Shobhabazar is an urban area that boasts with the colonial and the late Mughal history.
Location of Shobhabazar
Shobhabazar is a royal place in the northern part of Kolkata. It is located in the Indian state of West Bengal.
History of Shobhabazar
Shobhabazar was once the land of Sheths and Basaks in the late medieval era. They are the well-to-do traders at Saptagram who were among the first to settle in Sutanuti the old Kolkata and said to have cleared much of the jungles in the area.
Naming of Shobhabazar
Shobhabazar was named after the family deity of the Basaks, Shyam Roy the attendant of goddess Kali by Shobharam Basak, one of the richest native inhabitants of 18th century Kolkata. When Ramcharan Deb was murdered by Maratha marauders in the jungles of Midnapore, his widow came back to their house at Gobindapur with her three sons and five daughters. The house was washed away by the Hooghly River and they moved to Arpooly and from there to Shobhabazar. Ramcharan"s youngest son Maharaja Nabakrishna Deb rose to fame and power. The glorious days of Shobhabazar starts with the decision of the British to build, after their decisive win in Battle of Plassey, the new Fort William in the heart of Gobindapur. The inhabitants of the village were compensated and provided with land in Taltala, Kumortuli and Shobhabazar.
Shobhabazar Rajbari
Maharaja Nabakrishna Deb built the place at Shobhabazar. Some say that he acquired it from Shobharam Basak and made major extensions, matching his taste for pomp and grandeur. At least money was not in short supply. After the death of Siraj-ud-Daulah, Nabakrishna Deb along with Mir Jafar, Amir Beg and Ramchand Roy earned eight crore rupees worth of treasures from the secret treasury. Nabakrishna Deb is said to have constructed the road from Upper Chitpur Road (now Rabindra Sarani) to Upper Circular Road (now Acharya Prafulla Chandra Road) and named it after his own name. However, while half of the street was merged with Grey Street (now Aurobindo Sarani), another half became Shobhabazar Street. Another street north of it was named Raja Nabakrishna Street.
Tourism in Shobhabazar
Shobhabazar Rajbari, Kumartoli, Shyambazar, Tagore House are the tourist"s delight in Shobhabaar.
