Exactly how rich were the Goswamis of Serampore? Sample
this. When the Danes, finding their factory in Serampore to be a losing
concern, were looking for someone to sell their title of Serampore to, Raghuram
Goswami offered to purchase it for the sum of Rs. 11,00,000! However the Danes
found this sum to be inadequate and ultimately sold their possessions to the
East India Company in 1845, for 12,00,000. The Goswamis of Serampore, are the
descendants of one of the five Brahmin families whom Adisur, King of Gaur had
invited to settle in Bengal, with gifts of land and monies, for the propagation
of knowledge. One of his descendants was Lakshman Chakravarty. Lakshman was
married to the daughter of Achyut Goswami, son of Advaitacharya Goswami, an
ardent disciple of Sri Chaitanya. Lakshman settled in Shantipur, with Achyut’s
family, and out of their marriage was born a son, Ramgobinda, who took on his
mother’s maiden name, Goswami. It was Ramgobinda’s son, Radhakanta, who settled
in Serampore. His grandson was Raghuram Goswami.
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| Serampore Rajbari South Block |
Finding far too much fragmentation of his original
property in Goswamipara, Raghuram left, to build a house for himself and his
children and it was thus that the giant mansion known today to locals as
“Serampore Rajbari” came up, sometime between 1815 and 1820, during or shortly
after the construction of Serampore College. Although it is called Rajbari,
author Kanailal Goswami, himself of the family in question, says that it would
be more accurate to call it the “Thakurbari”, since a portion of it was made
debottar property. Once the house had been completed, the family deities,
Radhamadhav Jiu (antiquated form of “Ji”, the suffix of respect) and Gopalji
were transferred there. To this was added an “ashtadhatu” (eight metal) idol of
Radharani by Raghuram’s son, Gopikrishna. These three idols adorn the family
altar to this day.
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| Serampore Rajbari North Block |
The house remains standing, though it has clearly seen
better days. While it appears on the outside to be two separate blocks, these
blocks were infact connected by an intricate network of passages before walls
were erected to separate the sections for brothers. On the South is the portion
that was probably originally allotted to Hemchandra Goswami. This two storied
structure is now used both as a residence, as well as being hired out for
marriage receptions, as well as other social functions. The more magnificent
section is the one on the North, with its driveway, ionic columns and cast iron
gates. This is the portion of the house that was turned into debottar property.
It is still used as a residential property today. A board announces that a
portion of the house is used by the Government as a “Child Guidance Centre”.
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| The Chandni. Note collapsed roof section |
Inside, the most striking feature is the “Chandni”, or
“Naatmandir”, a covered courtyard, measuring 120 feet by 30 feet. This spot was
originally a tank from which water was drawn for domestic consumption.
Unfortunately, Raghuram’s oldest son, Atmaram, drowned while swimming in that
tank, at the age of 5. This accident caused Raghuram to have the tank filled
up, and the Chandni was constructed. 24 Corinthian columns, 32 feet in height
and 5 feet in diameter were raised to support the roof. The floor was covered
in Chunar stone. For the rafters and beams on the roof, Sal wood was brought from
Nepal. The Chandni was used for festive occasions, such as Holi, for marriages,
receptions and social gatherings and even for staging plays. On the occasion of
Durga Puja, the Chandni was the venue for feeding 500 people at a time, seated
in long rows. Unfortunately, the Chandni is now decaying due to lack of
maintenance. The gutters on the roof must have been clogged with mud for quite
a while, leading to rainwater collecting on the roof, seeping through and
slowly weakening it. When I visited, I found a section of the roof had
collapsed, and the interior of the Chandni had been fenced off. One of the
pillars was completely covered in moss.
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| The Thakur Dalan. Note metal stands for lights |
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| Serampore Rajbari North Block driveway |
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| Kishorilal's Rajbari |
Raghuram’s son, Gopikrishna had five sons. The eldest
among them, Krishnalal had a falling out with his father, and was disinherited
as a result. The remaining four brothers, Nandalal, Kishorilal, Rajendralal and
Radhikalal continued to live in this house as a joint family, until the death
of Nandalal in 1908, caused family unity to disintegrate. Kishorilal had probably
anticipated this, and had begun construction of a palatial residence on the
river bank at the cost of Rs. 1,50,000. The property was protected by a
formidable wall right from the river bed that afforded it an attractive river
frontage, and made it possible to lay out a large garden. To this house, he
moved his branch of the family in 1910. This building too is still standing,
and in use, and is in far better shape than Raghuram’s original Rajbari.
-
by Deepanjan Ghosh
MORE ON SERAMPORE
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I am grateful to Supratim Chowdhury for being my guide
around Serampore
SOURCES
From Frederiksnagore to Serampore: Recollection of the
Past – Kanai Lal Goswami
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