Tajhat Jomidar Bari is in Tajhat village, about six kilometers from Rangpur City. It is a historical palace which is now a museum.
It is an attractive place for the tourists of Rangpur, without any doubt. Hundreds of them gather in this place to see the magnificent old architecture.
More Information About Tajhat Jomidar Bari
Gem merchant Mannalal was the founder of Tajhat Zamindari. He came to Mahiganj in Rangpur at the end of the 18th century for doing business.
He started living there and built a building. The earthquake of 1897 destroyed the building, and he died of his injuries.
In the middle of the 20th century, Gopal Lal Roy Bahadur became the zamindar and built a house. More than 2,000 masons helped to construct the palace.
The house has beautiful gardens with flowers and trees. Many items are available used by Raja Gopal on the third and fourth floors.
It looks like Ahsan Manzil in Dhaka. The Tajhat Palace is stunning, made of red brick, white stone, and limestone. It has many rooms, bathrooms, and guest bedrooms.
The palace is 210 feet wide and four stories tall. This landlord’s house is now well known as Tajhat Palace. The cost of constructing it is about one and a half crore taka.
The work of the place finished in 1917. This magnificent palace of the landlord has rows of trees, empty grounds, and two ponds.
Its architectural style is like ancient Mughal architecture, without any doubt. The large dome in the center and the buildings on either side give it a mosque-like appearance.
But what sets this palace apart from other palaces in Bangladesh are its stairs. There are 31 stairs available, each of which has Italian-style marble stone.
The entire floor from the stairs to the museum has the same marble stone. There is also a secret staircase at the back of this historical palace.
Legend has it that this secret staircase connects to a tunnel and then leads to the river. However, the staircase is now closed for security reasons.
The palace’s fountain, made of white marble with a greenish design, has lost some of its shine over time. However, its beauty can still amaze anyone.
Legend has it that the Queen used the fountain. In the past, before 2005, the landlord’s house was famous as Tajhat Rajbari.
The Government of Bangladesh declared the palace a protected structure in 1995. They recognized its historical importance.
In 2005, the authority moved Rangpur Museum to the 2nd floor of the palace. The museum has exhibition rooms with 10th and 11th-century terracotta artifacts.
There are also ancient manuscripts in Sanskrit and Arabic. The museum has three hundred valuable artifacts, like the Mahabharata and the Ramayana.
Also, in the back room, there are black stone portraits of the Hindu god Vishnu. However, the authorities do not allow photography.
Exhibition Time:
Rangpur Museum’s summer schedule is from ten AM to six PM. There is a midday break of thirty minutes from one in the afternoon.
And winter timings are 9 am to 5 pm. The museum remains closed on public holidays, including Sunday and Monday (half-day).
Ticket Price:
The ticket counter is next to the gate, and the ticket price is twenty taka per person. But no ticket is necessary for any child under five to enter the museum.
However, the authority fixed the entry fee at TK 5 for secondary-level children and teenagers. SAARC foreign visitors pay 100 taka for a ticket, while other foreign visitors pay 200 taka.
If you want to enter the palace premises with a car, you have to pay a fee for the car. But there are many places available for parking outside of this palace.
Way of Reaching This Place
Every day, buses from Gabtali, Kalyanpur, and Mohakhali visit various destinations in Rangpur. These buses travel to Rangpur through Savar and cross the Bangabandhu Bridge.
If you take the bus from Dhaka to Kurigram, get off in front of the Rangpur Museum. Moreover, you can take a rickshaw from the Rangpur bus stand to the museum gate for 20 taka.
Conclusion
The museum remains closed during holidays, but it’s a serene and beautiful place to visit. You can see a historical monument and get a sense of the lifestyle of the landlords.
The authorities should also work harder to maintain this place. The former landlord’s grand structure shows their unimaginable riches.
The estate grounds have well-kept gardens with diverse blossoms. As a historic site in Rangpur, the architecture impresses with its ornate beauty.
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