Kathgola

Kathgola
Neighbourhood in Murshidabad
The Kathgola Palace also known as "Kathgola Bagan Bari.

Kathgola, (also known as Katgola) Gardens, in Bengali Kathgola Bagan, is a debutter (private religious trust ) Estate dedicated to the Jaina tirthankara Adinatha. It is located about half a km South-East of Mahimapur (modern Nashipur), a town in West Bengal, India just north of Murshidabad, the capital of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa during the reign of the Nawabs of Murshidabad. If you start from Murshidabad's Chawk Bazar, proceed north to the Nashipur Rajbari, then turn East to arrive at the Garden (Bagan) complex.

Formally named "Chatter Bagh," presumably after the profusion of elevated domes or chattris that, in a nod to the Rajput origins of the founder, are a dominant feature of the architecture, the Estate is now universally known as Kathgola (Kath=wood, gola=warehouse), a reference to the lumberyard that stood on the land before it was acquired for its current use. Originally built as a convenient place to host Europeans and Muslims whom the then-prevalent parda system precluded the owner from inviting to his family seat (Kuthi) at Jiaganj, the subsequent repurposing of the Gardens and their history since mirrors the evolution of Indian society over the past century and a half.

Overview

An equestrian statue of the founder.

Kathgola Gardens (Kathgola Bagan in local parlance) is a 155 bigha (45+ acre) country estate that encompasses the Kathgola Palace, the surrounding Kathgola Gardens and the Adinatha Temple, also known as the Kathgola Temple. The complex was built by the late Rai Bahadur Lakshmipat Singh Dugar (1836-1888), one of the leading zamindars (landlords) and bankers of Bengal. Architecturally, the Garden reflects a surprisingly elegant admixture of ostensibly different styles: it harmoniously combines European and Indian structural and decorative elements that allude to the founder's religious (Jain), ethnic (Rajasthani), cultural (Imperial Mughal) and political (British Raj) affiliations.

The entrance to the Kathgola Gardens.

Besides the Katgola Palace and the Adinatha temple (Mandir) the complex containts a Dadabari, a step-well or baoli, an imposing entryway Naubatkhana, 5 ponds, a Band Stand, a Zoo (actually more of a menagerie), a Zenana Mahal (family quarters) and other structures set amidst what originally was a large and well - planned garden complex. In its heyday, it left visitors awe-struck at the sheer dexterity of craftsmanship and quality of building deployed in every facet of its planning and construction. Though some of its glory has been lost, due to the ravages of time and the ebb and tide of the fortunes of its endowments, Kathgola still remains a major tourist attraction, chiefly because of the beautiful temple with an admirable work of stucco.

What is, however, unique and untarnished about Kathgola is its history and that of the family of the founder. Together with the stories of the high personal integrity of its builder, of his munificence and piety and the blessings of the legendary Jaina mendicant and teacher Dadaguru Jinadatta Suri that were bestowed on him, stories that have been passed down by word of mouth in the family and the community over generations and referenced in Jaina prayer-books of the period, the story and history of the Katgola gardens today has an emotional appeal that only a hard core rationalist could ignore.

Overall Architectural Ethos

The Palace and Gardens spread over an area of 45 acres. The main Palace is a magnificently eclectic structure with huge Corinthian pillars married seamlessly with other Greek, Italian, Rajasthani, Mughal and Bengali architectural elements that speak to the myriad of influences sweeping the Indian sensibility around the times of its design and construction.^[1]

The interiors of the Palace and temple consist of magnificent Italian marble, intricate mosaic and tile work, Bengal lime works, polished pillars of sea-shell lime, wooden carvings etc. The entire palace is replete with chandeliers, period furniture, Italian marble and alabaster artifacts, huge Belgian mirrors and glass, artifacts of porcelain and marble, important and beautiful oil and water color paintings, portraits etc. The furniture is largely rose wood together with pieces in other rare and valuable woods.

The gardens historically were decorated with a profusion of Italian marble statuary and furniture, stone and alabaster carvings and artifacts depicting different kinds of fish, amazingly lifelike marble and porcelain flower-stands, intricately carved Mirzapuri stone structures, terracotta pieces, cast iron chairs and pillars, etc. Much of this treasure trove has been damaged or lost due to the ravages of time, inadequate maintenance budgets, petty crime and outright local vandalism, especially during the Naxalite era.

Adinath Temple and Dadabari

The temple in the Kathgola Gardens.

The Adinatha Temple or Mandir, dedicated to the first Jain tirthankara or preceptor, Lord Rishabha, hence Adinatha or Adishvar (Adi=first + natha or isvar=Lord), is the focal point of the estate. The marble image of Lord Adinatha sitting in the padmasana (Lotus) posture is reputed to be over 900 years old with its Anjanshala having been done by one of the greatest Jain teachers, the Karataragacch Acharya JinaDutta Suri (1075-1154) himself to whom Laxmipat Singh had unparalleled devotion and attachment, and to whose blessings he attributed his survival through various banking crises and his ultimate success and prosperity. There are 17 other images of Jain Tithankaras and other deities.

The architecture of the temple is distinctive in that it wraps a European bungalow-style facade around a traditional Jain interior. The interior is lavishly and sumptuously decorated with extremely fine traditional Bengali plaster-work ("chun-surkhi kaaj") as well as Rajasthani/Mughal motifs. Famous for its intricate terracotta murals, seashell lime polished columns and unique patterns of mosaic flooring, the doors of the temple were covered in living memory with silver and gold sheets.

The Dada Bari. A structure devoted to the veneration of the aforementioned Dadaguru Jinadutta Suriji Maharaj, the dadabari contains a pair of Charans ^[2] of Guru Maharaj, and was built at the same time as the main temple. Held to be a deeply auspicious religious site, the psychological resonance of this modest-looking structure emanates from the tale of how Dadguru Jinadutta Surji helped Laxmipat Singh survived one of the most important crises faced by the family bank.^[3] Sorely beset by the threat of bankruptcy when presented with a run on his bank in the form of a deluge of sizable hundis (sight or demand bills of exchange), a run wagging tongues attributed to the orchestrations of his business rivals and enemies, Laxmipat Singh went into a meditative trance in which Jinadutta Suri appeared to him and directed him to seek the assistance of a prominent Calcutta banker.^[4] That timely assistance, publicly delivered in the form of "16 oxcarts of gold bullion," dispatched to Laxmipat Singh's mansion in Jiaganj which was both his family seat and the site of his bank, saved the honor of the house of Budh Singh Pratap Singh and the credit-worthiness of the family bank. For this deliverance, Laxmipat Singh was eternally grateful to Dadaguru (and to his savior banker to whom he offered all of his zamindaris in gratitude but who was graciously content to take only one, nominal deed). Thereafter, whenever and wherever called for, Laxmipat Singh gave all credit to the Dadaguru and lavished upon the memory of his saviour whatever he could offer.^[5]

The Idol of Hanumanji. This image of Hanuman miraculously appeared from below the ground which it had lain buried seemingly for ages.^[6]

The Palace

The Kathgola Palace

Initially intended as a garden house (in Bengali, baganbari) wherein the founder could retire with friends, retainers and the occasional visiting dignitary or the endless stream of British officials who needed care and cultivation, to enjoy the finer aspects of the life bacchanalian, the largest and dominant structure on the estate is the three storied structure referred to as the Kathgola Palace. The ground floor comprises a central drawing room, surrounded by a study/library, a billiard room, a dining room, and a bedroom. On all four sides, generous porches allow for cross ventilation and the pools East and West of the structure as well as the baoli to the North provide natural air-conditioning 1870s style. The first floor comprises a central hall with two bedrooms, a music parlor and a family room furnished in the Indian style at each corner of structure and porches all around. The second floor contains a bedroom and a private sitting room that offer superb views of the surrounding countryside from a perch roughly sixty feet above ground level.

The richly ornamented facade of the structure is dominated by the approximately 50 foot high Corinthian pillars that rise from the carriage porch to a total height of some 75 feet. Roughly southeast of the Palace lay a smaller (now lost) structure that housed the family quarters (the janani chowk or women's quadrangle). To the north west of the Palace (north of the facing pond and directly west of the baoli), lay a menagerie (Bengali, chirikhana) and to the south west (south of the pond) are the remains of the kitchen (rasoda). While the facades remain, the interiors of the menagerie and kitchen are lost. The scale of the kitchen, however, gives a sense of the scale of entertaining contemplated.

Furnished, among other means, by the simple expedient of shipping to Murshidabad, by carriage and cart, some time in 1870s, the entire contents of Ostler and Co.'s Calcutta showroom—acquired, reputedly in a single transaction for the then sum of Rs 150,000 (conservatively, at the devalued 1876 rupee to GBP exchange rate, GBP 13,300 at 21.625 pence to the rupee, 1876 USD 87,000, 2011 economic status value GBP 8.5 million, USD 23.5 million) -- the interior rivaled those of the finest royal residences of the epoch. Given its scale and the quality of the construction throughout the estate, the lavish accouterments, the cost of the gardens, orchards, structures and statuary, wells, ponds, walkways, follies as well as the temple and its endowments. a conservative estimate of the overall cost of construction of the estate would have to be an order of magnitude greater. [Informed estimates of construction costs needed.]

Other notable structures

Among the other notable structures in the gardens are the imposing entryway which incorporates European and Rajasthani decorative elements into the basic archetype of a "Naubatkhana," a band-stand from which orchestras would entertain visitors and a clock tower (now lost) as well as accommodations for visiting Jaina mendicants (also largely lost). A key feature of the overall aethetic of the estate is the relatively open and sparse feel: entering through the Naubatkhana, the only structures that stand out in the open vista are the Palace and the walls of the baoli and the menagerie. An aerial view (typing Kathgola in Google Earth, for instance) is both illustrative and instructive: over 90% of the estate is orchards and gardens, keeping the clamor of the world at comfortable remove. The most noteworthy structures are:

1. The Naubatkhana. The main entrance is a regal three storied intricate limestone molded entrance to the magnificent Gardens. Guests were greeted with Shehnai Vadan and Nagaras from the upper decks and welcomed with the sprinkling of rose water and flowers from the lower decks in traditional Indian greeting.

2. The Bauri (baoli). Also known as a step well, the baoli at Kathgola is a lovely three-storied structure with three levels being below ground. The broad steps lead down to two levels of diases, only the 1st being accessible during the monsoon season (when the water table is high), the lower only during the summer. The steps going down to both levels and to a third dais on the lowest level, are made of intricately carved Mirzapuri stone. The diases are designed for their "air conditioning" effect during the summer. The walls surrounding the Bauri resemble those of a fort. Bulls going round the Bauri lifted water for an ingenious irrigation system to water the extensive and lush gardens.

3. The 5 ponds. Each was decorated with beautiful Italian Marble fountains and steps on six sides going down to the water level. Majestic Chhatris on the four corners of the ponds played host to musicians and chess players.

4. The Bandstand. A raised circular bandstand made of carved Mirzapuri stone adorns the middle of the garden. A Belgian glass house stood on the band stand. During the day, children of the founder's family trained in dance and drama in the glass house. In The evenings the stand hosted bands that played Western music for guests.

5. The Zoo. Collecting exotic animals and birds was a passion of the founder. These were housed in the lovely menagerie that overlooks the extensive gardens on one side and a pond on the other.

6. The Zenana Mahal or janani chowk. A two-storied structure built for the ladies of the family, this once had a magnificent facade decorated with beautiful Italian marble, Mirzapuri stone and contained many valuable artifacts. Only women and male members of the family were allowed to enter this building.

The Builder

Rai Bahadur Laxmipat (alt. spelling Lucchmipat or Lacchmipat) Singh Dugar was an Agni Bans Rajput of the Chauhan Dynasty, hailing from the family of Raja Som Chand of Sindhmurkhan, who had their capital at Bisalpur near Ajmer. The 9th Descendant of Raja Som Chand, Raja Mahipal, who had no male heir to succeed him, converted to Jainism after being cured of a seemingly incurable malady by a venerable Jain ascetic named Ballava Suri. Soon after his conversion and recovery. a son was born to him in 938, named Raja Manickdeo. The 36th descendant of Raja Manickdeo, Raja Birdas Dugar (Dugar=du (two)+garh=(fort), after an ancestor who had inherited two forts) came to Bengal in the 18th century from Kishengarh in Rajputana as part of the influx of Rajasthani soldier-administrators brought in by the Mughals during a century long campaign to incorporate Bengal into their empire. His great grandson was Laxmipat Singh.

By the time Laxmipat Singh (15/04/1835 - 17/10/1886) was born, the family had already amassed considerable great wealth and attained social prominence. Upon the death of his father, Raja Pratap Singh Dugar, Laxmipat Singh and his younger brother Dhanpat Singh inherited a robust banking business and kothis (mansions) and Zamindaris all over Bengal, Bihar and Orissa. Laxmipat Singh's estates lay in the districts of Rangpur, Dinajpur, Malda,Purnea, Bhagalpur, Cooch Behar, Rampur, Boila, Natore, Burdwan, Midnapore, Bankura etc. Displaying great vigor and diligence he outdid his father and grandfather, amassing wealth on a scale that dwarfed even their accomplishments. In 1855, at age 20, he took the settlement of "Jol-kar" of the river Bhagirathi from Ichaganj to Azimganj. Being a strict follower of Jainism, he banned fishing in this part of the river. He spent the major portion of his vast income for religious and public purposes, which won him a great reputation among his country men. In 1867, at age 32, the (British) government of India, having taken into consideration his manifold public services, conferred on him the title of Rai Bahadur, a mark of great distinction. He was also exempted from the Arms Act of 1878, which privilege he enjoyed for the rest of his life.

In 1870, he went on a pilgrimage with great pomp, accompanied by most of Jain families of Murshidabad. On his way, he made acquaintances with many native princes, most notably His Highness the Maharaja Sawai Ram Singhji II of Jaipur who was so moved by Laxmipat Singh's amiable character, that during his next visit to Bengal, he honored Laxmipat Singh by being his guest at Katgola. They exchanged pagris, a traditional Rajasthani brotherhood ritual and a mark of the highest mutual personal esteem.

Laxmipat Singh was one of the most prominent, respected and reputed bankers of Bengal during his time. As already alluded to, his reputation for probity and trustworthiness and his personmal and professional networks with the leading bankers of the realm were sufficient to ensure that on his oral bond, 16 carts of gold bullion could be sent from Calcutta to Murshidabad. As a result, people of all castes, creed and religions used to entrust him with their wealth. One story about him tells of a wealthy Muslim who, going on Haj, entrusted Laxmipat Singh with safe-guarding his assets. Banker that he was, Laxmipat Singh recommended converting the assets into gold which he would accept as a deposit. When the person did not return even after the passage of 8 or 9 years, not wanting to keep someone else's wealth, Laxmipat Singh had all the gold, given to him for safe keeping, buried according to Muslim rites.

Why Kathgola

Life in the mid-19th century for men like Laxmipat Singh, born into an elite that was navigating tectonic shifts in Indian society, polity and economy, was complicated. Scion of erstwhile Rajput royalty that had migrated to Bengal as part of Imperial task force dispatched to subdue the province of Bengal and bring it under the rule of the Mughals, by profession landlord and banker and head of the house of Buddh Singh Pratap Singh (the banking house named after his grandfather and father) -- and therefore the richest and most prominent Jain family in the entire erstwhile Mughal subah of Bengal—Laxmipat's personal circle of friends and business associates would have encompassed multiple elites:

• the old order embodied in the court of the Nawab of Murshidabad to whom his great-grandfather, Raja Birdasji (father of Budh Singhji), a Chauhan Rajput who had migrated to Bengal in the early 18th century, would have owed personal and political allegiance,
• the new order in the form of the British who had taken over the revenue administration of the Mughal Empire and whose introduction of the Permanent Settlement had transformed the zamindari system from a revenue collection/public functionary role into that of a hereditary landlord, enabling the Budh Singh Pratap Singh clan's rise to the apex of Indian society in the space of a mere two generations^[7] and who, after 1857 were the new official overlords and masters of India,
• the other Indian zamindars, mostly Hindus of various sects (i.e., non-Jains) with whom he constituted a new class of hereditary aristocrats and, therefore, would have shared political and economic interests (and rivalries),
• the newly emerging urban Indian elites in Calcutta including notable grandees such as the Tagore and Mullick clans, with both of which he enjoyed close personal and financial relationships and who, flush with the economic gains made by Hindu merchant classes under British rule, were spearheading the Bengal Renaissance,
• the Jain community of Bengal and Bihar as well as the pan-Indian Jain community where, by dint of his and his family's munificence, the house of Budh Singh Pratap Singh had supplanted the Jagat Seth family as the leaders of the Jain sangha in Eastern India,
• the Rajput and other local aristocracy with whom he would have social and financial interactions as part of his religious travels and as a result of his and Dhanpat Singh's remarkable contributions to the maintenance, restoration and renovation of Jain pilgrimage sites throughout northern India.

In short as a young man with familial, personal and business ties to a wide variety of powerful and ambitious men with uninhibitedly healthy appetites for the good life, at a juncture in Indian history when restrictions were few and restraint rare, when old orders were crumbling and new alliances that would shape the history of the subcontinent for the next century were being forged, Laxmipat Singh's need to delicately nurture and negotiate his family's transition to the new post-Mughal era of Imperial British rule was at its peak. Alas, unfortunately, these also were men whom he could not entertain at his mansion at Jiaganj, due to the strict commensality restrictions of his faith and the scrupulous religiosity of his mother and his wife, who in the realm of family affairs who would brook no deviation from traditional Jain lifestyles. Hence emerged the need for a garden house, where entertaining his diverse circle of friends, acquaintances and retainers on a suitable scale could be contemplated. This, as per family lore, was original intent with which Rai Bahadur Laxmipat Singh purchased the lands that now comprise the Kathgola Gardens. In modern business parlance, circa 1870, the good Rai Bahadur—then aged about 35—set out to create the equivalent of a modern "corporate entertainment center" where he and his friends and associates, be they of the old nobility, the new landed aristocracy, the powerful bankers, and last but never the least the loyal Englishmen sent to administer India in the service of the British Crown could congregate, let their hair down, and have a jolly good time. Such was the initial vision, at least.

By the time of its completion in 1878, however, the estate was dedicated to a wholly different cause. Upon being invited by her son to survey his newly built estate, Laxmipat Singh's widowed mother initially demurred: in keeping with the traditions of the time and of her faith and family, as a widow, she would not set foot in a pleasure garden. However, she also let it pass, were the estate to be dedicated to a religious cause, a different view of matters might well be taken. Accordingly, in February 1878, the garden house together with the lands, ponds and structures appurtenant thereto and extensive zamindaries, the revenues from which were to be used for service of the deity, was dedicated to the Sri Sri Adinathji Deb Thakur trust. Having being infused with a religious purpose, the original objective of using the estate as a pleasure palace was rendered infeasible and while it has since been extensively used for formal entertainment, for hosting visiting dignitaries and for family and community events, it never was utilized quite as originally intended.

[Cautionary coda. In conclusion, dear reader, a word to the wise. Contrary to popular belief, tales of Mir Jafar, Jagat Seths, Lord Clive, and various other conspirators cavorting and conspiring on the premises of the Palace circa 1757, of tunnels leading to the Ganges and to the harems of the Nawabs purveyed by local guides and on various websites are just that: pure bunk. Although built by a Jain, the Jagat Seths had naught to do with it, nor was it built till over a century later than those tales would have it be. The perhaps considerably less exotic, but unvarnished truth is that in the final analysis, Kathgola is just a little country cottage built by a man who wanted to have a few fun weekends with his friends, away from his family, but in the end couldn't say no to his mother when she told him to toe the family line. Of such utterly mundane and ordinary ambitions came what is today a national treasure (if only because it is a microcosmic mirror of the history of the land on which it is stands). Satyameva jayate.]

Kathgola Today

Today, the Kathgola Gardens attract over 400,000 religious and secular visitors annually. As a focal point for this enormous flow of visitors, the estate enables local people to earn livelihoods as guides as well as by providing hospitality and transportation services. The zamindaries bestowed on the estate that had enabled it to be maintained in due pomp and circumstance having lapsed upon India's Independence from foreign rule, the main income of the estate nowadays derives from the sale of entrance tickets to visitors and revenues from the gardens.

Gallery

• Kathgola Gallery
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  The ornamented entrance to Kathgola.

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  The ornamented wall of the palace.

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  A statue of Bacchus? in the gardens.

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  Ducks around the palace in the garden.

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  A closer view of the Adinath Temple.

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  the ornamented facade of the palace.

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  The Katgola Palace

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  Another family member (probably Dhanpat Singh, Laximpat's younger brother).

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  The steps leading to the pond.

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  The remnants of the janani chowk (family quarters).

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  The kitchen (rasoda).

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  The temple.

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  The garden.

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  A lion (shingha).

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  A murthi inside the temple.

References

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