An Abandoned Mosque at Bajua.

 

Recently we have gone through an information published in one of the leading newspapers of West Bengal that an old ruined heritage ‘Masjid’ in Bajua village (Block- Goghat, Sub-division-Arambag, District. Hoogly) is being kept clean by a Hindu family, for the last 27 years, enabling both Hindu and Islamic community to pay homage at this religious relic.

Barring this unique example of communal harmony, the relic is also notable for some historical and artistic factors. It was declared as a state archeological asset since 1980. It was constructed between 1531 to1532 with the patronage of the-then Bengal Sultan Nusrat Shah. (These details are gathered from the Persian plaque erected on the wall of the Masjid).

Almost 500 years back, this was a grand structure having a single dome with a high a boundary wall and a majestic entrance, in spacious 10 Acre land.  Time had not spared this structure; it went to public oblivion at least a quarter century back and had become a place full of ruined rubbles and green vegetation – a paradise for reptiles.

The Hindu family used to dry their paddy in this premises. To safeguard their life from the reptiles, they started cleaning the thick vegetation and  tried to up-keep the place regularly to up-keep the place ( with their limited resources), just like a holy structure.  Villagers irrespective of their religion, resumed to flock together to this newly revived place of worship.

Apart from its legacy and current information, another remarkable aspect is the brilliant detail of the burnt brick on the walls of this relic-the finest flower and grape motif of terracotta. Terracotta-Bengal’s own artistic signature is abundantly available in the Hindu temples, but seldom found in the newly constructed Islamic mosques. We talk of Terracotta temple of Bengal, but hardly ever speak of the terracotta Mosques, The hidden architectural treasures of Bengal.

Bengal as the land of amalgamation of art and religion, found patrons even among the Muslim rulers who used the fine Terracotta work of Hindu artisans on their mosques. Bengal’s rich alluvial soil, washed downstream by the mighty rivers, helped to get enough clay, that was fired and burnt to make Terracotta bricks and plates that went into making of these mosques.

At the time, clay was the construction material of choice in Bengal as stone was not available in this region. With the collapse of the Delhi Sultanate in the mid-14^th century, a number of independent kingdoms emerged, including the Sultanate  of Bengal (1338 CE). The rulers of the Bengal Sultanate built a number of mosques across Bengal between 1310 CE and 1550 CE, during which the art of terracotta decoration reached its zenith. As per Historian Nihar Ghosh and his book Islamic Art of Mediaeval Bengal Architectural Embellishments (2003) the “panels on the walls, doorways and spandrels including niches are sometimes profusely ornamented by terracotta panels and curved brick work “. There are three unique ornamented  Terracotta mosques in Hooghly district- Adi Saptagram, Pandua and Tribeni .( http://astoundingbengal.blogspot.com/2015/02/oldest-surviving-monument-in-bengal_17.html)

You might not be a history buff , you might not be very keen to know the tit bits of one Bengali village society but if you think of some nameless ferociously talented Bengali artesian,who had delivered something unique then please visit this structure (approximately 90 km road distance from Kolkata). Through it is a declared state heritage site, in all probability with the continuing amnesia,  this might perish from the landscape very soon. That will be a blow to all heritage lovers.

Research. : Santanu Roy and Abhijyan Basu.

Photo courtsey : Tathagata Sen and Santanu Roy.

 

Sources:

1.    “ Hoogly Jelar Deb Deul” by Sudhir Kumar Mitra.

2.    “ Hoogly Jelar Itihas” by Sudhir Kumar Mitra.

3.    “ Pashimbanger Sanskriti” By Binoy Ghosh.

4.    https://www.anandabazar.com/amp/west-bengal/howrah-hooghly/arati-pramanik-keeps-mosque-clean/cid/1277372

5.    An article published in the magazine “Alokito Banladesh” under the title “Hoogler Bajua masjid” by Dr. Khondakar Alamgir. https://www.alokitobangladesh.com/print-edition/civilization-and-culture/82593/%E0%A6%B9%E0%A7%81%E0%A6%97%E0%A6%B2%E0%A6%BF-%E0%A6%9C%E0%A7%87%E0%A6%B2%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%B0-%E0%A6%AC%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%9C%E0%A7%81%E0%A7%9F%E0%A6%BE-%E0%A6%AE%E0%A6%B8%E0%A6%9C%E0%A6%BF%E0%A6%A6

6.    Lastly, I am very much grateful to Mr. Tathagata Sen, Mrs.Sarmistha Dutta and Mr.Kalyan Chakraborty , without their cordial help and co-operation we could not proceed to document this mosque.