116 Maulavi Abdul Wali —Archaeological remains in BajshaM. [No. 
is Kusamba or Kusambi, wliere the mosque which is not, however, the 
oldest mosque'of the District, is situated. 1 It is to be regretted that these 
interesting archaeological remains are at present in a very bad state 
of preservation. Only three out of six domes now remain, which are 
broken, and the debris from them cover the inner floor of the mosque. 
Fortunately the walls are still standing, but some of their stones have 
fallen or been removed by unscrupulous villagers. It appears that the 
base of the building was erected on a platform, supported by arches 
with passages underneath. Although jungle has grown, and the pas¬ 
sages have thereby been blocked up, the entrance to the passages can 
still be seen. Though dilapidated, the mosque was entire till the terri¬ 
ble earthquake of 1897, when the top portions of the domes fell, 
killing two persons who had gone into the interior of the building, 
while the ta‘ziya procession had assembled in the neighbourhood of the 
masjid. The mirnbar can be reached by stone steps, though it is not 
very safe, at their present state, to do so. 
The large area towards the back of the Masjid is covered with thick 
vegetation. It contains moats, smaller tanks, and the remains of two or 
three brick-built buildings for the use of Muhammadan nobles and officials. 
The tale as to the origin of the Masjid, as heard by Mr. Garstairs, 
and still repeated by the villagers, I am loath to believe in its entirety. 
Gaur can easily be substituted for Murshidabad, as the latter city was 
not then founded. Revenue Collectors were often incarcerated till they 
had paid their dues or satisfied the authorities in other ways. There is 
nothing strange in this. Sona Bibi, if that was her name, could not be 
the Begum: most probably she was one of her maid-servants. The 
fable may be thus modified :—The zamindar used to play on a flute. 
Being pleased with the music, Sona Bibi begged the king to liberate 
him and allow her to be united with him in holy matrimony. As Sona 
Bibi was a Musalman woman, and the zamindar a Hindu, the king could 
not allow such an interdicted alliance. The zamindar having adopted 
the safe course, the king allowed the couple to depart as husband and 
wife, having given them money enough from the Royal Treasury for their 
immediate needs, and a Jdgir of Mauza Kusambi with 327 other villa¬ 
ges in its neighbourhood for their future wants. It is impossible to 
suppose that the prisoner would have fared better if he was foolish 
enough to please one of the Royal ladies. No sovereign would put 
away a wife, because his wife desired it. 
1 I hear that there are other ruins of ancient tanks, tombs and temples as well 
as the traces of a city some six or seven miles from Bagmara thana in Rajshahi 
Two of the mosques are at Madariganj, and one at Namaz-gaon, The locality 
is called Mirkal. 
