Mahishadal Palace

Hello friends, from last few days I have got a suggestion from many of my viewers from Kolkata to upload a story of a place near to Kolkata. So that they could visit their during the unlock phase by using bus or their personal vehicle. So, today I am uploading a story of a historical place just about 100km from Kolkata.. Please go through the story, hope you will enjoy...

Phoolbag Palace

        Mahishadal, situated in the district of East Medinipur is about a 100km away from Kolkata. A journey of about a 2-2.5 hrs from Kolkata will take you here. If you come here with your own vehicle take the Vidyasagar Setu, Kona Expressway, NH-6 to reach Kolaghat. After reaching Kolaghat, take the Haldia Highway to Nandakumar Crossing. From Nandakumar Crossing take left turn to take the Nandakumar-Mahishadal Road. It will take about 5 mins from Nandakumar Crossing to reach Nandakumar Railway Gate. Crossing the Railway Gate another 30mins drive will take you to Mahishadal. Road condition is good. If you are coming by road keep it in mind that, there are 3 Toll plazas, one at Vidyasagar Setu, one at Dhulagarh and other near Mechada.

        If you are coming by bus, take Kolkata/Howrah-Digha, Kolkata-Itaberia or Kolkata-Haldia bus to Nandakumar. From Nandakumar you will get local buses and trekkers to Mahishadal. But for comfort it is recommended to take local buses from Nandakumar, as trekkers are mostly over-crowded and not suitable for tourists. 

        Mahishadal is situated at the Howrah-Haldia section of South-eastern Railways, so you can also take Howrah-Haldia Local from Howrah and it will take about 2hrs-20mins to reach Satish Samanta Halt. From station take a Toto to reach the Rajbari. But the service of trains from Howrah to Haldia is not satisfactory, so if you take train board any local trains for Mecheda, from where you will get bus to reach Mahishadal. 

Canon

        The History of Mahishadal will take you back to the times of Mughal emperor Akbar. Birnarayan Roy Chowdhury, who had a distant connection with the Tamralipta Raj, was the zamindar of this place in early 16th century. In the middle of 16th century, one of the descendant of the Roy Chowdhury family defaulted in paying revenue to the emperor. During that time Janardan Upadhyay was the Mughal Official in charge of Bengal. Upadhyay took this issue of non payment of dues to the Mughal court, which made Akbar issue a charter through which the zamindari of this state was handed over to the Upadhyay family and Akbar granted Janardan Upadhyay the title of Raja. 

        But it was under his son Rajaram Upadhyay, Mahishadal was evolved as a centre of power and also evolved as an independent state, free from Mughal interferences. He claimed the lands of neighbouring zaminders and forced them to pay taxes to the Mahishadal Raj. Thus Mahishadal Raj was established. 

        But the Mahishadal Raj saw its actual peak from 1770s onward. It was after the death of Raja Anandalal, his wife Rani Janaki took charge of the kingdom as they has no male heirs. Rani Janaki was well educated and a patron of art and music. She was also a devoted Vaishnab. It was Rani Janaki, who introduced Ratha Jatra at Mahishadal. She took initiative in building the MadanGopal Jiu Temple, which still stands today just beside the Rajbari. Rani Janaki died in 1804. After the death of Rani Janaki, her grandson Raja Guruprasad Garg became the Raja of Mahishadal and it was the Garg family who still now inherits the royal property of Mahishadal. 

Rajdighi

        The Phoolbag Palace is the main attraction of Mahishadal. This magnificent building  was built by Raja Sati Prasad Garg in 1926. The building shows a fusion of Central Indian and Classical European style of architecture. It is said that originally this palace was constructed as a guest house but later on the royal family started to live here. It was Late Rani Kalyani Garg, who lived here. The present descendants of the royal family lives at Sarat Bose Road, Kolkata. Presently this building houses a museum in its ground floor. The grand darbar hall of the palace is majestic. The museum houses utensils used by the royal family, old furnitures, Belgian glasswares and weapons used by the Rajas. There is a separate quarter where stuffed animals hunted by Raja Sati Prasad Garg are kept. The dining hall of the palace has a beautiful fresco, narrating the story of Sakuntala. The royal family of Mahishadal was a patron of Indian classical music, the chamber with the musical instruments proves that. It is also a fact that many legendary classical singers had been invited by the royal family during different occasions here. There is a beautiful lawn just outside the palace. There is a beautiful statue of Raja Sati Prasad in the lawn, though this statue was greatly damaged during the Cyclone Amphan. 

        Just beside the Phoolbag Palace there is the great Rajdighi, a 11bigha water body dug by Raja Sati Prasad to beat the summer heat. When the summer breeze flows over these water bodies it will collect moisture from there and become cool. Thus the residents at the palace will get a cool breeze after sunset. This was the planning of the king. There was a damaged building in between the palace and the dighi. It was called the Lalkothi, which was used as a summer palace by the king. 

Rangibasan Palace

        A short walk from the palace will take you to another palace known as Rangibasan Palace. This is the old palace where the royal family used to live. This palace also shows a European style of architecture with archs and pillars. Presently this palace is under renovation. The gateway of this palace, though severely damaged, shows the grandeur of the royals. 

        There are also few temples inside the Rajbari premises. The noted temples are Madangopal Jiu Temple, dedicated to Lord Vishnu. It is said that this temple was built by Rani Janaki in 1774. It is a typical Bengali style Navaratna temple with 9 pinnacled sloped roof. Other temples in this complex are Shiva temple, Jagannath Temple and the Dodhi-baman temple, dedicated to Lord Ram. The temples remains closed from 12 noon to 4PM. So, for darshan try to reach the place early.

        Mahishadal Royal family celebrates Rathajatra and Durga Puja. During this time the Rajbari complex is very much over-crowded by local devotees. So, for your visit to this place try to avoid this time. 

Rajbari Temple Complex

        Mahishadal is a very popular picnic destination, you can also arrange picnic with your friends and relatives in the Rajbari ground. You can also have a trip to Geonkhali, a beautiful village in the confluence of Hooghly and Rupnarayan river. 

        So friends, how is the story? Have a plan with your friends a have a short outing to this place. The Rajbari is waiting here with its bright history to welcome you. And here, I will give you a guaranty that, you will really enjoy this place. So, for your trip I am giving you some tips below--

Travel tips 

• If you are coming by driving your own car, you will get good food at Sher-e-Punjab Dhaba at Kolaghat or at Sher-e-Bangla Dhaba at Mecheda. Try to depart from kolkata early morning, take your breakfast packed and have it at road. Visit the Rajbari complex and Geonkhali riverside and while returning have your lunch at Mecheda or Kolaghat. If you miss those dhaba food, it will be a great miss.
• For travellers visiting by bus or train, there are few road side small restaurants near Mahishadal College, where food quality is OK. But if you want variations, it is better to have your food at restaurants near Mecheda station. Where you will find many types of restaurants and many options. So plan your trip in such a way that you can have your lunch there.
• Don't miss the famous Mecheda Chop, which is very different from chops of Kolkata. A bite to Mecheda chop is must.
• If you are going to Digha or Mandarmani by road, take sometime to visit Mahishadal on the way. You will enjoy it. 
• If you have time you can also visit the historic city of Tamluk along with Mahishadal. It is just 17 km away from here. Later on, I will make a separate episode on Tamluk, for your convenience.

So, friends, today it is all over. Now, it is upto you. Comment me about your views about this blog and obviously if you have any suggestions about any place you should suggest me. I will try to visit that place and make an episode on that too. Thanks and good night... Will be right back soon...