MURSHIDABAD, the last  capital  city  of  independent Bengal was named after Nawab Murshid Quli Khan, the Dewan of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa. It is situated on the banks of the Bhagirathi. A city of splendors & famous for its silk, was made capital of Bengal in 1717. The British shifted the capital to Kolkata in 1773. Plassey, where the historic battle was fought in 1757 between Nawab Siraj-Ud-Daula and lord Clive, of East India Company, is only 40 Km. South of Murshidabad.

Hazarduari Palace

The Hazarduari Palace, or the palace with a thousand doors is the chief tourist attraction of Murshidabad. This three-storey palace was built in 1837 by Duncan McLeod for the Nawab Najim Humaun Jah, descendent of Mir Zafar. It has  thousand doors (among which only 900 are real) and 114 rooms and 8 galleries, built in  European architectural style. The total area of Hazarduari Palace is 41 acres. It is now a museum and has an exquisite collection of armoury, splendid paintings, exhaustive portraits of the Nawabs, various works of art including beautiful works of ivory (Murshidabad school) of China (European) and many other valuables. The Armoury has 2700 arms in its collections of which only few are displayed. Swords used by Shiraj-ud-Daulla and his grandfather, Nawab Alivardi Khan, can be seen here. The other attractions in this floor are Vintage Cars and Fittan Cars used by the Nawabs and their families.

The library containing rare collections is not accessible to the public unless special permission is obtained. The building, rectangular on plan ( 424 feet Long and 200 feet broad and 80 feet high). The Palace was used for holding the "Durbar" or meetings and other official work of the Nawabs and also as the residence of the high ranking British Officials.

Between the palace and the Imambara is a small mosque, ‘Madina’, with colourful tiled verandahs. The Mosque has an ornamented replica of Hazrat Muhammad's tomb at Madina.

Around the palace are other attractions like the Wasef Manzil (the New Palace) by the bank of the Ganga, Tripolia Gate, the Dakshin Darwaza, the Chak Darwaza, the Imambara, the Gharighar (the Clock Tower), the Bachchawali Tope (a canon) and the Madina, the only surviving structure built by Siraj-ud-Doula. The Bachchawali Tope (canon) was made between the 12th and the 14th century, probably by the Mohammedan rulers of Gour, and requires about 18 Kg of gun powder for a single shelling.

Shopping - Handicrafts and Silk Industry

• Ivory and Wood - The Ivory and Wood craft industry dates back to the time when the Nawabs of Bengal had their court at Murshidabad. As this industry was fully depen­dent for its prosperity on the support of a luxurious court and wealthy noblemen, it had to face a crisis when the Nawabs lost their power and their court disappeared.
  During the early period of the British rule, the performance of the ivory carvers of Murshidabad was also praised by foreigners. During the Exhibition of 1851 in London, a variety of specimens of carving in ivory were sent to different parts of India and these were much admired for their  minuteness and elaborate of details.  In 1888 again, the Murshidabad carvers were declared to be perhaps the best in India, fully displaying the finish, minuteness and ingenuity characteristic of all true Indian art.
  When Berhampore rose into importance as chief military station in the province, the art flourished there for a time but began to wane with the decline of the military importance of the town. If not for the trade depending on the railway communication,  this art would have died out long ago. Earlier the ivory carvers used to get large orders from Government for supplying specimens of their work for various exhibitions in England and other European countries, as also in India. But this was later discontinued when arrangements were made to collect the exhibits on loan from noblemen and zamindars, like the Nawab of Murshidabad and the Maharaja of Cossimbazar who were in a position to supply the best specimens under their possession. Mathra, Daulatbazar and Ranshagorgram bordering the city of Murshidabad were once noted for the industry but altogether forgotten in later years owing to decay of the industry.

• Indian Cork (Sholapith) - Shola pith is a milky-white sponge-wood which is carved into delicate and beautiful objects of art. Sola is a plant which grow wild in marshy waterlogged areas. The biological name of shola is Aeschynomene Indica or Aeschynomene Aspera (bean family) and it is a herbaceous plant. The shola pith is the cortex or core of the plant and is 1 ½ inch in diameter. The outer harder brown skin is removed by expert hands to reveal the inner soft milky-white and spongy material, almost similar to "Thermocol", artificially produced in a laboratory. However, sholapith is much superior to thermocol in terms of malleability, texture, lustre and sponginess. Artisans use it for making artifacts used for decoration and ornate head-wears of bridal couple. The finest examples of craftsmanship are however seen on images of  "Gods and Goddesses" on festivals, especially the massive decorative backdrops made for "Durga Puja" celebrations. Craftsmen spend months working on each piece and every details is meticulously worked out.
  In Murshidabad the shola crafts are flowery designs, decorative head-wears of gods and goddesses, garlands, exquisite figurines like faces of gods and goddesses, elephant-howdahs, peacock-boats, palanquins and so on are made of sholapith.

• Bell Metal (Kansa) - Bell-metal and brass utensils are manufactured in large quantities at Khagra, Berhampore, Kandi, Baranagar and Jangipur. Thev are exported as well as sold in the local markets. Locks and betelnut cutters of a superior kind are made at Dhulian and iron chests at Jangipur. The problem of getting raw materials for the brass and bell-metal artisans of the district is, however, acute. While delay in getting raw materials owing to the complicated procedural formalities involved in the submission of applications for raw materials has been almost a constant factor, the industry has also been affected by the change in consumers demand in favour of stainless steel, plastic and ceramic goods and crockery.

• Silk Industry of Murshidabad - The Baluchari sarees are figured silk saree produced in the town of Baluchar in Murshidabad district. Baluchar sarees essentially have a silk base with silk brocaded designs with respect to their colours, where inspite of a rich composition, the Baluchar bootidars almost avoid strong contrasts. Each pattern is treated in a colour which harmonises with the ground on which it is laid. The most popular colours used are red, blue, yellow, green and scarlet. The Baluchari sarees have large floral motifs interspersed with flowering shrubs. Traditionally the Muslim community was also known to produce these Baluchars with figured patterns depicting court scenes, horse with a rider, women smoking hookah. The Kalka design or the cone motif is often surrounded with floral borders.

  Bengal had a nourishing silk industry in the past and Murshidabad long enjoyed a special reputation in this respect. The Bengal silk manufactures formed one of the important exports of the English East India Company to England, and these were exported also to the markets in the Asiatic countries. After the establishment of English factories at Malda and Cossimbazar, the English Company's trade in Bengal silk manufactures began to increase, and their use became common among the people in England because of their good quality and cheapness. In the mid-eighteenth century the country round about it (Cossimbazar) was very fertile, and the inhabitants remarkably industrious, being employed in many useful manufactures. About 1663 AD, the Dutch in their Cossimbazar factory sometimes employed 700 silk weavers, and the English and the other European nations smaller number. They generally furnished 22,000 bales of silk a year, each bale weighing 100 Ibs. The Total was equivalent to 30,078 maunds (  1 maund = 40 Kg ie. 12,03,120 Kg ). The silk thread was thus distributed : the Dutch took for Japan or Holland 6,000 to 7,000 bales, the merchants of Tartary and the Mughal Empire about the same quantity, and the remainder ( about 9,000 bales ) were consumed by the people of the country for manufacturing their own stuff. This silk was brought to Ahmedabad and Surat and were woven into fabrics. There was considerable demand for Bengal's raw silk in England's markets as the Continental System occasioned an entire cessation of the customary importations of the Italian raw silk.

How to Reach

Murshidabad is well connected with Kolkata (formerly known as Calcutta, in West-Bengal, India). The Air port of Kolkata is N. S. C. Bose International Airport at Dumdum. From Kolkata Berhampore the District capital town of Murshidabad is 195 Km. Tourist taxi, hired car, auto-rickshaw are available from Berhampore to visit the tourist spots at Murshidabad town, Azimganj, Jiaganj, Kandi, Sagardighi, Karnasuvarna ..etc.

• Communication By Rail

  • Berhampore Court is the main station which is connected with Sealdah Station at Kolkata. The Bhagirathi Express,  & the Lalgola Passenger from the Sealdah Railway Station reach Berhampore Court Railway Station covering 197 km in 5 to 6 hours. (13113 / 13114) Hazarduari Express and (13117/13118) Dhanadhanye Express reaches Lalgola and Berhampore Court Stn from Kolkata Stn respectively.

  • Khagraghat, the other station at the opposite bank of the river Bhagirathi is connected with the Howrah Station. Teesta Torsa, Kamrup, Hatey Bazare express have stoppage at Khagraghat Railway Station. The Khagraghat Railway station is also connected by local trains from Katwa, Salar, Bandel and Howrah. One can also reach Khagraghat Station from Howrah by Inttercity Express.

    Howrah - Maldah Intercity  Express

  • Farakka is the most well connected railway station of this district. Farakka is 98 km by road from Berhampore and is connected by every express bus coming from Malda, Siliguri, Raiganj, Coochbihar, New Alipurduar, Gangtok, Balurghat, and Jalpaiguri. The following trains stop at new Farakka Junction

  • Sealdah Guwahati Kanchanjungha Express

  • Sealdah New Alipurduar Teesta Torsa Express

  • Howrah Dibrugarh Kamrup Express

  • Sealdah New Jalpaiguri Darjeeling Mail

  • Sealdah Katihar Hatey Bazare Express

  • Sealdah Malda Gour Express

  • Delhi Dibrugarh Bhramaputra Express

  • Bhiwani Malda Farakka Express

    Also one can reach Berhampore from Azimganj. Teesta Torsa, Kamrup, Hatey Bazare, Kanchanjungha and Uttarbanga Express touch Azimganj Junction Railway Station. This place is well connected by bus from Berhampore

• Communication By Road

  • Buses ply frequently from Kolkata (i.e. from Sahid Minar, Ultadanga etc) to Berhampore. Most of the North Bengal bound bus have a halt at Berhampore.

  • Buses from nearby district town of West Bengal i.e. Burdwan, Rampurhat, Suri, Bolpur, Malda, Krishnagar and Durgapur regularly ply to Berhampore.

WBTDC Baharampur Tourist Lodge - Baharampur / West Bengal