Murshidabad town. This was built by the wife of Mir Jafar, who betrayed Nawab Mirza Muhammud Siraj-Ud-Daulla during the battle of Plassey in 1757 AD and became Nawab himself. It was built in 1767 AD at the site of an earlier building called “Chahel Setun” (literally meaning forty pillars), the 40 pillared audience hall of Nawab Nazim Murshidkuli Khan, from whose name the very word Murshidabad was formed. In this picture fish was being sold in front of the mosque. We stopped here for breakfast.


Afterwards we went to a place called Jiaganj, a small town about ten KMs north of Murshidabad. It was because the Murshidabad district museum was located there. This museum was built primarily with the help of one Raibahadur Sri Surendra Singh Nehalia (a local landlord). The building stands on the land donated by him. Many rare historical objects are housed here, all from this district, many of them from Raibahadur’s personal collection. Presently this museum is undergoing an expansion.


Opposite to this museum is the Nehalia place. Outsiders are allowed inside to visit their family deity. If you ever visit this place, please do not forget to see the remains of a giant crocodile, I guess over at least twelve feet in length, displayed over the main passageway.


This is the famous Kathgola Palace. Spread over 30 acres, it was built by the Dugar family, who originally came from Marwar (Rajasthan). They were very rich, held zamindaris known as Harawat estate (presently in Poorneah district of Bihar). The nearby Azimganj-Nalhati railway line was also owned by them.


Some statues inside.




A tunnel (now closed).


A lion.


A beautiful construction of yesteryear.


This statue was built by Michelangelo himself.


Zoo at the garden. Has good collection of rare and exotic bards.


A marble table.


The palace inside the garden. This palace has many things to see, i.e., nice furniture, rare books, paintings, chandeliers, etc, etc. The circular stairway reaching to the floors above is also worth mentioning here, as it is (apparently) pasted to the wall without any visible support. Has a billiard table at least twice (both in length and width) the size of a normally used one. Photography not allowed inside the palace.


It is what I visited next. This is Nashipur Palace. It was earlier in a very bad state but now is repaired and is open to visitors. The temple inside the palace attracts many devotees. There is a dance hall as well as a “Phansi-Ghar” (gallows) inside, where insubordinate subjects were said to be hanged. It also contains many valuable paintings. Photography again not allowed inside.


This is the house of Jagat Seth. Please remember that Jagat Seth is not the name of any person in particular. It is the title conferred to this family by emperor Muhammad Shah in 1744 AD. They were incredibly rich in those times and even used to lend money to the Nawabs. It is in this house that on the 23rd April 1757 Mr. William Watts (Head at the English factory at Cossimbazar) arrived and made a deal with the Seths. Subsequently on 1st May 2017 the Calcutta Council approved of a secret deal involving among others Rajah Rai Durlav (the Dewan of the Murshidabad state), the Jagat Seths, Omichand (a very influential agent at the Nawabs court) and Syud Mir Muhammud Jafar Ali Khan (Mir Jafar in short). Some pictures taken outside, as photography were not allowed inside. This building even has an underground passage partly open to the public. On display were guns, ammunitions, paintings, dresses, various old interesting items of common household usages and even two vintage motor cycles.Some random picture taken outside.















Next I stopped before this old gate, now in ruins. Locals call it Nimak Haram Deorhi, literally meaning a traitor’s gate. This was the gate to the original house of Mir Jafar before he became a Nawab. However, the house does not exist anymore. This is also the place where Mr. William Watts (Chief of the English factory at nearby Cossimbazar) entered in a palanquin, being dressed in a burkha (disguised as a muslim lady) and met Mir Jafar and his son Miran. Then placing the sacred Koran on his head and placing his hand on his son’s head, Mir Jafar swore with great solemnity that he would do everything what he had promised, to support the British. This is also the place where Siraj-ud-Daulla, the last independent Nawab of Bengal was murdered on 2nd July 1757, eight days after the battle of Plassey. Nearby is the Jaffarganj cemetery where Mir Jafar and his descendants are buried. In my next post I shall show you the place where Siraj-Ud-Daulla was buried.






This is the burial place of Azimunnesa Begum, the daughter of Nawab Murshidkuli Khan (popularly known as Kalija Khaki Begum). She had some type of disease and the doctors prescribed some medicine for her, which contained liver of freshly killed human child. She got cured but grew an addiction to this medicine. Young babies from the vicinity were stolen and killed for their livers. It is said that when her husband finally came to know about her misdeeds, she was buried alive (in 1734 AD). Her body was placed under the stairs, in the belief that footprints of the public will erase her sin. Nothing except a portion of the mosque stands nowadays.





Next we went to visit Katra Mosque. This is a mosque containing the tomb of Nawab Murshid Quli Khan, founder of Murshidabad, built between 1723 and 1724 AD. Nawab Murshid Quli Khan has been buried here under the stairs. It has been done so as per the Nawab's wish, who was repentant for the misdeeds committed by him and ordered this out of humility.








A quarter of a mile south east of Katra mosque was the “Tope Khana”, the sight of the Nawab’s artillery park and the east entrance gate of the city. Here stands the canon “Jahan Kosah” (destroyer of the world). As per inscription on the canon it was built in Dacca (present day Dhaka), during the reign of Shahjahan (in 1637 AD), under the order of Islam Khan, who was the then Subedar of Bengal. It is seventeen and a half feet long, with a girth of five feet at the touch-hole. This cannon weighs about 7900 KG, requiring about 17 KG of gunpowder for a single shelling.




Thanks for reading. Very soon in my next and concluding post I shall try to describe some more things and attractions about Murshidabad. Please feel free to write or PM me, if you have any question.
Rahul

 

[rahul4640]

Friends and gentlemen,
Now I shall like to show you few more places located in Murshidabad town, which I visited on the third day. Murshidabad is locally known as Lalbagh. Among the first is Hazarduari Place, the palace with a thousand doors (actually there are about nine hundred doors that do open, rest one hundred are all fake doors, resembling original ones). It is possibly the most famous among all palaces in West Bengal. It was built by Nawab Nazim Humayun Jah Bahdoor. Foundation stone was laid on 9th August 1829 and the building was completed on 1837. It contains a museum which is a must see. In case you ever visit it, I suggest that you spend at least a couple of hours to visit it thoroughly. Please see a list of all things on display here.



In case anyone is visiting it, please remember to deposit your cameras and mobiles at the entrance gate, as they are not allowed inside. If you forget, you have to walk back long all the way to the main entrance. Only mobiles without any cameras in it are allowed. This palace complex also houses the Nizamat Imambara, the clock tower and the Bacchawali Tope.


This is the clock tower. The sound of the hourly bell may be heard from adjacent parts of the town. On the four corners of the roof of the ground floor are placed four masonry shields, which again are supported by four masonry lions.


This is Bachhawali Tope. This is older than the palace or the nawabs. The cannon was possibly made between the 12th and 14th century, again possibly by the Muslim rulers of Gour (in nearby Maldah district).It originally lied on the sand banks at a nearby place called Ichaganj, though it is unknown how it reached there. Near the muzzle, on the upper half of the barrel surface, are 14 lines (7 on each side). These lines are made of brass. The cannon weigh around 7657 kg. And for a single shelling it requires about 18 kg of gunpowder. It is said that this cannon was test fired only once and that time it produced a huge explosive sound. This sound was so severly intense that it made most of the pregnant women of the city to give premature birth to their children and this cannon is believed to get its name from there. Bachhawali means the one who produces child birth while the word tope means cannon. (Source-Wikipedia).


This is the Nizamat Imambara (a Muslim holy site), built by Nawab Nazim Mansoor Ali Khan Feradun Jah in 1847 AD, when the older Imambara built by Siraj-Ud-Daulla standing at this very place was destroyed by fire. It is open to the visitors for a few selected days of the year.


Next we went to visit Khosh Bagh, which lies on the opposite bank of the river. I chose to take a boat, though it is possible to reach there by car taking a much longer route. The boats also occasionally ferry cars and one may try it at his own risk.



A view if the river.


This is an earlier picture taken by me seven years ago, at exactly the same spot.


Khosh Bagh literally means garden of pleasure. It was built by Nawab Alivardi Khan over 7.65 acres of land. It has a 2,471 feet long surrounding wall. Inside this square shaped flat roofed chamber and surrounded by all sides with an arcade balcony, here lies the graves of Nawab Alivardi Khan, his mother, Siraj Ud Daulla and his wife (Lut’funnisa Begum). Lut’f un nisa refused to join the zenana mahal or the harem of Mir Jafar. She was actually a Hindu slave girl named Raj Kunwar at the service of Amina Begum (Siraj’s mother). Her beauty and pleasing personality possibly attracted the young prince. At his request Amina Begum gave away Raj Kaunwar to Siraj, who married and renamed her Lutf-Un-Nisa Begum. She gave birth to the only child of Siraj (a daughter). After the battle of Plassey she, along with her daughter were exiled to Dacca (Dhaka, now in Bangladesh) in 1758 AD and were interned at a place called Jinjira palace. She was allowed to be returned in 1765. Till her last days she personally visited these graves every evening, read verses from Quran and lighted candles. After her death in November 1790 she was also buried in Khosh Bagh, by the side of her husband.


The bodies of the royal family members are kept here.


A mosque inside Khosh Bagh


A view of the mango trees nearby.




Nearby is the Roshni Bagh (meaning garden of light), housing the mausoleum of Nwab Suja-Ud-Daulla (1727-39 AD), who was possibly the best of all the Murshidabad rulers. It contains a beautiful garden.




The mausoleum.


A mosque in the same compound.


Now I shall show you few landmarks of Murshidabad town. This is known as Tripolia Gate, though Mr. P. C. Majumder in his book “The Musnud of Murshidabad” (printed 1905) had mentioned that the word Tripolia gate actually meant three gates, all built by Suja-Ud-Daulla.




Chowk Gate.


I do not know the name of this gate. There are many such gates there.


Just south of the grand Hazarduari palace, this is Wasef Manjil or the new palace, built by Nawab Wasif Ali Mirza Khan Bahadur (the last Nawab of Murshidabad). I had entered inside earlier but this time my “Toto” (electric rickshaw) driver told me that entry there was not allowed. Earlier it contained beautiful statues, pictures, furniture, etc. At past this palace had an artificial rock garden and had it’s own electric power station, before electricity reached the town.


I also visited Cossimbazar, few kilometer south of Murshidabad, which is also historically very important. Some places I visited Sripur Palace, which the locals refer to as “Burra Rajbari” (larger king’s house). It is really a huge palace, larger even than Hazarduari palace. As this is a private palace, entry needs permission and I did not visit inside.













This is the “Chota Rajbari” (smaller king’s house). Recently renovated, entry is allowed here for a small fee. Many objects are on display.









This is the nearby “Saidabad House”.


This is “Saidabad Palace”.


Lastly this is Kunjaghata Palace of Maharajah Nanda Kumar Though now in ruins, it is also historically very important. Please excuse me for this poor quality picture (as it was shot with my mobile phone) but this is the only one I have. Entry again not allowed inside.

That is all. Please feel free to contact me if have any question and I shall try to answer. Excuse me if my posts were too long.
Warm regards,
Rahul Biswas

 

[rahul4640]

Edit:- A friend of mine who has seen the last post has called me up and has pointed out correctly that in my last post the Wikipedia link given with "Bachhawali Tope" is not a relevant one. Please excuse me. Here is the correct link. Thanks again.
Rahul

 

[Chandranath]

Excellent and detailed write up on a place soaked in rich historical facts. This is a place which has shaped and probably altered the Indian history from what it could have been and to what it actually happened through the British Raj.

I had visited once while on a tour but never could get into the depth of the soul of Murshidabad. Good writing

 

[Daring Deb]

Wonderful details. Have visited most of these places but do not recollect a fraction of the history mentioned. A trip with my Son is on the cards. BTW how was the road from kuli to Bahrampur?

 

[rahul4640]

A trip with my Son is on the cards.

Wish you a very happy journey.

BTW how was the road from kuli to Bahrampur?

It is in nice shape. Though on my way I had seen that some roadwork was going on between Kandi town and NH-34, it was almost two months ago. I am almost certain that the work has since been completed.