Calcutta Rajbari

A photo essay on the oldest house in Calcutta.

The Shobhabazar Rajbari is the oldest mansion in the city. Sovabazar Rajbari (শোভাবাজার রাজবাড়ী)

History

(Taken from Wikipedia)

Maharaja Nabakrishna Deb (1733–97), founder of the Shobhabazar Rajbari royal family (at 35), started life as a modest aristocrat but soon amassed enormous wealth in his service to the British, in particular by his role in assisting to topple Siraj ud-Daulah. During his lifetime Maharaja Nabakrishna Deb built two palaces, together the largest palace in Calcutta. The palace at 35 Raja Nabakrishna Street (known as Shobhabazar Rajbari or "Baag ola Bari - Palace 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 and his descendants including his son.

The palace 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 Raja Rajkrishna and his descendants.

Although di…