Rajnagar-Hetampur: The History of Birbhum
Hello friends, in my last story that was a very different one, where I had tried a new subject, I had told you that my next story will be as usual a travel story. So, here is the new story for you which I think many of you is totally unaware of. Actually, today's story is a story of a district of West Bengal, which district is popularly known to us for a great poet and few Sati peeths.. But, that district too has a great historical story. So, lets enjoy todays new destination and explore the place while hearing the stories from the past.
So, today we will visit Birbhum district of West Bengal. Birbhum is a district which is primarily known for its Sati peeths, great temples and works of Rabindranath, but the history of this district is quite interesting too. And this story is totally on the history of Birbhum. Hope you will enjoy the story along with exploring the historical places. So lets start our journey...
Our todays journey will start from Rajnagar, a small town situated at the West Bengal-Jharkhand border at about 25km from district head querter Suri. For tourists it would be better to visit Rajnagar from Bolpur, which offers better accommodation facilities than Suri. From Bolpur, Rajnagar is about 62km. Road condition average, and it will take about 1hr to 1hr 15 mins to reach Rajnagar from Bolpur. If you want to visit Rajnagar directly from Kolkata, it is about 230km and you have to take Kolkata-Delhi Expressway to Asansol and from Asansol you have to take Asansol-Chittaranjan-Jamtara Road and reach Rajnagar via Rupnarayanpur, Chittaranjan, Palan, Nala, Kundahati. The total journey will take about 4 hours. If you are coming by train, Suri is the nearest railhead. Bus service is available from Asansol, Suri, Bolpur, Durgapur, Jamtara, Dhanbad and Rampurhat to Rajnagar.
Rajnagar has a colourful history. Birbhum got its name from Bir Rajas. It is said that during 11th century Raja Bir Singh was the lord of a large part of land north of Chhotanagpur. In 1206CE, Muhammad Shiran, a general of Bakhtiyar Khalji defeated the descendants of Bir Singh and annexed a part of the kingdom. Though it is said that the Pathans could not ruled over this area for long. Another descendant of the family of Bir Singh defeated the Pathans and occupied the lost kingdom. According to locals, this group of rulers were known as Bir Rajas. Rajnagar was the capital of the kingdom ruled over by the Bir Rajas and the kingdom was named as Birbhumi, that is,the land of the Braves. Birbhumi, later on came to be known as Birbhum.
After 1600, Rajnagar kingdom of Bir Rajas failed, and Junaid Khan, an adventurous Pathan set up a new kingdom called Nagar Raj. This Nagar Raj rulers built many mosques and gardens in the town of Rajnagar. They also built a Shahi hamam and an imambara.
Today the main attraction of Rajnagar is Motichur masjid and the Imambara. The narrow ally passing by the local market leads to the Motichur masjid. The masjid is noted for its terracotta floral and geometric designs on its walls. The roof of the masjid is broken. It is unknown that when and under whose patronage the masjid was commissioned, but it is estimated that the masjid was a creation of mid 1600s.
A few meters away from the Motichur Masjid is the Imambara, a white coloured structure, situated just adjacent to the Rajnagar School. Just behind the Imambara is the Kalidaha Lake. Kalidaha Lake was dug by the Bir Rajas to meet the water demand of the Royal palace. The damaged portion of the palace is still visible on the side of the lake. According to locals the lake was dedicated to the family deity of the Bir Rajas that is Devi Kali, that is why the lake is called Kalidaha. The structure in the middle of the lake was a temple dedicated to Kali.
There are other damaged ruins of the ancient palaces, hamams and mosques at Rajnagar around the ground adjacent to the Imambara and opposite side of the Kalidaha Lake. Exploring the total area is quite interesting.
The Nagar Raj rulers ruled over this region for a short span of time. During 1720s the kingdom faced a huge raid from the Marathas and lost its prime after the Maratha raid. After the falls of the Rajnagar kingdom, the kingdom of Hetampur became significant. Radhanath Chakravarthy of Hetampur took 19 mouzas of Birbhum from the Maratha chief in lease. By this he almost acquired the whole of land lost by the Rajnagar rulers. In 1885, Ramranjan Chakravarthy, the grandson of Radhanath was given the title of Raja by Lord Northbrook.
The main attraction of Hetampur is the Ranjan Prasad, also known as the Natun Rajbari. This building was built by Raja Ramranjan in 1905. The structure of this building resembles the Hazarduari Palace of Murshidabad with 999 doors. For this reason this building is also known as Hazarduari of Birbhum. The gateway of this palace is another attraction for tourists. It is said that in earlier days, the gate has a functional clock, which had been stolen by local politicians during the time of emergency in 1970s. Films like Gupi Gain Bagha Bain and Gosaipur Sargaram of Satyajit Ray was shooted in this palace.
Other than this palace one can also visit the Old Rajbari situated inside a small lane. The front part of the Old Rajbari houses the Hetampur Higher Secondary School. The archway of the allies at the Old Rajbari shows the quality of workmanship during that period. The temple dedicated to Radhamadhav, the house deity of The Hetampur raj is present here. Near the Rajbari one can also visit the Dewanji Temple of The Mitra family, dedicated to Lord Vishnu. The terracotta works of this temple is fantastic.
On the way to the Old Rajbari from Ranjan Prasad is the famous Chandranath Temple dedicated to lord Shiva. The temple was built by Raja Krishna Chandra Chakravarthy in 1845CE. The striking feature of this octagonal navratna temple is its structure and terracotta works, which is very different from other temples of this period. This is the only temple in India were terracotta figures shows image of Queen Victoria, British officers of that time etc. The shape of the temple resembles the shape of the crown of the British queen.
So, this is where you can visit if you want to visit the place associated with the History of Birbhum. If you are not a history lover, you will enjoy the village walk. So, if you are visiting Bolpur and have an extra day with you, you can visit this place along with Dubrajpur or Bakreswar. You will enjoy it.
Today, its all over. Good night. Very shortly I will come back with another new story. Infact I will also upload stories of few more places in Birbhum, which you can visit from Bolpur or Durgapur.
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