Maharaja, His Castle and Art Love

A man of impeccable taste, a knack for good theatre and a heart of gold, Jatindramohan Tagore was born on this day.

Jatindramohan Tagore and his branch of the Tagore family were usually loaded with jewels, unlike the simplicity of their cousins; Source; Wikimedia Commons

Long, long, long ago there were no Brahmins in Bengal. So the king of Bengal requested the king of Kannauj to send him five Brahmins who could revive the history of Bengal. He was very specific with the number! The five Brahmins were sent and there was one Bhatta Narayan. He revived the tradition in Bengal and then decided to go back but alas he was not allowed back because once you leave the village you lose your caste. Bad for him, good for us.

Sixteen generations from Narayan came Panchanan Kushari to whom was born a boy, Joyram Thakur. They left Jessore and came to Calcutta. Joyram got married and purchased a house in Pathuriaghata. He had two sons Nilmani and Darpanarayan.

A ten-minute walk away from the ancestral home of Rabindranath Tagore, the great-great-some more greats-grandson of Nilmani, is the residence of another family of Tagores. On the Prasanna Kumar Tagore Street in Calcutta, stand the remnants of this dilapidated house that looks like a castle because of the turrets on all its sides.

Forgotten and unpreserved, it is a glimpse into the life of Tagores and the heritage of the overcrowded city. The foundation of the older house was laid by Darpanarayan Tagore, the patriarch of the Pathuriaghata branch. But this castle was commissioned by Jatindramohan Tagore, the great-great-more greats-grandson of Darpanarayana, who demolished the traditional Thakur bari for the new house!

When Ulysses S. Grant visited India, he was honoured by the welcome he received from Jatindramohan and Sourindromohan Tagore at their residence. The party was marked by several performances and was so grand that Grant was left bamboozled!

You must have heard about many Tagores in your life but there is hardly any chance you heard about this one. However, this does not mean that he only saw the commissioning of his family home; though he did put a lot of effort into it. It is known that he requisitioned Macintosh Burn to build the house in line with the English castles! So much effort and he lived in Prasad, right opposite the Tagore Castle.

Since Jatindramohan was a Tagore, it was only natural that he was taught in both English and Sanskrit and had exceptional literary skills in Bengali and English compositions. A polyglot, he learnt various languages. He was in fact one of the first literary and dramatic enthusiasts. He was a connoisseur who supported all kinds of arts, including drama, literature and music. Some of the plays written by him were performed in his own palace-house, the second floor of which was built for the same purpose.

He is important because he brought wealth to the Tagore family. He also held the position of President in the British Indian Association. As a part of the Bengal Legislative Council, he also contributed to public administration and education, along with conducting charities.

Knighted Knight Commander of the Star of India, he was called Maharaj Bahadur Sir Jatindramohan Tagore. So were all his sons!

The surname itself indicates the unusual social positioning between Indian and British influence. As the Renaissance spread, the Tagores rose in popularity. As amazing as twists of life can get, we would never actually have known Jatindramohan, if his cousin Gnanendramohan had not converted to Christianity! What he was deprived of fell in the lap of our protagonist, who was born to the brother of Prasanna Coomar Tagore on 16 May 1831, whose property he inherited, not cunningly of course.