Natore - Uttara Gonobhaban

Uttara Gonobhaban, known as the Dighapatia Rajbari and situated in Natore District. People from all over Bangladesh come to see the majestic buildings and gardens of the Rajbari.

Dighapatia Rajbari was made 'Dighapatia Governor House' on 24th July, 1967 by Mr. Abdul Monem Khan. Later, after our country's independence, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman declared the Dighapatia Governor House as Uttara Gonobhaban on 9th February, 1972.

Here the king's rule prevailed upto their 7th generation but afterwards the abolishment of Zamindari system forced them to leave the Rajbari. This enormous building with lakes and trees was built on one twenty five bighas of land. At first sight, I saw a huge clock on top of the gate and it seemed just like a replica of the Big Ben in London. Recalling those days and the power of kings made me go nostalgic. On each side of the palace there are two beautiful statues of a woman. Entering the castle I saw two armoured knights on each side. All the bedrooms have beautifully decorated beds. There are nine bedrooms in total in the palace.

The bathrooms are entirely made of marble stone. A big stone-made bathtub is kept in the verandah for visitors to take a look. The curator informed us that Raja DayaRam was the first king and his last descendant was Raja Pratibhanath Roy. The Rajbari also has a dance room where dancers danced to the tune of instruments to entertain the kings and their guests. Needless to say, the room is very spacious and accommodated with couches so that the Rajas could comfortably rest and enjoy the performance.

One eye-catching thing was the upside down fan, the inverse form of today's table fan, and the blades of which point downward. This machine was powered by kerosene oil. There are also card rooms, a dining room with two green colour candle stands hanging from the ceiling and most significantly the room of "The Royal Court". Here the kings discussed different matters with the members of the court. The famous chair of the king symbolizes a person who is not ordinary but destined to be someone who is much more than ordinary.

The dynasty of kings and queens exists no more but what they have left behind still amazes us creating everlasting impressions on our hearts.