Tajhat Zamindar Bari a tourist attraction in Rangpur

RANGPUR, Dec 07: The history of Tajhat palace or Tajhat Zamindar Bari in Rangpur is like a fairy tale which is read in textbooks and watched on television.

This magnificent archeological heritage still attracts the visitors with its aesthetic and mesmerising beauty.

According to the history, in ancient Rangpur there was a trade of Diamond, Ruby and Jewel. Precious diamond, Ruby and jeweled crowns or hats were sold.

And this gold business was started by Manna Lal Roy who had come from Punjab to Mahiganj in Rangpur for business purpose.

There were found many precious crowns according to the need of the king. This market for sale of Taj became famous in the course of time by the name of Tajhat.

Tajhat palace is a monument of ancient tradition. Its main building is a historical monument.

From the present Tajhat Bazar, passing the main gate on the north side, gradually passing a few hundred yards to the west, the main entrance of the zamindar palace can be reached.

According to the ancient history of Rangpur, Tajhat got its name from Manna Lal Ray's Taj selling market. And since then the zamindar bari came to be known as the Tajhat zamindar house. This palace was built by Gopal Lal Roy (GL Ray), son of Raja Gobind Lal, a descendant of Manna Lal Roy.

About 2,000 workers were engaged in constructing the building with various designs and crafts for 10 years (1908-1917) during his reign.

The 76.20-metre building is made of foreign white marble stone. The construction cost was about Tk 1.5 crore.

At present, Tajhat Zamindar Bari is one of the main attractions in Rangpur. And an archeology museum is built inside it.

The Tajhat Zamindar bari is situated in an attractive environment surrounded by lush greenery with tranquil atmosphere.

There are four large-size ponds excavated in the contemporary times. The first and second floors of the zamindar's house, which looks like Ahsan Manzil of Dhaka, have various things used by Maharaja Gopal Lal Roy.

The zamindar bari is extraordinarily beautiful as it is built of red brick, white stone and limestone. Inside the second-storey house are numerous rooms, batrooms and guest bedrooms.

On the surface, the central staircase of the building is made of white marble. The frontage of the zamindar house is 76 metre.

A wide central staircase made of white marble leads directly to the second floor. The palace enchants the visitors with its unique beauty which bears the testimony of the aesthetic mentality of the contemporary zamindars. There are two large rooms used as museum.

The museum houses include old manuscripts, handwritten letters of emperor-poets, which will take visitors back to the era of kings and emperors. And the three small and big rooms below are for offices.

It is known that in 1947, this traditional zamindar house was declared abandoned and given to the Agriculture Institute along with 55 acres of land.

Then on March 18 in 1984, then President Hussain Mohammad Ershad inaugurated the house as the High Court.

But with the change of government, the story of the landlord's house changed.

In 1991, during the tenure of BNP, functioning of the High Court Division was stopped, and in 1995 the palace was handed over to the Department of Archeology along with 15 acres of land.

In 2005, the Tajhat Zamindar house was converted into a museum by the Department of Archaeology.

Visiting the museum, this FE correspondent found that there is a small Quran Sharif, a sermon written by the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, a poem written by the great poet Sheikh Sadi and noble lady Begum Rokeya.

Md Khairul Bashar Shwapon, custodian of Tajhat Zamindar bari, said, "About 500 to 600 visitors arrive here every day. And on holidays, more than 800 to 900 visitors gather. From the month of November to February the number of visitors increases around 1,100 to 1,300 per day. Last year's revenue earning from the palace was around Tk 7.9 million (79 lakh), he added.

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