Hazarduary or hazarduari Palace in Murshidabad is 182 km. North of Kolkata, located on the southern bank of river Bhagirathi, a tributary of the river Ganges. And it is 11 km. from the District headquarter - Baharampur.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION: Murshidabad is the last capital city of independent Bengal. Formerly it was known as Makhsudabad and in 16th century it was under the direct rule of the Mughal Emperor- Akbar. In 1704,following the order of emperor Aurangzeb, Nawab Murshid Quli Khan changed his capital from Decca (now in Bangaldesh) to Mukhsudabad and renamed it as Murshidabad after his own name.It continued to be the capital under several succession of Nawabs and also under the British rule up to 1790. In 1773 the capital was shifted to Calcutta by the British - East India Company. As a historical town Murshidabad had experienced treachery and palace politics that led to the defeat of Mughals at the hands of British. The last historic battle was fought at plassey near Murshidabad(40 km. south of Murshidabad) between Nawab Siraj Ud Daullah and Lord Clive in 1757 AD. It has great cultural heritage in thriving the cultures of many races and religions like Buddhism, Brahmanism, Vaishnavism, Jainism, Islamic and christianity. In different times of history many European traders like the French, Armenians, Dutch and British had come to settled here. Now Murshidabad is a center for agriculture, handicrafts and sericulture. Murshidabad is famous for silk from the days of the Nawabs.

Safety: Safe; Roads: Motorable ; Road traffic: Normal; Medical support: Available; Fuel Pumps: Available; Car repairing: Available; Market & Shopping Center: Available; Tourist Information Center: No; Railway Ticket: Available; Hotels & Restaurants: A few; Sports & Game Centers: No; Cellular service: BSNL & Airtel; Car rental: No, sometimes the private cars are put into service. (not known). Local transport: Rickshaw & tanga

Places of interest: Some of the chief attractions of Murshidabad includes - The Hazarduary Palace: It was built in 1837 AD. by Duncan McLeod of the Bengal Engineers and took 17 years to complete the palace for the Nawabs of Bengal. It is 80 ft high three storied building with 114 rooms and about 1000 doors for which it is named as Hazarduary. Although it has actually 900 doors and remaining 100 are false.Now the palace has been converted into Museum. In the armory section,the museum has a collection of 2700 arms among which the swords used by Siraj-ud-Daullah and his grand father, Nawab Alivardi Khan, are on display here in this floor. On the other side, museum has various collection of works of art and splendid paintings,exhaustive portraits of the Nawabs,beautiful works of ivory from Murshidabad school and many other valuables. Other than this another attractions are the vintage cars that are used by the Nawabs and their families are kept here. The Nizamat Imambara : It is the largest Imambara not only in Bengal but perhaps in India also, built in 1847 AD. by Siraj-ud-Doullah, stands parallel to the north face of Hazarduary Palace. Wasef Manzil: It is a beautiful residential Palace of Nawab Wasef Ali Mirza, located near the south gate of Hazarduary Palace. The beautiful marble staircase and exotic marble statues are most remarkable. Katra Masjid: Built in 1724 AD. by Nawab Murshid Quli Khan on the model of Mecca Mosque. It is a very gorgeous building with huge domes and high minerates. The Nimak Haram Deori or the Traitor Gate : This is the place where Siraj-Ud-Daullah was assassinated. And his body is kept in the grave at Khusbagh ( Garden of delight) along with his wife. Nawab Alivardi Khan also lie in this garden. The canon Jahan Kosha - was built in early 17th century by craftsman Janardan Karmakar of Dhaka. The canon is 17.5 feet long and weighs about 16,880 lb, it requires about 30 kg.of gunpowder for single shelling.

More places of tourist's interest:

Bara Imambara The mosque is situated just opposite the palace. Both are on the side of the river Bhagirathi.

Nasipur Palace The palace was built by King Kirtichand Bahadur in late 19th century. Within the palace compound are temples: the Ramachandra temple and the Lakshmi-Narayana temple. Closely situated is the Ashram of Mohandas and Jafraganj Deuri. The two cannons present here are said to be gifted to Mir Jafar by Clive.
Jafarganj Cemetery About half a mile from the Hazarduari Palace is Jafarganj the ruined palace of Mir Jafar. The Cemetery contains the tombs of the Nawab's Nazim, from Mir Jafar to Humayun Jah. Mir Jafar's father Syud Ahmed Nazafi, Alivardi Khan's sister, Shahkhanum, Mir Jafar's widows, Munni Begam and Babbu Begam, Mohamed Ali Khan, the brother and Ismail Ali Khan and Asraf Ali Khan, the sons-in-law of Mir Jafar, lie buried here. This cemetery was built by Mir Jafar, over an area of 3.51 acres.
Mati jheel This beautiful horseshoe shaped lake was excavated by Nawazesh Mohammad, the husband of the famous Ghasseti Begum. In the palace adjoining it (now in ruins) Lord Clive celebrated the acquisition of the Dewani of Sube Bangla (Bengal, Bihar & Orissa) in 1765. Moti Jheel was the home of Warren Hastings when he became the Political President at the Durbar of the Nawab Nazim ( 1771 - 73 AD ). Sir John Shore, afterwards Lord Teinmouth, also lived here. Moti Jheel is also known as the "Company Bagh", due to the fact of it having been in the occupation of the East India Company. The only old building existing is the Mosque of Shahamat Jang
Kath-gola The palace garden of Raja Dhanpat Singh Dugar and Lakshmipat Singh Dugar and their famous Adinath Temple were built in 1873, by Harreck Chand. The walls of this temple are also intricately designed. A typically Jain style of ornamentation lends a unique beauty to this Jain temple. It is about half a km South-East of Mahimapur. Though some of its glory has been lost, it still remains a major tourist attraction, chiefly because of the beautiful temple with an admirable work of stucco.

TRANSPORT:Air Port:The nearest airport is N.S.C.Bose International Airport at Dumdum,Kolkata. Murshidabad is well connected with Kolkata and surrounding districts by bus. All north bengal bound buses goes via the head quarter of the district - Baharampur. From Kolkata shahid minar and ultadanga bus terminus long distance buses of CSTC, SBSTC, NBSTC & other many private buses ply through -out the day and night for Murshidabad.

Rail: Murshhidabad is directly connected by train with Sealdah division in Kolkata. Besides many trains from Sealdah Station in Kolkata to Lalgola, Hazar Duaryi Express with AC chair car has been introduced in 2009. It starts from Kolkata Station at about 6-30 AM and returns in the evening daily.

Last Updated on Monday, 14 February 2011 22:56