Burdwan (Zamindari) - Legacy

Legacy

During the three centuries that they held the estate of Burdwan, the Kapoor family contributed richly to the development of Burdwan as a cultural center. In particular, Mehtab Chand Ray and Bijay Chand Ray are credited with having extended patronage to scholars and artists, including:

• Paramhansa Yogananda, teacher of meditation and yoga
• Sadhak Kamalakanta, Bengali poet and singer
• Gopeswar Banerjee, noted musician of Vishnupur
• Dasharathi Roy, poet and composer of Panchali
• Padmalochan, a disciple of Sri Ramakrishna

In 1882, the Burdwan Raj College was started in Burdwan, which was supported entirely by the revenues of the estate.

The family also constructed several tanks and temples. Ghanashyam Rai, son of the founder Abu Ray, constructed a large tank, the Shyam Sagar. His son Krishanaram Ray constructed the Krishna Sagar tank. His grandson Kirtichand Ray, who founded the town of Kanchannagar, constructed the excavated the Yadeswardih tank. The Ranisagar tank was excavated by order of Kirtichand's mother Brajakishori, who also erected the Baikunthanath Siva temple at Kalna. Kirtichand's son Chitrasen Ray built the famous Siddheswari Temple in Kalna. During the rule of Chitrasen's son Tilakchand, several temples were built. His mother Lakshmikumari erected the Sri Krishna temple at Kalna, while his wife Chhangakumari erected the Jagannath temple at Kalna. Other legacies include the Sarbamangala temple, the Baikunthanath Siva temple, the Bijoy Toran and the Rajbadi (palace).

Antpur in the district of Hooghly in West Bengal has a number of terracotta temples that have won applause from lovers of antpur.

All the monuments in Antpur are located in land owned by the Mitra family, an erstwhile Zaminder of the area. To Krishnaram Mitra, a dewan of Maharaja Kirtichandara of Burdwan Raj, goes the credit of erecting the most richly decorated terracotta temple of Radha-Govinda.

This temple, founded in 1786, is of well-known Bengali hut atchata-type with a do-chala ante-chamber in the front. On three sides, east, south and west, is found opulence of carved terracotta figurines depicting legends from the Ramayana, Mahabharata and the Puranas. Battle scenes of Rama-Ravana confrontation are depicted on the central frieze of the south facade of the temple. The western facade depicts Kali killing demons in a fierce battle. There are also many secular scenes like hunting, soldiers marching, the local Zaminder or Raja being carried in a palanquin.

Outside the compound of the Radha-Govinda temple there are a few brick temples belonging to the second half of the eighteenth century.