Puthia Rani Ghat, Rajshahi

Hello friends, today I am here to take entries for the wonderful Atlas Contest organized by the moderator of this community @damithudaya. The theme of this contest is Contest Announcement & Winners | Steem Atlas Challenge XViii - Pin Your Favorite Spot. This is a very wonderful contest where today I will be reviewing a tourist spot.

One of the ancient and historical monuments of Rajshahi district is the Puthia Rajbari. A beautiful place in this palace is Ranighat, which is a wonderful combination of history, culture and natural beauty. A few days ago, we went there to visit the place.

Ranighat is basically a ghat that was built on the banks of a pond flowing past the palace. It was built by a queen of the Puthia royal family whose name is famous in history. The purpose of building the ghat was to create a safe and orderly bathing place for the women of the royal family. Because at that time, the women of the royal family could not bathe in ordinary ghats. I started with a scene from the palace where the queens resided.

Puthia Palace is one of the ancient and traditional palaces of Bangladesh. Here, not only kings but also queens lived in an aristocratic, orderly and dignified environment. The life of the queens inside the palace was quite secretive, disciplined and limited to certain rules. Although their life was magnificent, it was controlled by society, religion and royal customs. However, the queens loved nature very much, so they planted many exotic trees around the palace.

The queens lived right in the middle of the palace. The queens were religious and regular participants in worship and festivals. They used to offer daily prayers at various temples in the palace, such as the Govinda Temple, the Anandabhairav Temple, etc. Each queen had a separate place of worship and a priest. The queens were also skilled in music, dance, sewing, cooking and poetry. The queens would take part in the planning and preparation of the events that took place in the royal family. There was a specific area for the queens to walk through, where we took pictures while walking.

The palace had a special part for the queens to live in, called the Antapura. This part was slightly separated from the main palace to ensure the queens' safety and privacy. Men other than the king were prohibited from entering this part. The queens' rooms were beautifully decorated with velvet curtains, carved wooden beds, air conditioning and separate rooms for personal maids. However, the outside was made of solid brick and had numerous inscriptions on it. If you look at the pictures below, you will understand how secure the animal houses were.

Let us now show you the place where women bathed. The Ranighat was reserved for women only. It was surrounded by high walls and security. The architectural style of the ghat clearly shows the royal impression, the stone steps, the shaded environment and the beautiful arched entrance bear evidence of the royal court's elegance. The Ranighat of the Puthia Palace was a place of private prayer and mental peace for the royal family. Many say that the queens used to sit here and worship and perform religious rituals.

Today, this ghat is a historical attraction for visitors to the Puthia Palace. Ranighat still stands as a monument to past traditions as a symbol of the royal women's life. As the Puthia royal family was a landowner family, the zamindari office and administrative office were located inside the palace. Tax collection, land lease, judicial proceedings and various problems of the subjects were resolved from this office.

A part of the palace was the Durbar Hall where the king met the subjects directly, listened to their complaints and gave judgments. This Durbar also occasionally held internal meetings of the royal family. Although the queens did not participate directly. Some educational institutions were established near or around the Puthia Palace, which were patronized by the king and members of the royal family. Pathshalas or schools were established for the subjects where local children studied.

From there, we walked a little further inside where the queens had a place to spend their time. Let's show you what that place was like. Inside the palace, there was a garden surrounded by various flowers and trees, which was one of the queens' favorite places to spend their leisure time. They would pick flowers there, sew, chat with their maids, or just enjoy nature in silence.

A place for queens to sit and spend time
Royal flower garden

All the facilities for the queens were there. If you delve into the history of ancient times, you can uncover many mysteries. I was walking from there and coming out because I had finished seeing everything. At the last moment, I saw some toilets from ancient times there. This toilet was used only for kings and queens. It was forbidden for outsiders. But now it is abandoned. One thing that surprised me was that a modern toilet has been arranged next to it only for tourists.

Abandoned royal toilets
Modern toilets currently in use

The Puthia Palace was a self-contained royal complex. Here, not only were the administrative activities of the kings conducted, but education and culture were also carefully practiced. The queens, despite being in their own designated area, had limited contact with the outside world through ghats, gardens and temples. They were mostly nature lovers, so they liked to spend time in nature and planted various large trees. Those trees have now grown and created a perfect view for us to take pictures.

Their places of spending time were arranged, peaceful and conducive to spiritual peace. This entire system reflects the lifestyle of a disciplined, dignified and cultured royal family. The life of the queens of Puthia Rajbari was on the one hand full of royal pomp, and on the other hand limited to social and religious discipline. Their life was secret, veiled and systematic. However, we need to know more about this history, so I personally went to observe it and present it to you. While I'm here, I'll provide YouTube links to some videos.