Jagtai (zamindari)

The Choudhuries of Jagtai:

One of the historical sites where Rani Gaurangini's legacy is still present with the pride of its 300-year grandeur is Jagtai, which is currently a census town under Suti II CD block in the Murshidabad district of West Bengal. The early eighteenth-century feminist movement in Jagtai is the central theme. The folktale of Gaurangini Devi, who was married to Babu Saheb Lal Choudhury,  into a zamindar family from Pabna in British India (now in Bangladesh), remains well-known in the regions of Nimtita, Jagtai, and even Aurangabad. Once upon a time, according to the locals, Gaurangini Devi was riding in a palanquin to bathe in the Ganga. However, she objected upon seeing the immoral presence of the Bojra (house boat) belonging to British male officers as soon as she arrived at the women's ghat. 

The governor of Bengal at the time was moved by the bravery of a Bengali woman and desired to present Gaurangini Devi with the zamindari of Jagtai village. She saw the necessity of women's empowerment in opposition to British regulations within the Bengal Presidency, thus she seized the opportunity to accept the offer. The Jagtai Choudhury Estate was founded in the eighteenth century by Rani Gaurangini, who named her own son Babu Keshto Mohun  Choudhury as the first zamindar of Jagtai.

Nearly 240 years have passed, and Gaurangini Devi's legacy endures. According to several accounts, the family's Durga Puja was initiated by Babu Keshto Mohun Choudhury in Sherpur, Nimtita, in 1784. It subsequently moved to its current location in the Jagtai Choudhury zamindar bari. Even though today most of the portions of the Choudhury zamindari palace have been replaced by a number of refurbished modern buildings, the wood-apple tree within the Choudhury bari premises still stands as a testament to the 240-year history of Durga Puja during the zamindari period. Even now, the tree itself still displays signs of Jagtai Choudhuries' nobility.

Photogallery:

        Durga Dalan of Jagtai Choudhury Bari                                   during Diwali

     Durga Pratima of Jagtai Choudhury Bari                                       (2021)

      Durga pratima of Jagtai Choudhury Bari                            (Durga Puja, 2021)

      Outside view of Jagtai Choudhury Villa                                 during Diwali

                   Arati of Goddess Durga

            Choudhury family members on a                           photoshoot during Durga Puja