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Chika Building lies within the gaur
citadel to its south-east corner and is in alignment with the gumti
gate to its east. The building is so named because of the bats
that swarmed inside it prior to its repairs. It is square in plan, and
was built on the same principle as the eklakhi
mausoleum at pandua.
Hence early explorers, including Alexander cunningham,
who made a thorough survey of the area (Archaeological Survey Report,
XV, Calcutta, 1882), thought it to have been the tomb of Sultan Nasiruddin
mahmud shah
(1442-59 AD), the founder of the dynasty that came to occupy power after
the House of Ganesha interregnum, to which the Eklakhi Mausoleum belonged.
A corridor, which ran at the front of the building, however, negates this
view and corroborates the traditional belief that it was built as a daftar
khana (an office building). The austerity of the building is in contrast
to the Eklakhi Mausoleum, and together with ruins of other structures
on its sides strengthens the latter contention. The existence of long
rows of pillar bases to the west of the building suggests a stable. The
Chika building, part of the administrative office of the sultan and built
in alignment with the Gumti Gate of the citadel of Gaur, could very well
have been built by the ruler who built the citadel and the gateway, ie
Nasiruddin Mahmud Shah.
The Chika building measures 12.80m square inside. It
has an outside dimension of 21.65m square, the thickness of the wall being
4.52 m; it is the thickest building in Gaur-Lakhnauti. The hemispherical
dome rests on squinches. Outside walls of the building are patterned with
vertical inset and offset panels, divided by a string moulding, which
runs around the entire building, including the round towers at the corners.
The cornice is carved and was once decorated with tile works, traces of
which could be discovered at the time of Abid Ali Khan. Inside the building
and within the spandrels of arches are still visible the remains of tile
work in the form of medallions. [ABM Husain]
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