Khushbagh

Khushbagh

Tomb of Nawab Siraj ud-Daulah
photo published 1905
Details
Location Murshidabad district, West Bengal, on the west bank of the Bhagirathi River.
Country India
Style Islamic architecture
Size 7.65 acres
Number of graves Graves of Nawab Siraj ud-Daulah, Lutf-un-nisa Begum, Nawab Alivardi Khan, Alivardi Khan's mother and other members of the family of the Nawabs of Bengal
Website "Website URL". 

Khushbagh (also spelled as Khoshbagh), meaning Garden of Happiness is the garden cemetery of the family of the Nawabs of Bengal. It lies on the west bank of the Bhagirathi River, about one mile from the east bank.[1][2][3][4] It is also reputed to be the resting place of Nawab Siraj ud-Daulah, along with his wife Lutf-un-nisa, Nawab Alivardi Khan, Alivardi Khan's mother and others. Khushbagh hosts the graves of the Nawabs of Bengal belonging to the Afshar dynasty and their family members while Jafarganj Cemetery hosts the graves of the later Nawabs, starting from Mir Jafar, who belonged to the Najafi dynasty and their family members.

History

The garden was built by the first Nawab of Bengal, Nawab Alivardi Khan. The garden consists of walled enclosures. The outer walls had looped holes for musketry and used to be flanked by octagonal bastions.[1] The garden hosts the graves. The graves of Siraj ud-Daulah and Alivardi Khan are inside a square, flat-roofed mausoleum surrounded by an arcade verandah.[1] The garden also hosts a mosque, built by Nawab Alivardi Khan, on the lines of the Jama Masjid of Delhi. It was built on a plinth of 2,675 square feet (248.5 m2) area.[1]

After the death of Nawab Siraj ud-Daulah in the Battle of Plassey in 1757, his wife Lutf-un-nisa refused to join Mir Jafar's harem and fled to Dacca (present day Dhaka, in Bangladesh). She later returned to Murshidabad. It is said that Lutf-un-nisa lived in Khushbagh, where she tended the grave and the 108 varieties of roses, which once used to grow the gardens, for several years. It is also said that she spent ₹1000 for the maintenance of Khushbagh and after her death in 1786 AD she was buried near the grave of Siraj-ud-Daulah, her husband.[1]

The entire cemetery, along with the graves, is built on a 7.65 acres (3.10 ha) land and is surrounded by a 2,741 feet (835 m) long wall.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Information on Khushbagh". Murshidabad.net. Retrieved 26 November 2012.
  2. ↑ Pratapaditya Pal; National Centre for the Performing Arts; Enamul Haque (1 Nov 2003). Bengal, sites and sights. Marg Publications. p. 151.
  3. ↑ Bengal (Volume 86). The Society. 1967.
  4. ↑ Kalikinkar Datta (1963). Alivardi and his times. World Press. p. 249.

Coordinates: 24°09′45″N 88°15′32″E / 24.162610°N 88.258911°E / 24.162610; 88.258911


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