By Anthony Kuriakose
Situated in a one hundred acre park, the Hazar Duari or the one thousand door palace of the Nawabs of Murshidabad is in the limelight, on account of its being a treasure trove of valuable historical exhibits.
The palace consists of 8 galleries in 114 halls, with a colonnaded facade, a domed tower, high windows, beautifully ornate pillars and more, all of it a befitting venue for the Nawab’s durbar, which was held here till a hundred years ago. The palace was also used as a residence by the Nawabs and by high-ranking British officials.
Murshidabad, the capital of pre British Mughal Bengal is a town two hundred kilometres from Calcutta. The tourist, moving about the sleepy town would be surprised to find the Hazar Duari, a huge mansion 450 feet long, 200 feet broad and 40 feet high, looming in a rural setting, as if out of an Arabian night’s tale. The saga of this grand palace, forgotten by history is a very poignant one.
By 1829, the ancient palace of the Nawab had become damaged due to the vagaries of the Ganges (known locally as the Bhagirathi) nearby and the Nawab decided to build a new palace. As befitting an opulent ruler, the plans were laid by the best available architect, in the case a British army specialist.
The edifice has more than 1000 doors with 200 false doors to keep the count. In 1959, the Nawab died and his heirs were not able to agree about the division of property. The whole estate is managed by the officers of the West Bengal Government, the Nawab’s family finding it too expensive to maintain the palace, which requires hundreds of servants. In order to cover a portion of the expenses, the West Bengal Government decided to permit tourists inside the palace on payment and hundreds of visitors from Calcutta and the surrounding districts to see the famous palace every day.
Hazarduari has 20 galleries containing 4,742 antiquities, of which 1,034 are on display for public viewing, on rotational basis. The paintings are a mixed lot. The most valuable one is in the dining room on the second floor, by the famous British painter Sir Joshua Reynolds, depicting the death of Sir Thomas Moore at Coronna during the Spanish wars in 1809. The Royal armoury has among many historic weapons, the sword of Siraj-ud-daula the Indian hero of 1757 battle of Plassey, the emblazoned shield of Emperor Nadir Shah of Persia who destroyed Delhi in 1739, the battle flags of the nawab’s army unfurled at Plassey in 1757 and many seventeenth century guns with picturesque names.
The three storied palace, has been converted into a museum, has 50 halls and galleries. A vast staircase leads up to the first floor, inside, the layout is grand though predictable – vast stone floored halls, sweeping staircases and many more windows then doors.
But the contents of the building are interesting - a silver chandelier with 96 branches, sent by Queen Victoria in the 19th century as a gift to the Nawab, a silver dressing table set used by Siraj-ud-daula’s mother and a Burma jade dinner set, that is reported to change colour at the touch of a poison.
The second floor (entry with special permission) has great collection of books and manuscripts. The Library contains more than three thousand manuscripts in Arabic, Persian and Urdu and about 12000 books in English, Arabic and Persian languages. Wander through and you will see examples of India’s most priceless manuscripts such as the original Ain-I-Akbari and Akbarnama, written by Akbar’s court historian Abul Fazal. Among the fifteen antique copies of the Quran are a copy of Holy Quran penned by the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb and another Quran, written by Haroon al Rashid, the famous Caliph of Baghdad. Other historical attractions near Hazar Duari are the Nimak Haram Deohri (Traitor’s Gate) where Siraj-ud-daula was assassinated after the Battle of Plassey, the Cossimbazar Rajbari, the Great Imambara, Moti Jhil (Pearl Lake) and the ruins of the Katra and Medina mosques.
The Palace museum remains open every day except Fridays and the second Saturday of the month. The visiting hours are from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The entrance is Rs 5 for Indians and nationals from SAARC member countries; and Rs 100 for other foreign Nationals.
Murshidabad is 182 kms from Calcutta and 11 kms from Baharampur, the district headquarters.
By Train: By train from Sealdah to Baharampur and Murshidabad.
By Bus: Bus services directly from Calcutta up to Baharampur/Murshidabad. (MF)
