Enchanting Kathgola Palace and Bagan in Murshidabad
It was a long hectic day of sight seeing. At 8 in the morning we set off from Mayapur to Murshidabad in West Bengal. 96 km in 2 hours approx. It was the 4th day of our road trip through top tourist attractions of West Bengal. Why visit Murshidabad?
My daughter had just completed her 7th grade history lessons and was eager to visit it. I too learned some history from her:
Murshidabad, was the capital of Bengal during the Mughal period. The nawabs (Mughal rulers) here played crucial role during the initial days of British Raj, when The East India Company was trying to get its foothold from this place.
After the tour of Hazaarduari Palace we set off for the Enchanting Kathgola Palace and Bagan in Murshidabad. Bagan in Bengali means garden. The picture below is the view of the entrance from inside the gardens.
Kathgola Palace and Bagan in Murshidabad
Kathgola Palace is locally known as Kathgola Bagan Bari. Today this 18th century Kathgola Palace owner is a Jain businessman’s family, the Dugars.
Historical significance of this house is that it is here that William Watts of East India Company met Mir Jafar, 3 days after the Battle of Plassey in 1757 to discuss the payment promised to him before the historical battle. Yes, the same Mir Jafar who cheated the last independent Bengal Nawab Siraj-ud-Daulah thus enabled the British to win.
It seems the guests were greeted with shehnai vadan (music from flutes) and nagaras (drums) from the upper decks of this structure. Another set of people welcomed with the sprinkling of rose water and flowers from the lower decks in traditional style. The garden seemed hardly maintained. We headed straight to the palace which is now a museum.
We missed more places than we could see in the few hours we spent in Murshidabad. Glad that we could explore the Kathgola Bagan Bari; a huge 45 acres area with garden, and Adinath Jain Temple after Hazarduari Palace.
Kathgola Palace Ruins
Kathgola Palace was built by late Rai Bahadur Lakshmipat Singh Dugar (1836-1888). It is well maintained and in good condition, but there are some mansions which were in ruins, scope for good adventure if you go exploring inside. The guide discouraged us saying not permitted.
Three storied lovely bauli (step well) close to the palace.
Rai Bahadur was a passionate collector of exotic animals, these were displayed in the little zoo here. This is an abandoned building now.
Abandoned zoo at Kathgola
They employed a Bengali sculptor to create European style statues and murals. A very beautiful work in white marble sourced from Rajasthan by sculptor Dibakar Paul. It is the statue of Michelangelo! Yes the same Michelangelo who contributed to the making of St Peter’s Basilica in Rome.
Sculpted by Dibakar Paul
A reflecting sphere made of Belgium glass hanging from ceiling of dining room of the palace; all movements through the different doors can be seen at a time from a single place.
Belgium Glass sphere suspended from ceiling
It will be wise to hire a guide here; they are knowledgeable about the history of the place. Not many sites have good compilation of info; I couldn’t get any book on this either.
Murshidabad doesn’t stand high in places to visit in West Bengal, but it does have lot of historical importance. Hope the city gets a boost in terms of tourist visits. West Bengal Tourism should work to promote this place in a big way.
Location of Kathgola Palace and Bagan
Kathgola Bagan Bari is in Murshidabad 224 km from Kolkata. Murshidabad is well connected to other cities by road and rail. We hired a private taxi to get to Murshidabad halting at several places on the way.
Open Timings of Kathgola Palace
The palace interior is open from 10am to 5pm. It is closed on national holidays. The garden is open to public through out the day.
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Hazarduari is one place I really want to visit. It intrigues me in many ways.
What a wonderful place, I like the statues and the lions. Thanks for sharing, Indrani!
Stunning photos and sound like a great place.
I like the gate to that little zoo. The lion looks so proud
The entrance looks pleasing and quite inviting… sounds like a great historical place, could have maintained better. The reflecting sphere was impressive!
The loin reminds me of Hoysalas and Then the entrance looks so grand ans well maintained. I would love to visit Murshidabad.
Beautiful place. Next time in your area…
hmmfff…soon I'll be visiting all these places one by one…thanks for sharing… 🙂
Murshidabad … was a capital of Bengal ? I knew this not .. Bengal has so much to explore
Interesting point u make. In fact there are many places in bengal which deserve more footfalls
Amazing photography…
lovely!
the arched gates of the temples are really beautiful.
Nice captures and a beautifully written post.I enjoyed reading it and gaining some knowledge.
Nice write up on the palace. The palace looks interesting.
I enjoy visiting historical places like this. I'm glad you got to visit this site. The buildings and sculptures are magnificent, but it's a shame about the poorly-maintained garden.
Nyc place to visit 🙂
You just placed it in my must visit spots. Thank you. 🙂
Beautiful pictures…. As far as I know it's also haunted…don't know how much it's true
Marvelous shots!
That's a beautiful palace and wonderful sculptures.
Thank you for letting us see it the easy way! LOL 🙂
Beautiful pictures and a nice history 🙂
Ankita Singhal
Fascinating tour!! Boom & Gary of the Vermilon River, Canada.
Thanks for sharing information and images of an extraordinary piece of history.Amazing art & architecture & captivating sculpture of reclining lady. A pity that some of the structures are dilapidated due to misuse & poor upkeep & maintenance.
Your the best guide one could wish for. I should have a map to find all those places you mentioned. And I should read more of India's history!
Thanks for showing us around.
Have a great week,
Wil, ABCW Team
Another beautiful place and another nice capture !
Wow ! what a beautiful architecture !
Nice pictures
The Architecture of Mughal periods are amazing to watch..They really built beautiful monuments..
Love the Pictures.. 🙂
What lovely pictures of this beautiful place.
Wonderful!
Thanks for sharing 🙂
Lovely palace beautifully captured!
Amazing sculpture.
Nice pictures Indrani got to visit it sometime
What a wonderful place! I can just see the wonderful gardens that must have been there to supply all those rose petals. The step well is a real beauty. A thoroughly enjoyable post.
i love the lion!
Very good serie Indrani….. your photo's are always nice to see.
greetings, Joop
Beautiful pieces of architecture.
Great monuments. The beautiful journey.
I admire your great photos.
Greetings.
Lucia
A new lesson learnt. The European statue looks marvelous and reflecting sphere is a good idea… Very nice post.
Another beautiful, place with fascinating history and what a wealth of these your country has!! Wonderful post and captures for the day, Indrani and, as always, thank you for sharing!! Hope you and your daughter have a wonderful week!!