Soon, hundreds of tourists from all over West Bengal and beyond will be visiting Santiniketan to celebrate the famed Basanta Utsav. A short detour would lead them to a dilapidated mansion, which is connected to the origin of Santiniketan.
In 1863, Debendranath Tagore sat under a chatim tree for meditation in Bolpur, and discovered unparalleled peace. He decided to buy the land surrounding the tree and turn it into an abode of peace (Santiniketan). The land belonged to Bhuban Mohan Singha (Sinha), who was based in Raipur, a village about 6km south-west of Bolpur. According to local belief, the Sinhas gave the land to Debendranath for a token sum of ₹1. Debendranath built a guest house in the newly acquired land and named it Santiniketan. Under his illustrious son Rabindranath Tagore, the area grew into a University town and the whole region acquired the same name.
The massive towering doors and windowless walls of the mansion Rangan Datta
Raipur, in Birbhum district, has been the home of the Sinhas for centuries. Over the years, their business grew in leaps and bounds and during its pinnacle, their zamindari covered almost the whole of Birbhum district. The Sinhas made themselves a massive mansion consisting of three wings and housed a staggering 120 rooms.
The rajbari consisted of three wings and housed a staggering 120 rooms Rangan Datta
But the Sinhas were more famous for their illustrious son Satyendra Prasanna Sinha, popularly known as Lord Sinha. He was born in 1863, the very year when Debandranath took charge of the land in Santiniketan. He was appointed as the Standing Counsel to the Government of India in 1903 and then as the Advocate General of Bengal (1907-1909 and 1915-1917), being the first Indian to occupy the post.
Satyendra Prasanna Sinha, popularly known as Lord Sinha Wikimedia Commons
After Independence, the zamindari system was abolished in 1951 and it was difficult for these families to maintain their palatial mansions. The Sinhas of Raipur were no exception and soon their massive mansion started crumbling. They started selling artifacts to survive and later started removing portions of the buildings like doors and windows in a bid to get by. According to locals, a member of the Sinha family removed the teak beams and sold them. The roof collapsed making the house inhabitable and it was probably in the 1970s the property was finally abandoned. The looting of material continued even after that, turning the grand house into a heap of crumbling masonry.
Gateway of the temple complex adjoining Raipur Rajbari Rangan Datta
The mansion has been the backdrop of a couple of Bengali movies, including Khandhar (1984) of Mrinal Sen and much later, Jekhane Bhooter Bhoy (2012). The latter attracted a host of local social media content creators. Their content consisted of stories of underground dungeons and secret passageways with a dash of paranormal activities, creating an aura of mystery. This was enough to attract a fraction of the tourists visiting Santiniketan to visit the Raipur Sinha family Mansion, popularly known as the Raipur Rajbari.
The temple complex adjoining Raipur Rajbari Rangan Datta
Today, the crumbling door and windowless walls of the rajbari gives off a mysterious aura, probably fuelled by the recent ghost movies and social media content and is an attraction for tourists visiting Santiniketan. The towering walls have a stupendous effect creating a grand spectacle. In 2011 a portion of the mansion was taken over by the NGO called the Nayantara Memorial Charitable Trust, who have plans to renovate part of the mansion. Next to the mansion is a temple complex, dating back to the time of the Sinhas. It is an active temple and well maintained.
Travel Information
- Located just 6km from Santiniketan, it can be explored on a toto
- For the more curious, the trip can be extended to a half day excursion by car and would also include Amkhoi Wood Fossil Park, Mama Bhagne Pahar and the terracotta temples of Ilambazar and Hetampur