Khushbagh


Khushbagh is the garden-cemetery of the Nawabs of Bengal, situated on the west bank of the Bhagirathi river, about a mile from its east bank, in Murshidabad, West Bengal, India. Khushbagh hosts the graves of the Nawabs of Bengal of the Afshar dynasty and their family members; while Jafarganj Cemetery hosts the graves of the later Nawabs and their families, starting from Mir Jafar, who belonged to the Najafi dynasty. Khushbagh is the resting place of Nawab Siraj ud-Daulah, his wife Lutf-un-nisa, Nawab Alivardi Khan, and his mother, amongst others.

History

The garden-cemetery was built by the first Nawab of Bengal, Nawab Alivardi Khan. It consists of walled enclosures. The outer walls had looped holes for musketry and used to be flanked by octagonal bastions. The garden hosts the graves of Siraj ud-Daulah and Alivardi Khan, inside a square, flat-roofed mausoleum surrounded by an arcade verandah. It also hosts a mosque, built by Nawab Alivardi Khan, on the lines of the Jama Masjid of Delhi, built on a plinth of area.
After the death of Nawab Siraj ud-Daulah, in the Battle of Plassey in 1757, his wife Lutf-un-nisa refused to join Mir Jafar's harem and fled to Dacca. She later returned to Murshidabad, and it is said that she lived in Khushbagh tending to his grave and the 108 varieties of roses which once bloomed in the gardens, for several years. She also allegedly spent 1,000 for the maintenance of Khushbagh and after her death, in 1786, she was buried near the grave of her husband.
The garden-cemetery is built on a land and is surrounded by a long wall.

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