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The best of Murshidabad2.0 Ruined fout. i masjid, murshidabad
https://youtu.be/9CulDL8L2e4?si=2o6F6pbY390_xL9b
The best of Murshidabad2.0 prologue
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The best of Murshidabad2.0
1. Looked at the ruined mosque. Then I turned to my guide Abbas Bhai ,a middle -aged muslim gentleman clad in a sherwani. ,I have seen old brick mosques. having their. g their domestic broken. Then. Then why only this. Particular mosque is known as fout i masjid or phuti masjid. ?;I asked Abbas Bhai.
Despite the fact my hotel was close. To
Hazarduari museum ,I decided to start
my tour with this dilapidated structure. Structure wise the mosque is unique than many mosques of Bengal.
the mosque is located near a railway crossing , almost IKm from Hazarduari. Surrounded by trees , thatched huts and a. Pond the 135 feet long structure looked like a sick giant counting its last days . Getting into the mosque is itself a problem for the aged as there is no stairs or even a raised platform. Curious local. Children were looking at us.
Abbas Bhai did not reply immediately. He. Was chewing paan. He spay some of it , looked back at me and said “Because janab, in those mosques the domestic were completed. They. Broke down at a later stage . In the case of fouti masjid, only two. Domestic. Out of the five were completed. Then rest three was never made at all . It was incomplete. Nobody had read Namaz mission of sarfaraz khan -the. Grandason of. Murshid quli khan.
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Fouti Majid stands lire a sick giant surrounded by trees and huts
He paused a asecond and said “It is not necessary that the grandson of a great man will be as him.sarfaraz khan was Newab of Bengal only for two. Years. Hr was Grandfather. He died in war in the same year during which thicj this mosque was build- 1740.History says he died as a result of a gunshot in the battle of giria fighting aunshot in the battle of giria fighting against Alibardi khan. But. You know what he actually died of.??”
Abbas Bhai looked at me quizzically with eyes glowing.He was a bit. Different from. Guides I had seen. I look at him and say “I have no idea”.
“He did because of lightning struck him down in the battle field. That is what the. Local legend says” said Abbas Bhai in a dramatic manner.”It is said lightning struck this mosque almost the same time he died. That. Created a big crack in the domestic and the work was abandoned.”
He lowered his voice and said “do not believe those rumors that the mosque was constructed in one day Actually after the death of nawab, the constitution work was stopped due to lack of funds. Thus roof originated. And the descendants of the nawab made the story of one day wonder to glorify him.” Abbas Bhai chuckled at his own story.
Murshidabad is full of such ancient mansions, each having its own history.and if you happen to run across a narrator like Abbas Bhai , then the histories becomes fascinating story.
Murshidabad is full of such ancient mansions, each having its own history.and if you happen to run across a narrator like am Abbas Bhai , then the histories becomes fascinating story
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Table of Contents
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The best of Murshidabad2.0 History of murshibad -the land of nawabs
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The best of Murshidabad2.0 tuhe history of murshibad actually originated from south India.
In the last 17th century. One Deccan Brahmin was cruising himself. Due to poverty, he was forced to sell himself into sIavery.He was bought by one Haji shafi Isfahani, who was a Persian merchant from Iron Iran. The merchant gave him education and renamed him to mirza hadi after completing him to Islam. Returning to A india, mirza hadi joined the service of the Mughals.his active role in aurangzeb,s warfare in the Deccan gave him the title of “kartalab khan “
When there was a need for Diwan in Bengal at Dacca, Kartalab Khan was emperor’s automatic choice.Though Kartalab Khan was efficient as an administrator, he went into confrontation with Azim-ush-Shan, the grandson of the emperor. In the year 1703, Kartalab Khan relocated his office from Dacca to Murshidabad on the banks of Bhagirathi River. He was now Aurangzeb’s most favored officer as he generated the maximum revenue. On 1704, Aurangzeb honoured him with the title of Murshid Quli Khan. He went on to become the first independent Nawab of Bengal and Orissa. Simultaneously he changed the city’s name to Murshidabad.Murshidabad was once the most important
city of Bengal, until Nawab Saifullah lost it out to the British Empire after being betrayed by Mir-Jafar. In 1757, when Robert Clive won the vital battle of Plassey, Murshidabad was said to be as prosperous as London.1n 1757, Murshidabad was at par with London. A painting which came out in Illustrated London News in 1858, gives an idea . Source : http://www.columbia.edu.
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1n 1757, Murshidabad was at par with London. A painting which came out in Illustrated London News in 1858, gives an idea . Source :
At present Murshidabad is nowhere near London. Gone are the days of Nawabs. While you walk down the – the star attraction of Murshidabad, you will only find some run down houses, road side shanties selling foods and cold drinks besides Bhagirathi and saris drying on the walls of the premises. It is like going to view Taj Mahal after passing through a dirty slum. Recently some of these shanties were on fire and almost damaged the Hazarduari Mansion.
In present day Murshidabad, walking down the dusty road besides Hazarduari Palace you will only find run down houses and road side Shanties
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there is not a single standard hotel in Murshidabad. And by a standard hotel, I do not mean luxury. Let us not talk about room services anyways. In fact I was surprised to find one website claiming “Tourists can find many budget and mid-range hotels in Murshidabad with good facilities.” Good Facilities ?? A cut and paste job, I suppose!If you are looking for standard hotels, you need to stay at Berhampore. Pity, in so many years there is even no Government Tourist Lodge at Murshidabad. The one
that is at Berhampore is perhaps the worst Government lodge in West Bengal.This town is one of the most historically enriched places of West Bengal, yet from bad communication roads to pathetic lodging is all what it has got as a reward from our State. I can bet that if Murshidabad was situated in any other state, it would have had three to four star hotels and an altogether different ambiance.Generally a city grows with time. Murshidabad with its past glory seems to going down, which pains me a lot. The lanes are narrow and crowded. Getting a car with skilled driver is a rare scenario.
Locating an ATM is not easy. If you have to buy some Murshidabad silk sarees, you have to travel quite a distance inside the main city through narrow lanes.Having said so much, I still love coming to this town. I must admit that one of the reasons to visit the place is my obsession towards historical monuments. After all once this was the last capital city of Independent Bengal, before to British shifted to Calcutta.Other than the famous historical landmarks, there are several old ruined mansions scattered around. Walking down the roads, you will see still see old gates standing like a misfit amongst the new structures. Take a stroll in its outskirts
and you will get surprised to land into enormous sized ruined mansions. Some of the monuments have been renovated by ASI and some by private initiatives. Thanks to our Mega TV Serial, some of the crumbling mansions have been renovated and received a new lease of life.
Interiors of one of the mansions of Murshidabad which has been renovated in recent times.Recently Murshidabad Heritage Development Society has taken an initiative to rebuild the Heritage Mansions of Murshidabad and come out with high standard accommodation facilities by 2018. Until then the tourists interested in lodging at Murshidabad will have to be satisfied with the options available.Though I thoroughly detest them, on my visit to this city I always stay at one of the dingy rooms of Hotel Manjusha besides the Bhagirathi River. The hotel is adjacent to the Nijama Imambara opposite to which you can see the magnificent Hazarduari Palace at a stone throwing distance. The hotel is an automatic choice for many just
because of its location advantage. However, the room service is pathetic and it has no in house restaurant. On request the staff gets you food from local eateries. I never touch their highly indigestible curry, and stick to Roti, Dal and Fried Fish and Fried vegetable. Unfortunately the city has only two proper restaurants, which are around 1.5 km from Hazarduari.A typical tour to Murshidabad is likely to take minimum two days
Footi Mosque start your tour with the 1740 built Footi Mosque. This is not because I started my tour with it. You never know how long the structure will survive as there is no initiative to restore the mosque. Though only two out of its five dome were completed, it still is a giant structure with five entrances and four attached towers. Inside there are small damaged staircases on each cornering it to climb up to its roof, which you will not find in any other brick mosques of the 18th century in West Bengal.
Fouti masjid has only two of its five domestic complete.
Each door frame is made of Basalt stone. Above the door frame there is the arch styled decorative element of lintel. The lintels are plain and not decorated. Maybe they were never decorated.
Each door frame of Fouti Masjid is made of Basalt stone.
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Another unique thing about this mosque is there are triple Mihrabs on the wall facing the middle entrance. The walls facing other door has single Mihrab. Usually there is single Mihrab facing each entrance of a mosque. Mihrab indicates a semicircular niche in the wall of a mosque. It indicates the direction of Kabba in Mecca. Muslims pray looking at this direction. Except Katra mosque which boasts five triple Mihrab, even huge mosques like Adina does not showcase triple Mihrabs.
Triple Mihrab in the centre of Fouti MasjidTriple Mihrab in the center of Fouti MasjidClimbing up the narrow stairs at Fouti Masjid is not advisable for everyone. The stairs are broken in many places and without wearing sneakers you will not get a grip. Occasionally you have a tread beside a dead rat on which flies and maggots will be found feasting. Once you are on the top, you have to keep in mind that three domes do not exist. If you falls down through any of those huge holes, it will definitely not be a good experience.
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Katra Masjid
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Traveling on the same road bypassing mango orchards one can reach an important landmark of Murshidabad – The
Katra Masjid. Talking of Murshidabad Mangoes reminds the Nawabi era when team of researchers and mango specialists were employed to produce unique varieties of Mango. Abbas Bhai mentioned that urbanization has resulted in demolition of many orchards at Murshidabad, which has resulted in vanishing of some varieties. Replanting has resulted in lack of their legendary taste. Apart from other legendary mangoes Bimli, Ranipasand, Begumpasand. and Shahdullah, special mention must be made of the mango named Kohitoor alias Koh e Tore. This is one of the legendary mangoes of Murshidabad, which has lost its original taste due to replanting. There were huge orchards of this varieties in Cossimbazar even 30 years ago , which ceases to exists now.
Build during the reign of Murshid Kuli Khan, Katra Mosque originally had five domes and four towers
Murshidabad Sightseeing in Tanga | Murshidabad Silk ..
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Build during the reign of Murshid Kuli Khan, Katra Mosque originally had five domes and four towers Build within a span of two years (1723-24), Katra Masjid brandishes two giant towers. Originally there were four of them; two towers got destroyed in an earthquake. Much earlier one could get up the stairs of the towers, but now the doors to the towers are closed. The towers had domes like the mosque. Only two domes of the original four domes of the mosque exist. The structure was severely damaged by the earthquake of 1897.
The best of Murshidabad2.0 Old Painting of Katra Masjid before the earthquake. Image Courtesy : Wikipedia Coomons
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There are five doors to the Katra Masjid. As mentioned earlier, there are triple Mihrabs on the walls of the mosque facing each door. Above the central triple Mihrab, there is an inscription in Arabic which says “La-l-la-ha illallah… Muhammad ur-Rasool-Allah”. This means “There is no god except Allah and Muhammad is his prophet”. There is a small stairs leading to a small platform to the right (of viewer) of the central triple Mihrab. This is the Minbar where sermons and speeches are given. In many mosques of Pandua at Malda, the Minbar is a raised platform made of basalt stone with quite a number of stairs which looks like a stone throne.
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The best of Murshidabad2.0central triple mihrab with arabic inscription and minbar
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The best of Murshidabad2.0katra masjid is five door affairs with a huge courtyard, enough for 2000persons to read Namaz
The best of Murshidabad2.0three put of the five triple mahab,s of Katra Masjid
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Three out of the Five triple mihrab’s of Katra Masjid. There is a basalt slab on the top of the outer wall of the mosque above the middle door way. It is written in traditional old Persian, which is very difficult to decipher at present even by people in India who knows reasonably good Persian. I am yet to find first hand a person who can translate this properly. Meanwhile I am using the translation given in the book “The Musnud of Murshidabad” which says “The triumph of Mahomed of Arabia is the glory of heaven and earth. Let the dust of his feet fall on the head of him who is not the dust of his door.“
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The Persian inscription above the central entrance door to Katra Mosque
The Persian inscription above the central entrance door to Katra Mosque
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We checked out the small cells which used to house 700 odd people for reading Holy Quran. The cells are in double storied area surrounding the mosque. There are open space of about 13 feet and the cells on each side of the mosque. On the back side the open space is around 42 feet. The cells are about 20 feet square with archway doors and windows. They are interconnected with each others. Some of the cells, specially the one on two sides of the open praying area has broken down probably because of the earthquake.
Small cells with archway doors and windows which used to house 700 odd scholars reading Holy Quran
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The small cells for scholars reading Quran used to be in double stories surrounding the mosque
Some of the small cells for Quran readers surrounding the Katra mosque are broken down at present.The praying area of the Mosque is said to accommodate 2000 Namaz readers. When I first visited Katra Mosque, Abbas Bhai had pointed me out to square type mats of the floor. He said that the floor had 2000 such mats, each for a single person praying Namaz. The present entrance to the premises of the mosque is actually not its frontal side. The actual entrance to the mosque is now on its back side. There is a flight of stairs at the original entrance, which a visitor reaches at the end of the completion of the tour of the mosque.
The praying area of Katra Mosque is said to accommodate 2000 Namaz readers.
Square type mats of the floor of praying hall of Katra Mosque. Each mat is to accommodate a single person The mosque is maintained by ASI, so naturally there is a garden area. There is a Shiva Temple in the complex of the mosque too. While I was resting on these stairs, Abbas Bhai said to me “Come on Janab, The Nawab is waiting for you.” As I look at him in startled manner, he explained his gesture. Under the stairs of the entrance to the mosque lies the tomb of Nawab Murshid Quli khan.
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Entrance of Katra Mosque which now falls on the backside of present entrance. The tomb of Nawab Murshid Quli Khan lies under the stairs on the right hand side.
The Tomb of Nawab Murshid Quli Khan at Katra Mosque. ueIt was the Nawab’s wish that he should be buried below the stairs of the mosque, so that he could get foot dust of the noble men who would climb the stairs and enter the Mosque. The Nawab had a guilt feeling for his wrong deeds near the end of his life and hence this arrangement was done.Jahankosha Canon Near to the Katra Masjid lies the huge “Jahan. kosha Canon” perched on a pedestal. This 8000 kg weighing mass of steel wasby made Gunsmith Janardan Karmakar of Dacca in 1637, under the instructions of Daro gah Shere Mahomed and the supervision of Kara Ballav Das.
17 kg of gunpowder was needed for a single shot from the Jahan. Kosha Canon.
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The canon is made of a composition of eight metals. Besides iron the other metals are tin , lead, copper , zinc , mercury, silver and gold. 17 kg of gunpowder was needed for a single shot! The Canon is 17.5 feet tall and once rested on a carriage with four wheels. The area where the present canon rests is known as Tope khana alias the armory. There is a touch hole at the back of canon, which helps to target the enemy. This massive mass of iron is under the jurisdiction of ASI.
Chawk Masjid.
Taking the road just opposite to that of Jahan kosha Canon, one encounters the beautiful 1767 white painted structure named Chawk Masjid. The mosque was built by Munny Begum – wife of Nawab Mir Jafar. The mosque was build on the site of Chehel Sa. toon or the forty-pillar audience hall of Murshid Kuli Khan.
The five domed Chawk mosque has some beautiful stucco floral designs
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She was quite popular to the East India Company; hence, the mosque was quite important. She fell into the rare category of Gadin asheen Begums, to whom separate allowance was provided. The five domed mosque has some beautiful stucco floral design. It has a grand entrance and two small towers. A market was and is still this date located in front of the mosque. Since Chawk means markets, the mosque derived its name from that.
Tripaulia Gate
The Chawk Masjid falls on the left side of the road on your way towards the riverfront. Goings straight, one encounters the huge gate with a triple arched gateway surmounted with a Naha b. at khana. This marks one of the entrances to the Killa Niaz amat area of Murshidabad. The arches were high enough to accommodate Nawabs riding on elephants.Though this magnificent gate is now referred to as Tripoli alias Tri pulia gate, it was actually known as Chawk Gate. This gate was built by Nawab Shuja Khan, who succeeded Nawab Murshid Quli Khan.Tripulia gate was actually known as Chawk Gate.This gate was built by Nawab Shuja Khan, who succeeded Nawab Murshid Quli Khan.
Tripa. ulia gate was actually known as Chawk Gate.
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An interesting fact I read in the book “The Musnud of Murshidabad” is that there were three single arch gates near the chowk. They were also built by Nawab Shuja Khan. Of these two were at the entrance of two roads which meets in front of the Chowk gate. The other was in front of an “Amb ha. khana” to store mangoes. Together they were known as “Trip aulia Gate”.The Chowk gate is instead now referred to as Tri pau lia Gate.
The South gate was the main entrance gate to the Killa Nizamat area. Photo Courtesy : Koustav Bhar
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The important tourist attractions inside Killa Nizamat area now constitutes of Hazarduari Museum, Niaj. amat Imambara, Clock tower, Siraj ud–daulah’s Madina, Bachhi. Wali Tope (Canon), Wasif Manjil, and two small mosques near the river.
Hazarduari Muse ue
Situated on the banks of Bhagirathi River at Lalbagh, Hazarduari palace was built by Nawab “Humayun Jah” as his officialresidence during the period 1829-1837 at an astounding cost of 18 Lakhs. Duncan MacLeod of the Bengal Corps of Engineers was in charge of the construction. The palace has been converted into a museum. Though the conventional photographs showcasing the mansion is usually is of its frontal side, I personally favour its backside because of the rows of trees in its front.
Front View of Hazarduari Musuem.
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Back portion of Hazarduari Museum is adorned with trees
The building claims to have thousand doors of which 900 are said to be real and the rest to be false doors. At the entrance to the museum there are two Victorian Lion statue on each side of the staircase. The museum timings are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. with closure on Friday. Entry fee is Rs. 5/- for Indian citizen and US $ 2 for foreign nationals. Photography is not allowed inside the museum.
At the entrance to the museum, there is two Victorian lion’s statue on each side of the staircase.
Entrance to the Hazarduari Museums
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The three storied structure has 120 rooms which displays several antique materials including oil paintings made by eminent Dutch, French and Italian artists, elegant statues made of porcelain, marble and stucco, rare books, old maps, mirrors, palanquins and a fair number of weapons. To explore the museum properly, you need minimum four hours. It is difficult to describe the artifacts in the Museum, But I will try my best to remember.Just after the entrance in the ground floor, there is a painting of Nawab Humayan Jah as well that of Duncan Mcleod. A miniaturemodel of Hazarduari is in the displayDagger with an ivory hilt.
Museum with lights in the evening Hazarduari Museum looks beautiful in the night with lights on it. I wonder why cannot a light and sound show cannot be arranged at Hazarduari or Katra Mosque premises.
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Tip : While Shooting photograph of Hazarduari Museum , remember that the premises close down at 6 p.m. However the lights are not on until the sunset. In winter you will get more time to shoot with a Tripod as sunset is over by 05:30. Sunset is much less in summer and you may be pressed for time.
Nizamat Imambara
Opposite to the Hazarduari Museum is the huge Nija mat Imambara. Entrance inside this building is only allowed during Muh haram. The white painted mansion was constructed during the reign of Nawab Fer. daun Jah under the supervision of Sadeq Ali khan in 1847-48, after the old wooden Ima mba. rah constructed by Siraj -U d-Dau. lah was destroyed in consecutive devastating fire in 1842 and 1846. The earlier Imam. barah was much closer to the Hazarduari Museum.
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Nizamat Imambarah. On the extreme right is the entrance with a Nahabat Khan
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a Nizamat Imam. barah. On the extreme right is the entrance with a Na. habat Khana. The Nizamat Imam. barah is the largest one in Bengal and one of the largest in India. It is 680 feet long and the central block is of 300 feet in width. The mansion is rectangular in shape, divided into three quadrangles. The central quadrangle houses the Medina, the symbolic representation of burial place of Prophet Muhammad. The white structure surmounted by a dome is adorned with several pillars and arches standing on a raised floor decorated with ornamental China tiles.
Entrance to the Nizamat Imam b arah, You can see the pillars of the Madina from the Gate
The entrance from to the eastern quadrangle is from the side of the main road through a big gate which has a naha bat khana on its top. The western side quadrangle of the Imam barah showcases a five domed two storied mosque having a beautiful covered terrace adorned with massive pillars facing the river. One can get a great view of this mosque standing from the terrace of Hotel Manjusha. One can easily guess as the riverside looked from the terrace in the 19th century. There is another gate which opens directly on the road.
Mosque of Nij. amat Imam barah. Photo courtesy : Kou. stav Bhar Mosque of Nija mat. Imam. barah. Photo courtesy : Kous tav Bhar
Regarding this mosque I found interesting information in the book “A History of Murshidabad District” by Major J. H. Tull Walsh. He mentions while describing the Imambara “To the west, on the bank of the river, there was a Hindu temple. This was razed to the ground, and another was built in place of it at Icha ganj. On the site of this temple, on the bank of the river, a two-storied Musjid was erected. This Musjid com ands a very beautiful view…”I am yet to trace where is I. chaganj at Murshidabad. I would very much like to know if that replaced temple still exists.Madina of Old Imambara