Zamindars of Andul

www.duttachaudhurichronicles.com

েহমাৎপল েচৗধুরী, California, USA

The Dutta Chaudhuries were the first Zamindar family of Andul, as shown in the timeline-based chart above. They have been there since the 14th century, and their family Durga Puja is more than four centuries old ... one of the oldest in Bengal.

The Kundu Chaudhury zamindars and Andul-Raj family came much later. As can also be seen in the chart, these two families initially came into prominence through marriage alliances with the Dutta Chaudhuries. Undoubtedly, some of the Dutta Chaudhury real estate & wealth got channelized to help build up the fortunes of the Kundu Chaudhuries and Roys.

The following pages provide references to documents from which data was used to prepare the above chart.

Hemotpaul Chaudhuri েহমাৎপল েচৗধুরী, California, USA Zamindars of Andul

Dutta Vansa Mala by Kedarnath Dutta p 7. (Listed in National Library, )

March 24, 2016

English Translation of Bengali Text:

"Purushottama's son Govardhan, whose son was Nilambar, whose son was Gobinda, whose son was Dibakar, whose son was Mahipati, whose son was Binayak, whose son was Narayan, whose son was Gadhadhar, whose son was Kanu Biswas, whose son was Murari, and whose son was Tekari Dutta.

It was Tekari who moved from Bally to Muzaffara, or Andul. There he acquired substantial real estate, and became famous because the reigning Sultan granted him the title of "Chaudhury", his lineage then began to known as the “Dutta Chaudhury” family of Andul.

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Amar Desher Kotha by Atul Krishna Dutta Chaudhury published 1944 p 11 shown below.

English Translation of Bengali Text:

Sometime towards the end of the 14th century Tekari (Debdas) Dutta, 12th in line from Purushottam Dutta, left Bally and established his residence in Andul on the western bank of the . There are written texts to indicate that Tekari, having inherited a lot of wealth from his father, acquired a lot of real estate in Muzaffarpur Pargana, and established himself as the zamindar of Andul. Recognizing Tekari's elevated status, the Nawab awarded him the title of "Chaudhury" (one who wields power of all four directions). Tekari had his mansion constructed over a substantial area of 252 bighas.

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Bengal District Gazetteer–, by O’Malley & Chakravarti, 1909, p 148, 150.

Howrah p148

Note: The article from "The Telegraph" dated August 30, 2013 reproduced below was written by Anupam Mukherjee, and was titled "The grand ol’ building". It relates to the year 1883 when funds were being requested for constructing the Town Hall for Howrah Municipality.

The marked sentence indicates that Kedar Nath Kundu (descendant of Tekari Dutta) referenced in the Howrah document above was in fact Kedar Nath Kundu Chaudhury, which also confirms that the Mohiary Kundu Chaudhury family are related to the Dutta Chaudhury family of Andul through Tekari himself.

Note: The article from "The Telegraph" dated April 13, 2008 reproduced below indicates that Durga Puja of the Kundu Chaudhuries started sometime in late 18th century.

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Amar Desher Katha by Atul Krishna Dutta Chaudhury published 1944 p 87, 88.

English Translation of Bengali Text:

Gouri Shankar Basu was Kashiswar Chaudhury's son-in-law, and founder of the Basu Mullick zamindar family of Andul. He also helped Bhubaneshwar Kar, his brother-in-law (sister's husband), to settle down at Andul as well. The Kar family established their standing in Andul by acquiring real estate and became rich through business dealings, because of which they were awarded the title of "Roy".

Ramlochan Roy worked as the Dewan of Warren Hastings, the Governor-General, and amassed immense wealth. He was awarded the title of "Raja", and became the founder of the Andul Raj family.

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p300, 301

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Durga Puja Of “Bonedi Families” At Howrah

by the courtesy of Amitabha Gupta

Note: I have selectively presented here, verbatim, the information pertaining to the history of the Kundu Chaudhury family, and Andul Raj family, as available at Amitabha's website:

amitabhagupta.wordpress.com/2015/10/27/durga-puja-of-bonedi-families-at-howrah/

Kundu Chaudhury family:

"Though the ancestor of the family Kushai Ram alias Kushai Dev settled at Mohiari as early as on 1745, it was only in 1816 that the most famous descendant of the family Ramkanta Kundu Chaudhury built up the present palatial residence of the family along with adjacent two Shiva temple. The date on the foundation stone of one of the temples reveals the year of establishment. The family’s origin was actually from Tamluk at Medinipur."

Andul Raj family:

"The founder of Andul Raj family Diwan Ram Chandra Roy served under Lord Clive. It is understood that under Lord Clive’s instance, The Mughal Emperor bestowed the title of Raja to Ram Chandra’s son Ram Lochan Roy in 1765 along with a command of 4000 troops. Durga Puja of this family was started in 1770 by Ramlochan Roy of Andul on request of Lord Clive aiming to shift public sentiment from the defeat of Siraj-ud-Doula in the Battle of Plassey. The family had a unique style of immersion. The deity was carried to the nearby Saraswati River and a cannon was fired to cause the impact for her immersion.

The colossal mansion of Anandadham or Andul Rajbari was built by Rajnarayan Roy of Andul Raj family in 1835. There is beautiful courtyard studded with beautiful pillars inside the mansion. However at present Durga Puja is not celebrated inside the mansion, but inside a Chandi-Mandap on separate premises besides the Andul Rajbari. The Zamindari had long got transferred to Mitra family from the Roy when the last descendant of Roy family died without any heir. Thus, the title got shifted to the daughter’s side which resulted in Mitra family being the new Zamindars of Andul Raj.

Durga Puja had stopped in this family for over 150 years, due to a tragedy in the family. It has recently being revived by the family members and Puja is being performed for a period of 6 years at present. Though the ancient rituals have been long forgotten, the family adheres to timings and rituals of Ramakrishna Mission."

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