Ruins have the mesmerising quality of attracting curious onlookers – especially if the ruins are of a sprawling zamindari mansion spread over a large area. On a foggy winter morning, when the sun is yet to brighten up the day, a stroll in and around such a place gives the visitor a feeling of nostalgia, a romance of a bygone era. One feels transported to the past and everything seems surreal.
A handful of such mansions exist in Bengal, mostly belonging to local landlords, and have been favourite shooting locations for many filmmakers. Helped by the films, such locations have become popular weekend driving destinations for tourists. One such destination is the Kalikapur Rajbari in Purba Bardhaman district – located about 175 km north-west of Kolkata – close to Santiniketan.
The Kalikapur zamindar house was built by about Sadgop Zamindar Paramananda Roy. Parmananada came here from Guskara town of Birbhum district and established a zamindari. Initially, he stayed at Maukhira village, four km north of Kalikapur. However, with the expansion of his family and troubled by annual monsoon floods in Maukhira, he shifted to elevated grounds at Kalikapur.
There, he built a huge mansion with seven sections – one for each of his seven sons, as well as a Durgadalan with a Nat Mandir. Such mansions are referred to in the local dialect as “Saat Mahala Bari” (mansion with seven parts). Though the present family members cannot confirm it, researcher Jaggeshwar Chowdhury mentions in his book, Burdwan: Itihas O Sanskriti – Volume 3, that the year of establishment was 1819.
source