Niyogi House

Boro Kuthi is located in Shaheb bazar of  Rajshahi town. An attempt was taken by Rajshahi City Corporation for turning the historical Dutch building into a heritage sight. There are 12 rooms here and it is 2 storied. Dutch and British traders used it for trading silk. After demise of Nawab Sirajud Dowla in 1757 it was bought by East Indian Company. Later it was sold to Robert Watson and Company. After 1947 partition Government used it as their supply center. In 1953 it was taken over by Rajshahi University.

বড়কুঠি রাজশাহী শহরের সাহেব বাজারে অবস্থিত। এই দোতালা ভবনটিতে ১২টি কক্ষ আছে। ডাচ ও ইংরেজ বনিকরা ভবনটি রেশমের বাণিজ্য করতে ব্যবহার করত। ১৭৫৭ সালে নবাব সিরাজ উদ দৌলার মৃত্যুর পর ইস্ট ইন্ডিয়া কোম্পানি ভবনটি কিনে নেয়। পরবর্তীতে এটি রবার্ট ওয়াটসন এন্ড কোম্পানির কাছে বিক্রি করা হয়। ১৯৪৭ সালে দেশ বিভাগের পর সরকার এটি তাদের সাপ্লাই সেন্টার হিসেবে ব্যাবহার করে। ১৯৫৩ সালে রাজশাহী বিশ্ববিদ্যালয় ভবনটি অধিগ্রহন করে। রাজশাহী সিটি কর্পোরেশন  প্রচেষ্টা নিয়েছিল ডাচদের স্মৃতি বিজরিত এই ভবনটিকে একটি ঐতিহ্যবাহী স্থানে পরিণত করতে।

Previously, the actual color of Khelaram Datar Kotha (খেলারাম দাতার কোঠা) was reddish (first three photographs added). But after a renovation done by the Department of archaeology, it is colored white now.

Possibly the most intriguing, interesting and uniquely confusing archeological structures of Nawabganj is the Khelaram Daata’r Kotha, which has recently been renovated. Yet they have not put up a sign board describing the building.

It is confusing, who was Khelaram? What was he known for? What is this building all about? What is the story behind it? When was it built? One could come up with several such questions, but apparently there isn’t much available documentation. It’s hardly possibly to rely on local folklore, as that is far more fiction than facts. To start with some confusion, some say the name of the founder of this structure was Khelaram Dutta, Banglapedia mentions him as Khelaram Dada, while the locals say he was known as Khelaram Daata.

According to Banglapedia he was a Zamindar, but the locals claim he was a dacoit. Since Banglapedia mentions nothing about him apart from naming him as Zamindar Khelaram Dada. So, there isn’t any other way except relating oral history along with the information of Banglapedia.

Some 200 years ago, there lived a ferocious dacoit named Khelaram, who was dreaded by the rich, but loved by the poor, because similar to Robin Hood, he generously donated much of his spoils from each mission amongst the poor people. Hence he was known as “Daata” the beneficent. But he still retained quite a bit and needed to store the loot. So he built this structure consisting of many rooms just overnight (within a short time). The building had five floors (it now has only two) and the roof had a large tank. There still is a large pond nearby. Poor people had to come to this pond to bathe, and anything they asked for was granted.

Oral History Or Myth :

Khelaram was extremely obedient to his mother. She once wanted to drink some milk and eat some ripened bananas, so Khelaram arranged the rooftop tank to be filled to the brim with ripened bananas and pure milk, so she could swim there and eat and drink to her heart’s content. But one day something Khelaram did severely angered his mother. She sternly rebuked and cursed him and then left for a bath in the pond. But as soon as she left the building, three floors of the building simply sank into the ground, leaving only the top two floors to be seen over the surface. Khelaram was not seen any more from then. Some believe he got trapped in one of the lower floors. Some believe he drowned in the pond, trying to save his mother. Within a short time, all his belongings got stolen, leaving behind just an empty house.

Traveling Nawabganj without paying a visit to Judge Bari and Ukil Bari (জজ বাড়ি এবং উকিল বাড়ি) (formerly known as Brojo Kutir) is nearly incomplete trip. Originally it was built as the residence of a Zamindar over a century ago, the Brojo Niketan was acquired by a judge in 1984, and henceforth became known locally as the judge bari, the residence of the judge.

Next door to the judge bari, on a corner of a sprawling playground made famous by the sheer attendance of Mahatma Gandhi in 1940, is another Zamindar’s house, which has been acquired by a lawyer, and thus taken the new name Ukil Bari.

In a small shrine between these two old palatial houses, one will come across a statue whose head has been knocked down, allegedly by the Pakistan Army during our Liberation War in 1971, supposedly of Gautama Buddha. A little inside the Ansar controlled areas, one would come across the Brojo Kutir - the older palace of the Zamindar, and yet another palatial house of Kokil Peyari. It has now turned into a local picnic spot.

Nawabganj is one of the prominent regions in Dhaka containing a large number of old buildings and Zamindar Bari, Amongst the archaeologically or historically famous buildings the most well-known ones are Hasnabad Church, Braja Niketon,the Baghmara Moth, the Bakshanagar Church  and the residence of Khelaram.

But there are also several lesser known old buildings, mostly set up by merchants lived that region previous years, who were traders of various kinds of produces, including salt.

Over time, many of these buildings have fallen prey to locally influential land grabbers. Most of these buildings are in a state of ruins, desperately requiring due attention. Some buildings have been acquired by the Ansar & Village Defense Party (VDP), a paramilitary force of the government, and the authorities have renovated some of these structures and maintain them fairly well.

It includes the House of Harihar Ghosh, the Ansar Commandant’s current office which is now known as Nawabganj Ansar Camp (Painna Bari & Teli Bari), Loknath Saha’s House and a few more houses.