If you are planning to visit Gour & Pandua then this blog post would be the perfect guide. I will be posting two blogs about these places. This blog will focus on places to visit around Gour, Malda. All the places that you can visit including details and the perfect shortest route to cover all places. In my next blog, I will cover Pandua in the same manner. Malda is the virtual center point with Gour to the south and Pandua to the north.
How To Reach Gour & Pandua
The best place to make your base camp to visit both places would be Malda. There is a railway station at Gour but it’s a very small station with no hotels nearby. It’s somewhat isolated thus best be avoided.
I would suggest that you book a car for two days. Day one you can cover Gour and day two you can cover Pandua along with Jagjivanpur. Please fix the rates of the trip with the car agency or driver and make sure you specify and he is completely clear about the places that he would go.
For sure the driver will not know the location of all these places thus I would urge you to use the google map provided in this blog to guide him or to share it with him for navigation. I have chalked out the route so that you can cover the most places in the shortest amount of time.
I would suggest that you start early around 7 – 8 AM so that you can cover most of the places which do not have shade in the early hours before the heat of the sun kicks in. If you are not comfortable leaving early then leave post-lunch and make sure you start your return journey by 4 – 4.30 PM.
Where To Stay at Malda
At Malda you will find several hotels and I will personally recommend the Hotel Amrapali which is run by West Bengal Tourism Development Corporation. If you are taking a Toto (e-rickshaw) from the Malda station then please tell them to take you to Malda Tourist Lodge as this is what it was known earlier. This hotel has a parking space also so if you are coming by car or motorcycle, you can park here. This place has an attached restaurant and serves good food at affordable rates. Booking needs to be done online and remember that the GST needs to be paid at the hotel.
Another hotel which the locals recommend is Hotel Indraprastha.
Short History of Malda
I will not go deep into this as there are many resources readily available online if you want in-depth knowledge of this place.
The location of Malda is around the middle of Bengal thus making it an ideal capital for rulers ruling this part of India. The most prominent king under whom Bengal reached its pinnacle of success was Shashanka. Previously these parts of Bengal were under The Later Guptas and Shashanka managed to liberate and establish the Gauda Kingdom. It is from Gauda that we get the name Gour. He established his capital at Karnasubarna where you can still see some remains at Murshidabad.
Shashanka ruled Bengal from 590 – 625 AD and after his death, his son Manava could only hold on to the throne for a mere 8 months before being deposed by Harshavardhana. Shashanka was a devout Hindu king who helped to propagate the religion. There are records that he had ordered to cut down the Bodhi tree as he opposed other religious beliefs.
After this, we get the Pala Dynasty which dominated these parts of Bengal. Gopala was the first emperor of this dynasty which found its root in Gauda around 750 AD. Their rule lasted till 1161 AD.
This was followed by the Sena (Sen) Dynasty from 1070 AD. Ballala Sena was the most famous of them all to have conquered Gauda from the Palas. You can still find the foundation of the house of Ballal Sen at Gour. The Senas ruled Bengal till around 1230 AD.
It was during the Sena Dynasty that Muhammad bin Bakhtiyar Khilji had attacked this part of Bengal in 1203 AD and plundered it of its riches. The Sena ruler Lakshmana Sena retreated from Gauda and went towards the east. During the rule of Lakshmana Sena Guada was also known as Laksh-manadvati which later due to verbal corruption became Laknauti.
From this point on we see the Islamic rule of Bengal till the arrival of the East India Company and subsequent Muslim nawabs under the control of the company.
The Khalji rulers of Bengal (1203–1227).
Governors of Bengal under the Mamluk dynasty (1227–1287)
Independent Balban dynasty of Lakhnauti (1287–1324)
Governors of Bengal under the Tughlaq dynasty (1324–1338)
Independent Sultans of Bengal during the Tughlaq dynasty (1338–1352)
Ilyas Shahi dynasty (1352–1414)
House of Raja Ganesha (1414–1435)
Restored Ilyas Shahi dynasty (1435–1487)
Habshi rule (1487–1494)
Hussain Shahi dynasty (1494–1538)
Governors of Bengal under Sur Empire (1532–1556)
Muhammad Shah dynasty (1554–1564)
Karrani dynasty (1564–1576)
Mughal Subahdars of Bengal Subah (1574–1717)
Independent Nawabs of Bengal (1717–1757 CE)
Nawabs of Bengal under East India Company (1757–1838 CE)
Thus, if you look at the past a vast section of the history at later stages and even under the East India Company there were Muslim rulers of Bengal. This is the very reason when you will travel around Gour you can see such an impressive collection of terracotta and stone mosques. In fact, in some of the mosques, you will find remains of earlier temple-like door jams or panels. This is the reason why you do not find any remains of earlier temples or Buddhist stupas around this part of Bengal. Jagjivanpur which is a Buddhist site has been discovered very recently.
Location Of Tourist Places Around Gour on Map
Please follow this route to cover all tourist places around Gour.
List of Tourist Places Around Gour
(Two Stone Pillars) Hathi Badha Stombho
If you are coming from Malda then this would be on your left side right next to the main road. You will spot a fenced spot with two lone standing pillars. People refer to this as Hathi Bandha Stombho which literarily means pillars where elephants are tied. By its design, it is similar to the architectural style of the pillars that you will find in the mosques later.
Vlog of (Two Stone Pillars) Hathi Badha Stombho
Ramkeli
Stepping aside from the Islamic history of Gour this is a very significant Hindu pilgrimage site. You have two temples out here the first smaller one being Chaitanya Charan Mandir and the other being Madan Mohan Jiu Temple.
Historically Ramkeli has a big significance as Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu had come to this place. The small temple has a stone slab that has footprints that are said to be that of Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Every year there is a big festival that takes place and devotees from all over Bengal come here to celebrate.
Boro Sona Masjid (Baraduari)
From this point onwards we will start seeing heritage sites from the Muslim rule of Gauda. The first one being Boro Sona Masjid or Baraduari. boro means big and Sona in Bangla means gold so it refers to this as the big golden mosque. This mosque once had 44 domes that had gold gilded tops. Now, much of it is in ruins you get to see only the front portion of the mosque which still has the domes intact. Two doorways are still visible while the third one is in ruins. This temple is also known as Baraduari or the mosque with twelve doors but if you count you will find only eleven doors.
The mosque was built in 1526 by Nasiruddin Nusrat Shah but was originally started by his father Allaudin Husain Shah.
Vlog of Ramkeli and Boro Sona Masjid
Dakhil Darwaza (Salami Darwaza)
The next of the stop very near to Boro Sona Masjid is Dakhil Darwaza. This impressive gateway is to the north of the citadel and is set to be built by Barbak Shah (1459 – 1474 AD). This gateway is also known as Salami Darwaza which means saluting gateway.
The structure has details terracotta works and make sure you pass through the gate and go to the other side of the gate as that is equally beautiful. The interior chambers inside the gate are infested with bats so stick to the main hallway and avoid venturing inside the side rooms.
Firoz Minar
This tower was built by Saifuddin Firoz Shah (1486 – 1489) after his victory over Barbak Shah. The tower has five stories and is on a mound with spiral staircases inside which is not accessible to tourists. The height of the tower reached up to 25.60 meters.
Vlog of Dakhil Darwaza and Firoz Minar
Kadam Rasul Masjid
This mosque was built by Sultan Nasrat Shah in 1531 AD details of which are mentioned in an inscription on the black basalt slab located on the back of the main entrance.
The mosque earlier had the footprints of the Prophet but that now has been moved to Mahidpur which stays with the Khadim.
Apart from the main structure, there are some tombs and the remains of a rest house which is in ruins. The main mosque has a single dome surrounded by four minarets on each side. There is another structure inside the compound of the mosque is the Tomb of Fateh Khan (1658 – 1707). The design of this structure is similar to any Hindu Charchala temple. Fateh Khan son of Dilawar Khan was the general of Aurangzeb. Aurangzeb had sent him to kill Saint Shah Naimtullah as he was suspected to have advised Sultan Shuja to rebel against him. Fateh Khan vomited blood and died on this very spot.
Lukochuri Darwaja (Sahi Darwaza)
Located right next to Kadam Rasul Masjid is another gate which is known as Lukochuri Darwaja (Sahi Darwaza). This gate is located in the south of the citadel of Gouda.
This is a double-storied gateway set to have built by Shah Shuja in 1655. The gate has a flat roof with space for drummers (Naqqar Khana) who would play on the arrival of any royal. The design a typical of Mughal architecture.
The word Lukochuri means the game of hide & seek so there is a saying that the king used to play hide and seek with his queens here at this gate. This probably is an exaggeration as to why would a king leave his grand house and come to a small gate to play with his near and dear ones.
Vlog on Kadam Rasul Masjid & Lukochuri Darwaza
Chika (Chamkan) Masjid
Built around 1450 the mosque or some debate it to be a mausoleum got its name for the numerous bats that infested this structure. It’s a single domed structure and inside you get a lot of structures that have come from an earlier Hindu temple.
At one point this mosque was also used as a prison by Sultan Hussain Shah (1493 – 1519).
Gumti Darwaza
This is another gateway located almost parallel to Lukochuri Darwaja (Sahi Darwaza) but to visit this you have to enter through Chika Masjid. This is size is much smaller and once had the outer face covered with colorful enameled tiles. Some of these tiles are still very much visible around the structure.
Vlog on Chika Masjid & Gumti Darwaza
Baisgazi Wall
This massive wall was built by Barbak Shah around 1460 to protect the palaces. To reach this place you go through the mango orchards and cross the big water tanks beyond which you will see several sections of this wall still standing. While some portions are in bad shape some have remarkably survived the test of time.
The walls are tapper from bottom to top, the base has a width of around 15 feet which tapers to 9 feet at the top. A portion of the wall has been restored to what it had actually looked and this can be seen right next to Ballal Bati which is our next destination.
Vlog on Baisgazi Wall
Ballal Bati
At the beginning of this post, I have shared a timeline and you can see when Gouda was ruled by the Sena (Sen) Dynasty. Ballal Sen (1160 – 1179) was the one who had captured the Gauda from the Pala. Recent excavation of this section led to the discovery of the foundation which the archaeologist says was the grand house of Ballal Sen. However, another set of historians believe this to be the foundation of a Buddhist monastery something similar which you can also see at Jagjivanpur.
Within fifty meters of Ballal Bati, one can see the section of the Baisgazi Wall which has been restored.
Jahaj Ghat
As the name suggests this was a river jetty and back then it is believed that the Ganges used to flow right next to it. This was a trading point for ships to come and dock. Not much of the structure remains but by its topography, it can be easily be figured out that it was once leading to the river.
Vlog on Ballal Bati & Jahaj Ghat
Chamkati Masjid
Now we come out from the mango orchards back to the main road where we will find Chamkati Masjid. It is said to have been built in 1475 by Sultan Shamsuddin Yusuf Shah. This is a single domed mosque with a veranda with three entrances. The name Chamkati according to some refers to the social caste of Muslims who were skin (cham) cutters (kati).
Tantipara Masjid
As the name suggests this mosque was for the Muslim weaver community. Constructed in 1480 by Mirshad Khan the mosque structure comprises 10 domes in a 5 X 5 pattern.
Vlog on Chamkati Masjid & Tantipara Masjid
Lottan Masjid
A little further down from Tantipara mosque we get Lottan Masjid. The mosque was built by Sultan Yusuf Shah in 1475 as a tribute to a royal courtesan. The mosque still has some visible colorful tiles on its outer walls. It has a single large dome and the floors inside have colored tiled mosaics.
Gunamanta Masjid
This is the last mosque in this series at Gour in India, there are a few more such mosques but they are now across the border in Bangladesh. Keep in mind that we are very near to the border now as you can see from the map. This mosque was built by Sultan Jalaluddin Fath Shah in 1484. The 24 domed mosque consists of a vaulted central nave along with three aisles and four openings.
Vlog on Lottan Masjid & Gunamanta Masjid
Kotwali Darwaza
This is the border between India and Bangladesh. This structure is in no man’s land and if you look down a portion of the wall further down is on the other side of the border.
When you reach this place, you need to first take permission from the BSF check post where you have to deposit an ID card like Aadhar, Driving Licence, etc. After that do inform that you are going to click photographs and proceed to visit the structure.
This is not a mosque but a massive wall. The wall along with the gateway (which does not exist now as it had collapsed) is 30 feet high and has a thickness of 16 feet. It is said that this was constructed somewhere between 1235 and 1315 (during the death of Mohammed Alauddin Khalji).
Vlog on Kotwali Darwaza
This concluded the tour of Gour in my next blog I will cover the north of Malda i.e. Pandua.
Resources
Archaeological Survey of India – Kolkata Circle
The ruins of Gour described and represented in eighteen views by Henry Creighton
Tourism in India by Vijay Kumar Gupta
Geographical Dictionary Of Ancient And Mediaeval India by Nundo Lal Dey
Times of India