Murshidabad And Baranagar

The former capital city of Bengal, Mushidabad, was important until the Bengal main city was moved to Kolkata. A local horse-drawn carriage took us to the Katra Mosque (1723-1724,) an early example of Muslim architecture in India, with its great minarets and domes. Then we visited the huge Palace of 1000 Doors, Hazarduari. Designed in neoclassical style in the ninteenth century by scottsman McLeod Duncan, it has great exhibition halls and a domed Durbar or royal audience hall which is circular. The Hazarduari Palace faces a large Muslim center, or Imambara. Jim opted for an optional market tour and shopping opportunity after the palace tour. After lunch on board featuring both Indian and other assorted cuisines including a pasta station, we enjoyed a break before our late afternoon tour, a short boat ride in our sanpan to the village of Baranger. This is a rural village where farming and country ways of life continue showing visitors how life has been lived for centuries. The main atraction here was a set of four Hindu temples dedicated to Shiva, built by the queen Rani Bhabani, a beloved local aristocrat and generous philanthropist. The terracotta reliefs show te tales of the Hindu gods, and the temples are still inuse. On the way back to the boat our guide explained the game of cricket and two men from our tour group played for a time with a group of locals. - Dan