Bengal is a rich melting pot of different cultural influences and the architecture around different parts of the state reflects that. Murshidabad for instance is one such region. For instance, the splendid Cossimbazar Palace, where you can actually stay now. So next weekend, head out to this town by the Ganges and book a room here.
The Cossimbazar Palace was built when Murshidabad was the capital of the nawabs of Bengal and the town was a flourishing port. A few of the rooms have been converted into guest rooms and some have been made into a kind of walk-through museum with everything, from antique furniture to animal trophies. Check out the Central Ballroom with its paintings, chandeliers, mirrors and Victorian-era furniture and a hall with five huge arches (it used to be the court room). The bedroom has an old four-poster bed and one of those old-fashioned dressing tables.
Check out the hand-pulled fan which had to be manually operated with a rope by someone designated as the ‘punkah-puller’. The dining rooms has a 20-feet dining table. The palace also comes with a garden and tennis courts. You must pick up some sarees and clothes made of the famous Murshidabad silk (the palace has an outlet).
Book a stay here and immerse yourself in another era, and explore the historic city of Murshidabad. Cossimbazar has a railway station or you can take a train to Baharampur Court station from Kolkata and take a local vehicle to the palace. You need special permission (and a fee) to visit the palace.