A Priceless Restoration

Bari Kothi is a centuries-old palace turned into a heritage hotel in Murshidabad. A walk through the 250-year old ancestral house of the Sheherwali Dudhoria family, that is now restored to its former glory.

- Supriya Newar

Murshidabad may not feature as a top heritage destination today, but back in the late 1800s, this town of then undivided Bengal, contributed 5 per cent of the world’s GDP and attracted traders and merchants to its shores! One of the communities that moved in a significant way from Bikaner in Rajasthan to Murshidabad and settled there were called Sheherwalis. One of the most notable names of that community, that continues to ring a bell not just in Bengal but in the entire mercantile memory of the country to date, is that of Jagat Seth, who was informally titled as the ‘Universal Banker’ of the world.

Some other prominent Sheherwali families who also moved to Murshidabad included the Singhis, Bothras, Dugars, Kotharis, Nowlakhas and Dudhorias. The hallmark of these families was that though they were staunch Jains, they were quick to pick up from the myriad influences prevalent—be it European, British, Mughal or Bengali—and create their own unique cultural identity in terms of food, clothes and architecture. Settled in Murshidabad, in the twin towns of Azimganj and Jiaganj with the River Ganges (known as Bhagirathi there) flowing in between, these families went on to trade in textiles and earn titles such as Rai Bahadur, Raja, Maharaja and Zamindar.