Fisherman Bashar sleeps on the couch of Puthia Rajbari
Photo Collected
65-year-old fisherman Iqbalul Bashar lives on the bank of Dighir in Puthia Rajbari of Rajshahi. He has been farming the pond on lease for a long time. His bedroom has a couch, which was once used in the royal palace. He claims that he bought the royal couch from the heir of the royal family for 10,000 taka about 35 years ago.
The Puthia dynasty was established during the reign of Mughal Emperor Akbar. The last queen of this dynasty, Hemanta Kumari Devi, built the Puthiya palace around 1895. She was conferred the title of ‘Rani’ in 1901 and ‘Maharani’ in 1920. After his death, the Puthiya dynasty also gradually disappeared when there was a mass awakening against the zamindari system in the whole country.
বিজ্ঞাপন
According to local sources, many of those who built houses within the boundaries of the 100-acre Rajbari have found items belonging to the Rajbari. Many are still using those things. Some have voluntarily given some things to the palace museum.
Disobeying the ban of the Directorate of Archaeology, the gatekeeper’s house of the royal family was demolished on Sunday. Monirul Islam, the former councilor of Ward No. 5 of Puthia Municipality, is currently in this house. In this regard, Hafizur Rahman, assistant custodian of Puthia Rajbari Museum, made a general diary (GD) at Puthia police station on Tuesday.
বিজ্ঞাপন
When the house was demolished, local people saw a traditional dressing table being removed. According to them, the furniture can be a traditional sign of Rajbari. However, Monirul Islam claims that the dressing table is old, but not a part of the royal family.
Meanwhile, while inquiring about the dressing table, the local residents informed that there is a couch used by the Rajbari in the house of pond lessee Iqbalul Bashar. Puthia Upazila Executive Officer (UNO) Liaquat Salman was contacted to confirm the matter. He asked to come to Puthia on Tuesday. That afternoon, I went to the office and talked to him. Hafizur Rahman, Assistant Custodian of Rajbari Museum was also present at that time.
After talking with UNO, this reporter went to Iqbalul Bashar’s house with custodian Hafizur Rahman. He built a house on the bank of Govindasag Dighi in Rajbari. The stairs from the house came down to the lake. There are many ancient ghats around this huge dam. However, Iqbalul built Bashar’s ghat anew in his own way.
At one stage of conversation in the house, when the subject of the couch was brought up, Iqbalul Bashar admitted that he has a couch. Couch of Maharani Hemanta Kumari Devi. But he has changed its color. Going to his bedroom, it can be seen that he uses the couch regularly.
Iqbalul Basar showed that he had changed some parts of the couch. He said, the upper stands are not there now. He shows the signs of how and where the stands were installed. A metal sheet states that the couch was manufactured in Calcutta and which company manufactured the couch. But not now, lost. But if he searches, he will know in what year it was built.
When asked how Iqbalul Bashar got the bed, he said that he bought the bed in 1991 from Regina Jamal, daughter of Komar Begum, the heir of Charana Raja of Puthia, for 10,000 taka.
Notably, Regina Jamal’s mother Komar Begum claimed that Raja Naresh Narayan later converted to Islam and married her. This Komar Begum’s child from the other side is Regina Jamal. There are graves of Komar Begum and her daughter Regina Jamal in Charana Rajbari Chattar.
Iqbalul Bashar claimed that one of his relatives wanted to buy the couch for one lakh rupees, but he did not sell it. Every part of this couch is precisely from that period. He just changed the previous antique color. The legs of the couch are made in the shape of an eagle’s mouth. The couch has a special design on the three sides and the legs. He claimed that there was no ladder to climb up to the couch.
Seeing the couch, Assistant Custodian Hafizur Rahman said it was Rajbari. He sought the cooperation of Iqbalul Bashar to enrich the museum of Puthia Rajbari. And if there is any artefact in someone’s house, he requested to find it. Also, he advises to use it carefully so that the couch is not damaged.
When asked if he wants to take the couch from the museum or not, Iqbalul Basha Prothom Alo said with a smile that it is his hobby. He bought the hobby. Even then, when asked whether he would give or not, he only said, ‘No.’
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