Katra Masjid, Murshidabad

The Katra Masjid is one of the oldest and most historically important monuments of Murshidabad, built between 1723 and 1724 by Nawab Murshid Quli Khan — the founder of Murshidabad and the first Nawab of Bengal. 'Katra' means market or caravanserai; the great mosque once stood at the centre of a bustling market square and could accommodate around 2,000 people reading the Namaz at a time, with cells around the courtyard for 700 Quran readers. The most remarkable feature of Katra Masjid is the tomb of Murshid Quli Khan himself. In an extraordinary act of humility, the powerful Nawab willed that he be buried beneath the entrance staircase — so that the feet of every visitor entering the mosque would fall upon his grave for eternity, as atonement for his sins. His grave still lies under the front stairs, visited by thousands. The mosque was built by Murad Farash Khan, a trusted general of the Nawab. Its two surviving massive corner towers (out of the original four minarets) with their loopholes for musketry give it a fortress-like character. Much of the structure, including the central domes, was damaged in the great earthquake of 1897, but the surviving brick architecture with its arched cloisters remains deeply impressive. Managed today by the Archaeological Survey of India, Katra Masjid stands as the resting place of the man who made Murshidabad the capital of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa — the city that once handled trade the East India Company itself envied.