Puthia Palace, Puthia Rajbari

Puthia Palace/Rajbari is an Archaeological heritage of Rajshahi. The palace located 23 km to the east of Rajshahi city, in Puthia Upazila of Rajshahi Division. It has the largest number of historic temples in Bangladesh. It built in 1895. 

The building is sited on the Rajshahi-Natore highway 30 km from the east of the city and 1 km south from Rajshahi-Natore highway. Currently, it is used by Lashkarpur Degree College but is in a poor state of repair. History and Structure: Initially, Puthia was a village of Laskarpur Pargana, named after Laskar Khan. 

Nilamber, the brother of the first Zamindar of Puthia, who was the first to receive the title of Raja from Jahangir (1605-1627AD). A partition of the estate took place in 1744 and the zamindari was divided among 4 co-sharers among whom the panch ani (five annas) and char ani (four annas) co-sharers become famous in conducting zamindari. 

Puthia Rajbari is surrounded by ditches. The south end of an open field is where panch ani palace is situated. 4.31 acres of land was used for the Rajbari. The once strong walls surrounding the place are now damaged in places. The Rajbari is divided into 4 courts. 

Kachari (office) Angan (court): The rooms are built around the courts in the palace, with the exception of the kachari angan, the courts are one-stored. Kachari angan has porticoes on both the west and east ends which project in the Palladian manner. The west entrance gate leads to kachari angan. 

Mandir angan or Gobindabari(temple court): Pancharatna Bara Govinda temple is centered at the Gobindabari of this palace. The temple is beautifully ornamented with terracotta in a variety of styles combining the typical Jor-Bangla architecture with other influences. The temples are laid out around a lake with a sprawling lawn.

Andar Mahal (inner quarters): The Northern Block of the building with east-west axis is doubled storeyed and has a wide hall of 21.95m*7.16m. The upper storeyed portion has six variously announced room. In front of the hall, there is a wide varendah with 2 balconies on either side. 

There are two rooms and several bathrooms in the western part of Ander Mahal. Most of the rooms in the court in the western part of Abdar Mahal are at ruins. Residence of Maharani Hemanti Kumari: On The eastern part of andar mahal there i the one-stored residence of Rani Hermanta kumari. It has a porch in front of it and a central reception hall with 9 rooms. 

There are stretched verandahs with arches in front and rear of the hall room. Iron and wooden becomes have bean used in the roof. The proud palace in Rajshahi has been losing its appearance as an ornamental terra cotta piece.

 

Recent research showed that large amounts of terracotta from Chotto Anik Temple, Boro Gobindo Temple and Chhoto Gobindo Temple have been destroyed or stolen, and the rest are at high risk of decaying because of high salinity. The country's rich heritage is endangered due to lack of strong incentives archaeology department and the government. Cattle are seen walking around the 400-year-old Puthia Palace.