The large, commercial town of Malda, 340km north of Kolkata is good place to explore the ancient ruins of Gaur and Pandua. It lies east of the meeting point of the river Mahananda and Kalindri and an important part of English Bazaar collection. Famous for its mulberry plantations and mango orchards that occupy large area of the town; mango trade and silk manufacture are the main economical activities. The ancient Hindu capital of Pandua gave prominence to the town in the 18th century and became a prosperous center of cotton and silk. Still it remains one of the important distributing center for rice, jute and wheat. Jami Masjid(1566) ,ancient ruins of Gaur and Pandua and Nimasari tower are some of the hisorical relics are found in the town.



Malda has recently witnessed a flourishing growth of the tourism because of its vast traditional legacy, that Malda inherited from its illustrious past. The tourist interest constitutes historical sites, ancients buildings, ancient ruins and never to miss the vast mango and mulberry plantations has been able to endow Malda a worth place to see. The region of Gaur and Pandua is the heart of tourism industry and gifts with rich heritage. The ancient mosques built during the Muslim regime in Malda is a fine example of Muslim traditional art.

Sight And Activities

Gaur
Spread across the lush landscape of paddy fields, situated 16km south of Malda, Pandua is of huge archaeological importance for its impressive Muslim architecture. Gaur was the seventh century capital of king Sasanka, and then successively belonged to the Buddhist Pals and the Hindu Senas. The latter and the last Hindu kings of Bengal, were violently displayed by the Muslims at the start of the thirteenth century, eventually pillaged by Sher Shah Suri in 1537 and with the horrific plague struck in 1575 deserted the remaining inhabitants.

Gaur is still a desolate city with much of Muslim relics speaks about the glorious past of Muslim dyansty. The Eklakhi mausoleum and other smaller mosques evokes strong interest among travelers. The large tanks such as Sagar Dighi, built in 1126 is more than 1.5 km long and the embankments of the old city that extend for several kilometers through the rural landscape. Another impressive structure is Dakhil Darwaza, a red brick gateway built in 1425, leads through the embankments surrounding the fort.

Qadam Rasul Mosque built in 1531, is very significant for Muslims as it bear the footprints of Prophet in the stone. Other remain of the interest include the elegant Tantipara mosque with its finely detailed terracotta decoration. In the northeast of the fort, Bara Sona Masjid or Great Golden Mosque is also one of the primes heritage structures.

Pandua
The Pandua is another historically important part of Malda, which lies 18km north of it. There are many vivid Muslim architecture including the huge Adian mosque built by Sikander Shah in 1369. It is one of the largest mosques in India, built over a Hindu temple, and has 378 small domes followed the pattern of eight century mosque of Damascus. The structure of the mosque makes it an equal importance to both Muslims and Hindus. Other interesting sites are Eklakhi mausoleum – one of the first sqaure brick tombs in Bengal with a carved ganes on the door and Qutb Shahi Masjid or the Golden Mosque built to honor sain Nur Qutb-ul-Alam whose ruined shrine is nearby together with that of Saint Hazrat Shah Jalal Tabrizi.