Matiabag Rajbari or Matiabag Palace is located in Gauripur in

Dhubri district Dhubri District (Pron:ˈdʊbri) is an administrative districts of Assam, district in the Indian state of Assam. Included within the Kamatapur Autonomous Council, the district headquarters are located at Dhubri town which is situated ~290 ...

Assam Assam (, , ) is a state in Northeast India, northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra Valley, Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . It is the second largest state in Northeast India, nor ...

. The palace was built by Raja Prabhat Chandra Barua of the Gauripur royal family on a small hill-top at Matiabagh, Gauripur on the banks of the Gadadhar river. It was the royal guest house and summer residence (Hawakhana) by the royal family of Gauripur, also known as ‘''Rangamati Baruas''. The construction of the palace began in 1904 and was completed by 1914. The palace was built by Chinese carpenters from

China Town Chinatown ( zh, t=唐人街) is the catch-all name for an ethnic enclave of Chinese people located outside Greater China, most often in an urban setting. Areas known as "Chinatown" exist throughout the world, including Europe, Asia, Africa, O ...

Kolkata Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...

at a cost of ₹ 340000, the palace features elements of Hindu, Mughal and British architecture.

History

As per people's belief, once Raja Pratap Chandra Barua (the then ruler of Gauripur) was hunting in the forest and saw a frog which was eating a snake. He was surprised to see this unnatural thing. Being a very strong devotee of Goddess Mahamaya, he believed that it was a message for him from Mahamaya. Afterward, he constructed a temple for Goddess Mahamaya and named the place as Gauripur after the alias "Gauri" of Mahamaya.

Restoration

In January 2023, the

Government of Assam The Government of Assam or Assam Government abbreviated as GoAS, is the Subnational legislature, state government of the Indian state of Assam. It consists of the Governors of states of India, Governor appointed by the President of India as th ...

acquired the palace at ₹ 15.20 crore to preserve it as a heritage site and museum in memory of Pratima Barua Pandey. The

Chief Minister of Assam The chief minister of Assam, an Indian state, is the head of the Government of Assam. As per the Constitution of India, the governor is the state's ''de jure'' head, but '' de facto'' executive authority rests with the chief minister. Following e ...

announced that the restoration and preservation of the palace for conversion into a heritage site and museum would be administered by the state’s Department of Cultural Affairs.

Transportation

Driving distance from Dhubri to Gauripur is 9 km and from Guwahati to Gauripur is 261 km. The nearest railway station is at Dhubri. Well-connected airports are at

Guwahati Guwahati () the largest city of the Indian state of Assam, and also the largest metropolis in northeastern India. Dispur, the capital of Assam, is in the circuit city region located within Guwahati and is the seat of the Government of Assam. Th ...

(261 km) and

Bagdogra Bagdogra is a settlement in the Naxalbari (community development block), Naxalbari Community development blocks in India, CD block in the Siliguri subdivision of the Darjeeling district, in the Indian States and territories of India, state of We ...

(226 km).

Notable Residents

* Pramathesh Chandra Barua, Indian Actor and Director, Devdas Fame *

Jamuna Barua Jamuna Barua (10 October 1919 – 24 November 2005) was a leading Indian actress. Early life Jamuna was the fourth of the six daughters of Puran Gupta, a resident of a village near Agra, India. Each of the sisters was named after an Indian r ...

, Indian Actress *

Pratima Barua Pandey Pratima Barua Pandey (3 October 1934 – 27 December 2002) was an Indian Folk music, folk singer from the royal family of Gauripur, India, Gauripur in Western Assam's Dhubri district. Barua Pandey, a national awardee, best known for her ...

, Indian Folk Singer,

Padma Shri The Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī'', lit. 'Lotus Honour'), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. In ...

Awardee *

Parbati Barua Parbati Barua is an Indian animal conservation activist and a ''mahout'' (Indian term for an elephant tamer and caretaker). She was one of nine children to late Prakritish Chandra Barua of the Royal Family of Gauripur. Prakritish was the last ...

, Indian Animal Conservation Activist,

Awardee

References

{{Reflist Monuments and memorials in Assam Tourist attractions in Assam Forts in Assam Royal residences in India Palaces in Assam Dhubri