The travels of Bengalis in the past
Sumana Dam
(Continued from the last part)
This chapter recounts the author's travels through various places in the present Murshidabad district in the year 1846. The author visited places like Jammo Kundee, now known as Jemo Kandi, a village near Kandi. This village was the home of Ganga Govinda Singha, the Dewan of Warren Hastings. He was the great grandfather of the Paikpara Raja and held the Dewan position in Bengal from 1750 to 1795. Having amassed considerable wealth through his job, he constructed palaces in Kandi and Paikpara and played a significant role in ending the dual administration (of the English and the Nawab of Bengal). He also aided Warren Hastings in the introduction of the Permanent Settlement. He was so wealthy that he spent twenty lakh rupees on his mother’s shraddh, with the invitation card written on gold leaf. Half of the province's kings, zamindars, including Raja Krishna Chandra's son Shib Chandra were invited. Similarly, he spent lavishly on his grandson Lala Babu's annaprasan. During this event, Gadadhar Shiromoni of Sonamukhi performed his first recital, and Ganga Govinda was so pleased that he gave him one lakh rupees. He established many Krishna temples.
The deity of the Kandi temple was adorned with grandeur akin to a Mughal emperor, seated on the finest velvet throne, decorated with gold and silver ornaments, and the prasad offered daily was entirely royal. The temple spent 500 rupees a day on prasad, which included fifty varieties of dishes and ten kinds of sweets. The Ras festival in Kandi was unparalleled, with lights, fireworks, music, and dance making it vibrant. The Rasmandal was a miniature version of all the deities' temples, with life-sized statues of principal characters from the Ramayana and Mahabharata, such as Ram breaking the bow Haradhanu and Arjuna shooting the fish's eye. The fair attracted 25,000 people, and the kings spent ten thousand rupees on it.
Sixteen miles from Kandi is Baharampur, and the population along the path is sparse due to the fears of robbery and murder. During the British era, Baharampur saw improvements, including notable military barracks and parade grounds.
George Thomas, an Irish merchant who became the ruler of a small state centered around Haryana from 1798 to 1801, is buried in Baharampur. He died in Baharampur in 1802 while traveling to Kolkata by water. His grave is in Bulbulbona in Baharampur.
The famous children's book "Little Henry and His Bearer" by British writer Mary Martha Sherwood (1775–1851) features a British boy named Henry, who is also buried in Baharampur. The writer spent eleven years in India with a British army officer and Henry, the son of the writer died at the age of two.
Subsequently, Bhola Nath Chandra wrote about General Stuart (1758-1828), who lived in Baharampur in the early 19th century. This East India Company army officer had adopted Hindu customs and was known to worship idols and venerate the Ganges like the locals. The author noted that he had a museum in Chowringhee, Kolkata, which was open to all. In his later years, he fed a hundred poor people daily and, like Job Charnock, married a Hindu woman.
The first signs of the Sepoy Rebellion's danger were felt in Baharampur, where the sepoys began their revolt on February 26, 1857. They were later sent to Barrackpore by the Governor-General's orders.
Three miles by river from Baharampur lies Kashimbazar, which had Dutch, French, and English factories in the 18th century. The English factory had machinery worth twenty lakh rupees at that time. In 1677, a factory worker named Marshall was the first to learn Sanskrit and translated the Bhagavad Gita into English. This manuscript is preserved in the British Museum. Job Charnock in 1681 was in-charge of the factory. Sir F. Russell was in charge here when Mr. Holwell (after whom the Holwell Monument, now known as Shahid Minar, was named) was also present. In 1742, he witnessed a memorable sati ceremony involving a distinguished Maratha widow. Despite attempts by her well-wishers and Lady Russell to dissuade her, she first placed one finger in the fire, then her other hand, and finally, with the permission of Murshidabad's Fouzdar, Husein Shah, she entered the pyre. Governor-General Warren Hastings had previously worked in Kashimbazar in 1753, where he taught Parsi and Arabic.
Murshidabad, formerly known as Mukhsudabad, was likely founded by Mughal Emperor Akbar. After Murshid Kuli Khan took control of the place in 1704, he renamed it Murshidabad. With the construction of palaces and government offices during the East India Company era, Murshidabad attracted attention and became more prestigious than Dhaka or Rajmahal. Robert Clive described Murshidabad as a rich, densely populated city similar to London, but with more wealth in the hands of individuals compared to the total wealth of London. The city's population was so large that Clive wrote that when he entered with 200 Europeans and 200 local sepoys, the people of Murshidabad could have destroyed them with only sticks and stones if they had wished. At that time, there were cannon-armed gateways to enter Murshidabad. An English writer in 1770 noted that Murshidabad had many brick houses, numerous palaces, gardens, and many boats on the Ganges. However, another writer in 1808 described Murshidabad as densely populated, filthy, with few palaces and mosques, and mostly small houses and huts, with boats lined up on the Ganges. The decline of Murshidabad began with the fall of the Nawabi rule. Other factors included the shift of the Ganges' course, which reduced its commercial viability, the devastation of the 1770 famine, the transfer of the capital and revenue board to Kolkata in 1772, and the abolition of the Punyah system. Under this Punyah system, zamindars from across the country would come to Murshidabad every April-May to settle taxes. The end of this practice in 1772 diminished the importance of Murshidabad and its Nawab.
By the time of the author's visit, only a few remnants of ancient Murshidabad were visible. The once-beautiful Motijhil had dried up, and only a few traces of Siraj-ud-Daulah's palace made of black marble, brought from the ruins of Gour, remained. Here, Robert Clive had appointed Mir Jafar as Nawab of Bengal, Bihar, and Orissa. Clive had initially seen overflowing treasures and diamond-studded crowns in Murshidabad and transported part of it as the first installment, packed in 700 chests by 100 boats, to Fort William. The Katra Mosque (established by Mir Jafar) and its adjoining school are now ruins. The Arsenal, Nawab's armory, was nearby. In the past, the west bank of the Bhagirathi was part of Murshidabad, with a Nawabi cemetery for figures like Alivardi Khan and Siraj-ud-Daula. The author mentions Siraj-ud-Daula's extreme cruelty and unruly behavior, (a sentiment echoed by contemporary writers and older local accounts. The idea of imagining Siraj-ud-Daula as a hero seems to have first started in the twentieth century).
On the right bank of the Bhagirathi River stood Mir Jafar's massive palace, designed like a fortress and adorned with cannons. These merchants, whose ancestors once had the power to halt the flow of the Bhagirathi with a mere coin, are now impoverished. They barely manage to survive by clinging to their dilapidated old homes and selling off whatever wealth remains.
Today, the main attraction in Murshidabad is the Hazarduari Palace. This new palace, designed by Colonel Macleod, was built in 1837. Measuring 425 feet long, 200 feet wide, and 380 feet high, its construction cost twenty lakh rupees. The palace, with its marble floors, a 290-foot-long hall, mirrored doors, variously decorated rooms, the Nawab's ivory throne, and portraits of the Nawabs' ancestors, is quite a sight. From one of the palace's verandas, the author glimpses the zenana, or inner quarters. Entry into the zenana area is prohibited for men. He learns that there are 30 begums or concubines of the Nawab and 50 Abyssinians guarding them. Previously, the Nawabs’ harems were much larger.The grandeur of the Nawabs' harem, which could include up to fifteen hundred women, was noted. However, Alivardi Khan had only one wife, and the number of Siraj-ud-Daula's women was difficult to determine. Mir Jafar had given most of Siraj's harem women to Clive.
The author then visited the Imambara, which is larger than the one in Hooghly, decorated with mirrors, lanterns, and chandeliers, and was a sight to behold. The Nawab's peacock boat and luxurious boats were visible on the river. However, the once dazzling appearance of Murshidabad, reminiscent of a fairy tale kingdom, had faded.
The Bera festival, possibly started by Siraj-ud-Daula, was held to seek blessings of Pir Paygambar for safe travel and to prevent floods. Small boats filled with flowers, coconuts, and lights floated on the river, and the festival drew thousands with hopes and joy. (Even today, the Bera fair is held in Murshidabad in the month of Bhadra). Nawabi stables, elephant houses, and armories still exist (as of the author's time) as before. Nawab Nazim wore new royal attire daily, which was discarded the next day. Despite the Nawabi trappings, the Nawab's power was limited to this palace and a half-mile radius. The author hoped that this nominal Nawabi rule would disappear in the near future. The Nawab Nazim system ended in Murshidabad in 1880.
Old Bhagwangola, located 12 miles from present-day Bhagwangola, was once an important port during Alivardi Khan's time. River course changes have led to its being overgrown with jungle. New Bhagwangola is a clean, beautiful village with fields, green meadows, mango groves, and palm and banana trees, depicting a joyful rural life.
Jangipur, forty miles north of Murshidabad, is named after Jahangir and was previously the largest center for silk during the East India Company era. The 1833 Charter resulted in the decline of Jangipur's trade, similar to other silk and cotton ports in Bengal.
Twenty-one miles from Jangipur is Suti, where the Bhagirathi Ganges branches off. Here, in 1740, a battle took place between the Nawab of Bengal, Sarfaraz Khan, and the Nawab's subordinate in Patna or Azimabad, Nizam Ali Vardi Khan. In this battle, Ali Vardi Khan emerged victorious and became the Nawab of Bengal. In 1763, a battle was fought here between Mir Qasim and the English. Due to siltation in the Ganges, navigation has become very difficult. In 1665, french traveller Tavernier mentioned in his writings that he had to travel overland from Rajmahal to Hooghly due to the silt in the river. Since then, boats have been unable to navigate past the Bhagirathi and have instead fallen into the main current of the Ganges. The 100-mile stretch from Rajmahal to Nadia, which was once the course of the Bhagirathi before the formation of the Padma River, has now turned into a marshland.
(To be continued)
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