Baro Shona Masjid, Monument of National Importance in Ramkeli, India.
Baro Shona Masjid is a mosque and monument of national importance in the Gaur-Lakhnauti region of West Bengal. The rectangular building has four corner towers and eleven entrances, and its original form remains largely readable despite the loss of several domes over the centuries.
Sultan Alauddin Husain Shah began construction of the mosque, and his son Nasiruddin Nasrat Shah completed it in 1526. It was built during the reign of the Husain Shahi dynasty, a period when Bengal developed its own strand of Islamic architecture.
The doorways of this mosque are decorated with carved stone, glazed colored tiles, and floral patterns that reflect the building style of Bengal at that time. Each entrance is slightly different, and looking closely at the carvings is one of the most rewarding parts of a visit.
The mosque lies south of Malda, close to Ramkeli, and can be reached by road from either town without difficulty. Allow enough time to walk the full perimeter of the building, since the eleven entrances and the towers are best seen from the outside.
The name Baro Shona roughly means twelve gates, yet the building has only eleven entrances, a discrepancy that has never been fully explained. Behind each entrance opens a long covered passage supported by wide stone pillars, a space that is hard to anticipate from the outside.
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