Saikat Mukhopadhyay Chapter 1: Inheritance of Grandeur — The Origins of the Rajbaris The story of Calcutta’s Rajbaris is not merely one of brick and mortar, but of legacy, lineage, and layered histories. These grand mansions — part palatial residence, part theatre of power — stand today as architectural fossils of a vanished world. To trace their genesis is to delve into the complex sociopolitical metamorphosis of Bengal from a Mughal outpost to the beating heart of British India. The Rajbaris, or “royal houses,” were less about royalty and more about representation — of wealth, of colonial entanglement, and of…