House of Jagat Seth

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House of Jagat Seth
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General information
TypeComplex
LocationMahimapur, Murshidabad-Jiaganj CD block, Murshidabad district
Coordinates24°12′33″N 88°15′44″E / 24.20916°N 88.26223°E / 24.20916; 88.26223Coordinates: 24°12′33″N 88°15′44″E / 24.20916°N 88.26223°E / 24.20916; 88.26223
Completed1704
OwnerJagat Seth family

House of Jagat Seth is a historical building complex belonging to the Jagat Seth family at Mahimapur in the Murshidabad-Jiaganj CD block of Murshidabad district. It now houses the House of Jagat Seth Museum.

Geography[]

[Interactive fullscreen map]
Murshidabad
F: facility, H: historical site
Owing to space constraints in the small map, the actual locations in a larger map may vary slightly

Location[]

The House of Jagat Seth is located at

 WikiMiniAtlas
24°12′33″N 88°15′44″E / 24.20916°N 88.26223°E / 24.20916; 88.26223.

The Namak Haram Deorhi, Jafarganj Cemetery, Nashipur Rajbari , Kathgola Palace and Tomb of Azimunissa Begum are all located nearby. One can reach the temple town of Rani Bhavani at Baranagar, on the other side of the Bhagirathi, by country boat from Ajimganj.[1]

Note: The map alongside presents some of the notable locations in Murshidabad city. Most of the places marked in the map are linked in the larger full screen map. A few, without pages yet, remain unmarked. The map has a scale. It will help viewers to find out the distances.

The banking family[]

Jagat Seth was the title given to a fabulously rich family of businessmen, who were financiers of the Nawabs of Murshidabad and others. In 1715, Manik Chand, who had come from what is now Rajasthan and settled in Murshidabad, was conferred the title of Nagar Seth, the banker of the city, by the Mughal emperor, Farrukhsiyar. Manikchand's son, Fateh Chand, was given the hereditary title of Jagat Seth, in 1723, by the Mughal emperor, Muhammad Shah. The family continued to use the title. “Roben Orme, the official historian of the British East India Company described Jagat Seth as the greatest banker and money changer known in the world at that time.”[2]

The Jagat Seth family had prospered during the reign of Nawab Murshid Quli Khan. However, things began to change once Fateh Chand's grandson, Madhab Roy, took over in 1744, during the reign of Nawab Alivardi Khan. With the ascent of Nawab Siraj ud-Daulah, Jagat Seth started to have closer links with the British. They even conspired with others to overthrow the Nawab. However, after the Battle of Plassey, Mir Jafar, the new Nawab, organised the killing of Madhab Roy and his cousin Swarup Chand, in 1763, and threw their bodies off the ramparts of Munger Fort. Madhab Roy's son, Kushal Chand, was granted the title of Jagat Seth, but with the transfer of the treasury and mint to Kolkata by the British, the need of a private banker at Murshidabad was vastly diminished.[3]

House of Jagat Sheth picture gallery[]

  • Entrance gate

  • House of Jagat Seth

  • House of Jagat Seth

  • Corridor

  • Statue of Cleopatra

  • Temple

  • Jain temple

  • Garden bench

Museum[]

House of Jagat Seth Museum was established in 1980. It is privately managed. It contains personal possessions of the Jagat Seth family including coins of the bygone era, muslin and other extravagant clothes, Banarasi sarees embroidered with gold and silver threads[4]

According to the Archaeological Survey of India the house, temple and ruins associated with the memory of Jagat Seth's house at Mahimapur are State Protected Monuments (Item no S-WB-94).[5]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ "Offbeat Weekend in Murshidabad". Outskirts of Killa Nizamat (Northern part). Offbeat Weekend. Retrieved 20 July 2021.
  2. ^ "Murshidabad Tour Guide – beyond Hazar Duari". 11. House of Jagat Seth and Pareshnath Temple. Offbeat Untold. Retrieved 20 June 2021.
  3. ^ "The Rise and Fall of the Jagat Sheths". Joseph Rozario. Marwar India, 12 June 2015. Retrieved 20 July 2021.
  4. ^ "House of Jagat Seth Museum". Museums of India. Retrieved 20 July 2021.
  5. ^ List of State Protected Monuments as reported by the Archaeological Survey of India Archived 2013-05-23 at the Wayback Machine.

External links[]

Murshidabad travel guide from Wikivoyage

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