The other name for Itachuna Rajbari is ‘ Bargee Danga’. The term has been derived from Bargee , which was a name given by the bengali’s to the Maratha warriors. There was a time when Maratha’s attacked Bengal repeatedly to collect Chauth, which was 1/4th of the tax that was to be paid by the Nawab of Bengal( Sub-e-dar), Bihar and Orissa. Apocryphally, after Aurangzeb the downfall of Mughal empire had started. The Bargee’s attacked under the the guidance of Bhaskar Pandit and Raghuji Bhosle from 1742-1752. Katwa , near Hooghly was made the early centre which was later changed to Medinipur.
Though the Maratha warriors stopped their attacks after the assassination of Mir Habib, they gained control over Orrisa. As a result many maratha Bargee’s stayed back in Bengal and started their own trade. They amassed a lot of wealth. One of such Maratha warriors were the Kundans, now known as Kundu’s also settled here. The Itachuna Rajbari was built by the ancestors of Shri Safallya Narayan Kundu in 1766.
The Govt.of India’s policy of abolishing the Raj-culture hindered further flourishes of the Rajbari. It is the present inheritors of the family Shri. Rabindra Narayan, Shri. Dhruva Narayan and Shri. Basav Narayan Kundu along with Mylestones & Journeys who have decided to restore the glory and are making all efforts to maintain the royal heritage through regular upkeep. The Heritage Homestay is one such initiative through which village tourism may be promoted in this area.
Mylestones and Journeys – Most of us here come from the holiday / travel / tourism background. Staying in Kolkata, we have always wanted to buzz off for many ‘ 2 nighter ‘ holidays with the family / alone / with friends – somewhere within 2 hours driving distance / somehwere we can go and just be ourselves / where we can connect with nature and disconnect from our material lives / where happiness is not only about spending money / where we can fly kites in the terrace, play kabaddi, listen to the flute, sit under the starlit sky with the noise of the last passing train, soak in the music of the locals, smell the wet soil …………… cosy bedrooms, clean washrooms, great food, unconditional smiling service that will pamper us.
It was our dream to work on destinations and projects where we could do simple things and build something worthwhile, something our next generations will be proud to inherit / give shape to our smallest wishes / breathe life into our ‘ thousand ideas per minute ‘ / make little contributions in the life of people around us / work together as a unit with multi-level resources – both human and natural / learnings and experiences through combinations of urban and rural lifestyles / responsible tourism we may call / ………. itachuna rajbari came to us as a blessing …. we took the first baby step towards living our dream, our dream to be a part of many such initiatives through which we may contribute to our personal lives, our livelihoods, our society, mankind and much much more ….
