HAZARDUARI

Hazarduari Palace, earlier known as the Bara Kothi, is located in the campus of Kila Nizamat in Murshidabad, in the Indian state of West Bengal. It was built in the nineteenth century by architect Duncan Macleod, under the reign of Nawab Nazim Humayun Jah of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa (1824–1838). William Cavendishwas the then Governor-General. Now, Hazarduari Palace is the most conspicuous building in Murshidabad. In 1985, the palace was handed over to the Archaeological Survey of India for better preservation.The palace was built and designed under the supervision of Colonel Duncan MacLeod of the Bengal Corps of Engineers. He was the father of Sir Donald McLeod. The foundation stone of the palace was laid by Nawab Nazim Humayun Jah of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa (1824–1838) on August 9, 1829, and that very day the construction work was started. The construction was completed in December 1837. The name of the palace that is Hazarduari means "a palace with a thousand doors". Hazar means "thousand" and Duari means "the one with doors"; thus, the total sums up to "the one with a thousand doors".