Gaur, Information about Gaur, Gaur Tour

Gaur was situated on the ancient site of the Lakhnauti Gaur, but now this city is in ruins. Gaur was the capital of the Senas where an exceptional complex of basalt buildings once stood. It is situated on the banks of the river Ganga and within easy reach of the Rajmahal hills, and its fine black basalt made it possible for the gifted stone masons to construct both religious and secular buildings of great beauty and architectural skill.

History of Gaur

Gaur was the capital of King Sasanka in the 7th century, followed by the Buddhist Pala and Hindu Sena kings. Gaur became famous as a centre of education, art and culture during the reign of the Hindu Sena kings in the 12th century. The Fakhr-ud-din, founder of the Afghan dynasty, captured it in the 14th century and transferred their capital to Pandua, plundering the temples to construct their own mosques and tombs and destroying most of these buildings. Gaur regained its importance as a capital in 1500 for a short time until it was sacked by Sher Shah Suri in 1537. The city's population was wiped out by plague in 1575 after which it became part of the Mughal empire.

Tourist Attractions in Gaur

The Muslim monuments of the Sultanate period displaying various architectural styles can be seen around Gaur. The Fort, Tantipara Mosque, Lattan or the painted mosque, Firuz Minar, Bara Sona Masjid and Ramkeli are the various places situated near Gaur.

Fort
The fort is situated on the bank of the Bhagirathi river where only the remains of the embankments can be seen. The Dakhil Darwaza, the main gateway to the fort with its five-storeyed towers in the four corners, was constructed in the early part of the 15th century out of small red bricks which were embossed with decorations. The facade is broken up by turrets and circular bastions, producing a striking contrast of light and shade, with decorative motifs of suns, rosettes, lamps and fretted borders. The Biasgazi wall is situated in the south-east corner of the fort. This wall enclosed the old palace and got its name from its height of 22 yards. This high brick wall is 5 m broad at its base and decreases to about 3 m at the top. Kadam Rasul is also situated within the area of the fort. This domed square building with the Bengali thatched style roof was erected in 1513 to house the relics of The Prophet, a footprint in stone. The Royal Eastern Gate or Lukochuri Darwaza is a large two-storeyed structure about 20 m long and 13 m wide. This gate was built by Shah Shuja in 1655 in the Mughal style.

Tantipara Mosque
Tantipara Mosque is situated near the fort. This mosque was built in 1475 in the tanti or weavers quarters of the town. This mosque is superbly decorated with red brick with five entrance arches and octagonal turrets in the corners.

Lattan
The Lattan or the painted mosque was built by Yusuf Shah in 1475. But, although it is believed that a dancing girl of the Royal Court was responsible for the building of the mosque. This mosque is known for its elegant structure and the decorative bands of blue, green, yellow and white glazed tiles which were used to adorn it.

Firuz Minar
Firuz Minar is situated about a km from the fort. Firuz Minar was built as a victory tower by Sultan Firuz Shah in 1486 and was also used to call the faithful to prayer. This tower is about 26 m high with 5 storeys and 19 m in circumference. The lower 3 storeys are 12 sided while the upper 2 storeys are circular. The main feature of the tower is the introduction of blue and white glazed tiles which are used in addition to the terracotta and bricks. The crude quality of the tiles contrasts with the excellence achieved by the Hindu craftsmen in producing terracotta decorations. A spiral staircase inside the fort leads to the top chamber with its four windows.

Bara Sona Masjid
The Bara Sona Masjid, also known as Baroduari is situated outside the fort. This is the largest mosque of all the monuments and built in 1526. It is an enormous rectangular structure built of brick with stone facing with a large open square in front. There were arched gateways on three sides and one of the gateway is 8 m high and 2 m wide. There are 44 domes over the four arched colonnades and the quality of marble carving can be seen in some of the minarets.

Ramkeli
Ramkeli is situated near the Bara Sona Masjid. There is Madan Mohan Jiu Mandir in Ramkeli which is of religious interest to the followers of Sri Chaitanya. Sri Chaitanya was the great 14th century Bengali religious reformer, who stayed there for few days and made some famous converts.

Excursions

Malda
Old Malda is situated at the confluence of two rivers and acted as a port from where the Dutch and French traded. In 1680, the English established a market town here and purchased the village from a local landlord and then moved to the English Bazaar in 1771. The Old Malda is situated about 4 km from Malda Town. The Jami Masjid and the Nimasari Tower are situated in the Old Malda. The Jami Masjid was built in 1596 out of decorated brick and stone and displays some good carving on the entrance pillars. There is also a mango processing here. The low lying marshy tracts, known as bhils are the major attraction of the area. The bhils attracts a large number of wild fowl including the Siberian goose from November to mid February.

How to get here

By Air:
Malda is directly connected by air with Kolkata.

By Rail:
Malda is directly connected by rail with Kolkata and Gaur.

By Road:
Malda is also diectly connected by good roads to Gaur, Kolkata and various other towns in West Bengal.