For the locals, since ages, this structure is the ‘Dashani Bari’ and the name itself brings up an interesting story.
On the banks of the Hooghly river, near the Kashipur-Baranagar junction, stands a building, now dilapidated, but filled with history. For the locals, since ages, this structure is the ‘Dashani Bari’ and the name itself brings up an interesting story. According to legend, the ruler of the area, Reza Khan, had given 10 Anna land to the Raychowdhuris in exchange of the latter’s properties in Bangladesh. It is important to inform that 10 Annas, as many of us would be thinking, has no connection with the currency system in this case. Back in those days, land used to be measured in terms of Annas, Gondas, Kodas, Krantis and Teels. 1 Anna roughly translated into 17,280 square feet | Photo and write up by Mukut Tapadar |
The owners of ‘Dashani Bari’, the Raychowdhuris, originally hailed from the Satkhira district in Bangladesh. A street and a ghat in Baranagar is named after one of the ancestors of the Raychowdhuris, Prananath Chowdhury. Until a few years back, the ‘Dashani Bari’ used to host a grand Durga Puja celebration | Photo and write up by Mukut Tapadar |
In the past, the Raychowdhuris were owners of large swathes of land. It is believed that Reza Khan had provided the lands to the Raychowdhuris for them to set up their zamindari in the area. During Reza Khan’s rule, it was a common practice to replace zamindars with new ones. The Raychowdhuris had given Reza Khan large chunks of land in Bangladesh and in return, got lands in Kolkata’s Kashipur area and settled permanently in this part of Bengal. However, till date, the Raychowdhuris find mention in the streets of Bangladesh | Photo and write up by Mukut Tapadar |
In the present time, the massive building with its doric columns is nothing more than a piece of apathy with several other houses having mushroomed around it. The front portion of the house is almost hidden behind such structures and even the owners of the house do not live in it anymore. At a glance at the structure, one can feel that the building is breathing its last | Photo and write up by Mukut Tapadar |
