The Curzon Gate is a prominent landmark in
Bardhaman
Bardhaman (, ) is a city and a municipality in the state of West Bengal, India. It is the headquarters of Purba Bardhaman district, having become a district capital during the period of British rule. Burdwan, an alternative name for the city, ...
city in
Purba Bardhaman district
Purba Bardhaman district is in West Bengal. Its headquarters is in Bardhaman. It was formed on 7 April 2017 after the division of the previous Bardhaman district. Great revolutionary Rash Behari Bose was born in village Subaldaha in the district ...
in
West Bengal
West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fourt ...
,
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
,
Located at the crossing of Bijoy Chand Road and Grand Trunk Road, it was built in 1902/1903, on the occasion of the coronation of
Maharaja Bijay Chand Mahatab as ruler of the
Bardhaman Raj
The Bardhaman Raj ( bn, বর্ধমান রাজ, ), also known as Burdwan Raj, was a ''zamindari'' Raja estate that flourished from about 1657 to 1955 in the Indian state of West Bengal. Maharaja Sangam Rai Kapoor, a Khatri from Kotli ...
. The former royal palace is located 1 km from the gate.
The pomp and grandeur of
Lord Curzon’s visit to Bardhaman in 1904 established the name of the gate as Curzon Gate.
[
The gate arch is supported by eight circular columns. Three female figurines, with swords, boats, and sheaves of corn in their hands, on the arch signify progress in agriculture and commerce. There are twenty-one circles with twenty-one illustrations at the top portion of the gate. Due to presence of stars in the gate it was named as 'Star Of India' gate at the of inauguration. The structure was constructed by masons from Italy.][
After the Bardhaman Raj was incorporated into the newly independent India, the gate was referred to as Bijoy Toran, but it is still popularly known as Curzon Gate, with the Bengali pronunciation – Karjon Gate. Since 1974, the gate has been maintained by the Public Works Department of the Government of West Bengal.][
]
References
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Buildings and structures in Bardhaman
Gates in India
Tourist attractions in Purba Bardhaman district