Andul Heritage

|| Andul Raj Bari ||

ANDUL KAR ROY FAMILY (or ROY
family ~ Andul Raj Bari)
Kar family became the next rising highly influential zmindr, in Andul of Howrah district, after the Dutta
Chaudhuri family, where the former settled long after, from Sutanati village (near Sovabazar area, Kolkata). Like
the noble zminadr Dutta Chaudhuries, these Kars were also ksthas of Bharadwaja clan. The Kar family
initially came into prominence through marriage alliances with the Dutta Chaudhuries. Kashiswar Dutta
Chaudhuris son-in-law was Gaur Shankar Basu-Mullick, who later established the zmindr Mullick (BasuMullick) family of Andul. Gaur Shankar, in turn, helped his brother-in-law (sisters husband) Bhubaneshwar Kar to
establish the Kar family in the town. Undoubtedly, a lot of Kashiswars real estate & wealth got channelized to
build up the fortunes of the Mullick and Kar families.
The Kars of Andul consolidated and multiplied its assets, and it was Bhubaneshwar Kar who was bestowed the
title of Roy by the Muhammadan Government of Bengal at some point of time. The title is still in use in place of
Kar and they were reconised as the Roy family of Andul.

, Andul, West Bengal

Andul Heritage
|| Andul Raj Bari ||

Ram Charan Roy, one of the lineal descendant of Bhubaneshwar Kar Roy is considered as the patriarch of the
Roy family of Andul, and he earned the trust of the British traders when they landed on the shores of Bengal. He
was a contemporary to Mahrj Naba Krishna Deb Bahadur of Sovabazar Raj family. He had two sons, elder
was Ram Lochan Roy and younger was Raj Chandra Roy - who were powerful, learned and kind hearted noble
men. Ram Charan lived in Pathuriaghata of North Kolkata (near Sutanati). He served at first as Sirkr (a very
respectable position) to Colonel Olive and eventually as Dewan to Governor H.Vansittari and General Smith and
amassed immense wealth, under Lord Clive. It is understood that under Lord Clives instance, British Goverment
recommended the Rj ... which means King... title for him, instead he politely requested that his scholarly
sons- Ram Lochan and Raj Chandra be conferred the title.
Ram Lochan Roy accepted the Rj title, while his younger brother Raj Chandra Roy didnt, because he loved
to add Bbu infront of his name i.e. Babu Raj Chandra Roy. His obedient tenants () were also asked to call
him so.

, Andul, West Bengal

Andul Heritage
|| Andul Raj Bari ||

| | ARRIVAL OF BASU LINEAGE INTO THE RAJ FAMILY.

The house of Babu Raj Chandra Roy was known as Bbu bi (Babu House).
He had one son- Joy Gopal Roy, who had three daughters- Sharada Sundari, Panna Sundari and Bhabatarini.
Bhabatarini was married to Nabakrishna Basu and they had three sons- Amarendra Nath Basu, Atindra Nath
Basu and Samarendra Nath Basu. But Sharada Sundari and Panna Sundari were childless, so naturally the Basu
lineage became the heir of Bbu bi.

| | ARRIVAL OF MITRAS INTO THE RAJ FAMILY

In 1765, Ram Chandras elder son, Ram Lochan Roy was bestowed the title Rj along with 4000 troops. From
then Ram Lochan Roys lineage was recognised as the Raj family of Andul.
Raja Ram Lochan Roy had two sons- Kumr Kashinath Roy and Kumr Shiv Chandra Roy. Goddess
Arnapurna shrine of Andul was erected under the patronage of this Kashinath Roy, with 14 hiva Ligma
temples. Kashinath had two sons- Raj Narayan Roy and Tarakh Nath Roy.
Raj Narayan Roy was received the title Rj Bhdur from then Government for his position, loyalty and
unblemished character. He was educated in the Hindu college (former name of Presidency College, now
Presidency University) and acquired a great proficiency in the Sanskrit language. He took leading part in almost
all the movements of the Kasthas and maintained their rights to be treated in no way inferior to the

Brhmas in point of social position. Often did Golok Chandra Dutta Chaudhuri, Raja Raj Narayan Roy Bahadur
and Raja Sir Radhakanta Deb Bahadur organised Hindu Dharma Sabh in the house of Dutta Chaudhuri in
Andul.
It was Raja Raj Narayan Roy Bahadur who most satisfactorily proved from various Sanskrit verses that
Kasthas are Katri and that they had formerly used the sacred thread (~Pait) like Brhmas.

, Andul, West Bengal

Andul Heritage
|| Andul Raj Bari ||

Andul Raj Bari of Raja Raj Narayan Roy Bahadur and the Babu Bari of Babu Raj
Chandra Roy.
Raja Raj Naryan Bahadur was highly esteemed by the most learned pundits of his time. The colossal mansion of

nandadhma or Andul Rajbari was built by him in 1835. There is beautiful courtyard studded with beautiful
pillars inside the mansion. His death was much regretted by several respected European and Native Gentlemen.
At the age of 36, he passed away leaving behind his 11 years old son- Bijoy Kesab Roy.
Raja Bijoy Kesab later was married with the daughter of zmindr Shiv Narayan Ghosh of Pathuriaghata. From
a long time, they remained sterile, so Bijoy Kesab re-married with a daughter of Mitra family of Kumartuli. A
daughter was born to them, unfortunately who died at the age of two. Some Roy family members (most probably
the descendants of Shiv Chandra Roy) say that Bijoy Kesab later married a lady of the Dutta Chaudhuri family.
After Bijoy Kesabs death, his widows wanted to adopt a son. For this reason Khetro Mohan Mitra, cousin brother
of Bijoy Kesab heir the property of Bijoy Kesab Roy...that is the Raj Bari. So, the zamindari of the Roys had got
transferred to Mitra family. Thus, the title got shifted to the daughters side which resulted in Mitra family being the
new zmindr of Andul Raj.
This way Roy familys ancestral properties were divided in between these families- Basu and Mitra.

Drg pj OF THE RAJ FAMILY

Drg pj of this family was started in 1770 AD in a Chndi Maapa, attached with the Babu Bari by Babu
Raj Chandra Roy on request of Robert Clive (1725-1774) aiming to shift public sentiment from the defeat of Mirza

, Andul, West Bengal

Andul Heritage
|| Andul Raj Bari ||
Muhammad Siraj-ud-Doula (1733-1757, the last independent Nawb of Bengal) in the Battle of Plassey
(Palashi,1757). The family had a unique style of immersion. The deity was carried to the nearby holy Saraswat
River and a cannon was fired to cause the impact for her immersion.

Raja Ram Lochan Roy and Babu Raj Chandra Roy were loggerheads on some ancestral property of their family.
Ram Lochan wanted to have another Chndi Maapa and so he build a new one beside the existing one.
Later it was broken, when their family Gurudba instructed them to continue Drg pj in their old one.
Some people believe Drg pj of the Roy family had stopped for over 150 years, due to the tragedy in the
family between the two Roy brothers, which was re-started by the Mitra family as their financial condition were
sounded in compare to the Basu family. Though the ancient rituals have been long forgotten. Earlier the Mitras
started a ritual of buffalo sacrifice during Drg pj, which have been stopped in some recent years. The family
now adheres to timings and rituals of Rmakra Miana.
The Chndi Maapa attached with the Babu Bari is age-old, where Goddess Drg is worshipped since
1770 and well known as ndul Rj Bir Drg pj.

, Andul, West Bengal

Andul Heritage
|| Andul Raj Bari ||

The final man from the Raj family was Raja Bijoy Keshab Roy. He wished to make a Chndi Maapa

inside the Raj Bari. Several Burmese Wood was brought for this cause, but in the mid-way, Raja Kesab
expired. After that it was never build and the work remained fragmentary on and on.

The End

Dhruba Dutta Chaudhuri

, Andul, West Bengal
April 29, 2016
e-mail ID: dhruba.etlks@yahoo.com
www.duttachaudhurichronicles.com

, Andul, West Bengal

Andul Heritage
|| Andul Raj Bari ||

, Andul, West Bengal