People who feel the pull of historical monuments can come back on this Eid.

The zamindari system was a widely discussed, controversial and important issue in the Indian subcontinent from the Mughal period to the British period. The property left by the zamindars who managed huge zamindari with influence prestige is now a historical monument. Various historical monuments stand as witnesses of the history of Bangladesh. One of these historical monuments is the Pratappur Rajbari in Feni.

Purbachandrapur of Daganbhuiyan Upazila is only 18 to 20 km away from Mahipal of Feni
Location of Pratappur Rajbari in Pratappur village of the union. As a student of history, where I have the responsibility to work on the historical monuments of Bangladesh, I have not yet set foot in the famous zamindar house of my district.
Rajkrishna Saha has been anxious to visit this palace for several months and his eyes are extremely restless but he could not find time and opportunity. Waiting to calm the eyes by seeing the half-broken pattern of the palace standing in a royal manner across a huge place under the extreme influence of the king’s power.

Finally, I came home on Eid holiday and started my journey by riding a bike with two friends on May 26 at 11 am. I am going to Rajbari so I know how to ride a horse even if I go by bike. The night before, I tried to find out the history of the palace online. Now wait and see with your own eyes. I reached Pratappur School in just 40 minutes from Mahipal. Standing here, one has to ask, “You will go to the big house! You will find the front turn as soon as you turn left.” It was understood that the local people knew Pratappur Rajbari as Bara Bari or Rajbari.

At the entrance, the first thing that came to mind was the Kachari house built in the style of a worship house of the followers of traditional religions. Even though there is no one in this house now, the followers of traditional religions still celebrate a three-day festival around this house every year on Baishakh. And then the descendants of Rajkrishna Saha arrived. There is a huge fair in front of the house. People from far and wide, including nearby villages, flocked to see the fair. In front of this kachari house there is a huge moving tree. Such a huge moving tree is not seen very much. Towards the moving tree, it seems to him that Rajkrishna is still representing Saha by occupying a huge space with royal stalks.

Rajprasad was seen when he left the moving tree behind and looked ahead. The entrance to the house is further through the middle of the two palaces. As soon as he tried to enter, three Rajprasads were standing in front of him with the beauty of royal feeling. Looking back to the right, you will see the big Raj Prasad with two floors. It is known from the local people that Rajkrishna Saha lived in this palace. Next to it is another small house. It is known that Rajkrishna Sahara had five brothers. Five brothers lived in five houses. There were five ponds next to the five prasads and a road leading directly from the house to the pond ghat which still has traces. The beautiful brick ghats in the two ponds are still half intact.
The ponds have built beautiful defenses around the house.

According to various sources, including Wikipedia, Rajkrishna Saha built this magnificent house on a 600-acre site in 160 AD. The house had 10 houses and 13 ponds. Zamindar houses with so many ponds are not seen in Bangladesh. However, in the evolution of time, at present 6 ponds and 8 houses are standing as historical monuments. The house is not under the supervision of any public or private historical monument maintenance agency and the tradition is being destroyed day by day. There is no way to know which brother lived in which house. No name plate or engraved name exists.

Talking to the locals, it is known that the descendants of Rajkrishna Saha lived here till 1996. There was a lot of robbery in the area then. According to the information of the local people, when they came to commit robbery, they took the opportunity to take revenge and used to torture their wives and daughters. As the village is located on the border of Feni district, it took a long time for the police to reach from the police station. The village is now under Daganbhuiyan police station but in 1996 it was under Feni Sadar.
At one time all the surrounding areas were under the zamindars. Here they ran zamindari and collected rent. If they failed to pay the rent on time, they would persecute the locals. After the country was divided, their influence gradually began to wane. Two of the five brothers left for India. The people around were freed from the shackles of zamindari. Some overzealous people who have been freed from long-standing oppression want revenge even though most locals try to stop them.

I met Zaheer Muktar at the big pond.
Assuming age, it will be more than fifty. Tired of working on the land, he is sitting on the pond in the shade of a tree and calming his body. Seeing us, he started talking on his own. “Are you coming to ask for Rajbari? Amnego Bari Konde?”.
Then Zaheer Muktar smiled and said that he was going to steal oranges in the palace when he was young. I was very young then. I went to the palace for work during the day and saw the orange orchard. Seeing many oranges in the tree, I wanted to eat a lot of oranges. I came quietly at night and at 8/10 o’clock I was tearing the orange and tying it in my lungi. Just then the sound of straw came to my ears. All that was left was to realize that someone was slowly opening the latch of the door. Dilab ran as he understood. I can’t tell what I’m feeling when I run, my knees have been cut off a lot. After going home, I got caught near my mother due to the amputation of my leg. Saying all this, Zaheer Muktar lifted his lungi a little and showed the cut marks.

I said goodbye to Zaheer Muktar and got on the bike to come back. Wow yes I will show you different jas around the house

I have captured many stills with yoga poses.

How to go:

Get off the train at Feni railway station and come to Mahipal with a fare of 20 TK. And in the bus you will actually get off the bus at Mahipala.
From Mahipal, take the Noakhali route bus or CNG and get off at Sebarhat. It will cost about 40 TK on the bus. Anyone who goes down to Sebarhat will see the road as a big house or a palace. There you can get CNG for only 20 TK in front of the Kachari house of the palace.

On the way back, you can visit Vijay Singh Dighi in Mahipala and the park next to Dighi. You will be able to take lunch comfortably at Mahitale.

Be aware of the environment and create awareness. Don’t throw dirt anywhere.