Shobhabazar Rajbari (Shobhabazar Royal Palace) is the palace of the

Shobhabazar Shobhabazar (also spelt Sovabazar; bn, শোভাবাজার) is a neighbourhood of North Kolkata, in Kolkata district, in the Indian state of West Bengal. History Sheths and Basaks, well-to-do traders at Saptagram, were among the first ...

royal family located in the Indian city of

Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...

History

Maharaja Nabakrishna Deb (1737–97), founder of the Shobhabazar Rajbari (at 35), started life as a modest aristocrat but soon amassed considerable wealth in his service to the British, in particular by his role in assisting to topple

Siraj ud-Daulah Mirza Muhammad Siraj-ud-Daulah ( fa, ; 1733 – 2 July 1757), commonly known as Siraj-ud-Daulah or Siraj ud-Daula, was the last independent Nawab of Bengal. The end of his reign marked the start of the rule of the East India Company over Beng ...

. During his lifetime Raja Nabakrishna Deb built two houses. The building at 35 Raja Nabakrishna Street (known as ''Shobhabazar Rajbari'' or "Baag ola Bari - House with the lions"), on the northern side of the road, was the one first constructed by him, subsequently inherited by his adopted son from his elder brother

Gopimohan Gopimohan (born Pinnamaneni Gopi Mohan) is an Indian screenplay and story writer who works in the Telugu film industry. Gopi Mohan was born in Kurumaddali village Near Vuyyuru, Krishna District of Andhra Pradesh. From childhood, he was passio ...

and his descendants including his son

Radhakanta Deb Raja Sir Radhakanta Deb Bahadur ( bn, রাজা রাধাকান্ত দেব; 10 March 1784 – 19 April 1867) was a scholar and a leader of the Calcutta conservative Hindu society, son of Gopimohan Deb of Shovabazar Raj who was the a ...

. The house at 33 Raja Nabakrishna Street (known as ''Choto Rajbari'') was built by him when a son was born to him later in life, and was left to his biological son Rajkrishna and his descendants. Presently Surotamo Krishna Deb, the tenth Generation of Maharaja Naba Krishna Deb is residing there.

Role in cultural and social life of Bengal

* Raja Nabakrishna Deb celebrated

Durga Puja Durga Puja ( bn, দুর্গা পূজা), also known as Durgotsava or Sharodotsava, is an annual Hindu festival originating in the Indian subcontinent which reveres and pays homage to the Hindu goddess Durga and is also celebrated ...

in 1757 on a grand scale after the British defeated

Siraj-ud-Daulah Mirza Muhammad Siraj-ud-Daulah ( fa, ; 1733 – 2 July 1757), commonly known as Siraj-ud-Daulah or Siraj ud-Daula, was the last independent Nawab of Bengal. The end of his reign marked the start of the rule of the East India Company over Beng ...

at the

battle of Plassey The Battle of Plassey was a decisive victory of the British East India Company over the Nawab of Bengal and his French allies on 23 June 1757, under the leadership of Robert Clive. The victory was made possible by the defection of Mir Jafar ...

. Lord Clive and

Warren Hastings Warren Hastings (6 December 1732 – 22 August 1818) was a British colonial administrator, who served as the first Governor of the Presidency of Fort William (Bengal), the head of the Supreme Council of Bengal, and so the first Governor-General ...

were in the list of invitees. * It was here that the first civic reception of

Swami Vivekananda Swami Vivekananda (; ; 12 January 1863 – 4 July 1902), born Narendranath Datta (), was an Indian Hindu monk, philosopher, author, religious teacher, and the chief disciple of the Indian mystic Ramakrishna. He was a key figure in the intr ...

after his return from Chicago Parliament of Religions was organised in 1897 by Raja Binoy Deb Bahadur.

Features

Although originally a ''saat-mahala'' house the most intact of the remaining spaces is the courtyard with the ''thakurdalan''. A ''saat khilan thakurdalan'' with multi-foliate arches supported on pairs of squared pilasters. Pairs of columns with plain shafts rise up between the arches to support the entablature above.

The main residence

A large central courtyard with the ''thakurdalan'' at the northern end. A ''paanch khilan takurdalan'' with multifoil arches supported on compound columns. the double storey wings on either side of the courtyard connect the ''thakurdalan'' with the ''naach ghar'' to the south. The roof of the ''naach ghar'' has fallen through and very little of the superstructure remains.

The ''Nat Mandap''

A set of eight massive Tuscan columns support a wide projecting cornice at roof level. Two rows of multifoliate arches at the northern end provide access to the ''nabaratna'' temple at the rear.

Gallery

File:Outside view of Sovabazar Rajbari, Kolkata, MA10.jpg, Outside View of ''Shobhabazar Rajbari'' File:Shovabazar Singha Darja.jpg, The Main Entrance also called the ''Singhadwar'' (literal translation: Entrance or Door with Lions) File:Sovabazar Durga.jpg, A closer view of the

Durga Durga ( sa, दुर्गा, ) is a major Hindu goddess, worshipped as a principal aspect of the mother goddess Mahadevi. She is associated with protection, strength, motherhood, destruction, and wars. Durga's legend centres around c ...

idol at ''Shobhabazar Rajbari'' in 2006 File:Kolkata Dance.jpg, Old painting of

, possibly at

File:Painting of Raja Rajakrishna Dev at Sovabazar boro Rajbari thakurdalan at Sovabazar area of North Kolkata.jpg, Painting of Raja Rajakrishna Dev at ''Shobhabazar Rajbari'' Thakurdalan Image:DurgaPuja2016_-_Sovabazar_Rajbari_01.jpg, Durga Puja 2016 at ''Shobhabazar Rajbari'' Image:Raja_Narayan_Deb_01.jpg,

Raja Narayan Deb Raja Narayan Deb (Bengali: রাজা নারায়ণ দেব) is an Indian music director, composer working in the Bollywood and Bengali film industries. He is a member of the Shobhabazar Rajbari. He was a member of the Bangla band " ...

of ''Shobhabazar Rajbari''

References

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