Wasif Manzil palace, a historical palace used by the Nawab of Bengal

Wasif Manzil, Mushirabad, WB alamy.com

Wasif Manzil, Mushirabad, WB writeopinions.com

Among the Indian states, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra and Karnataka have lots Muslim monuments of historical value and they never fail to reflect on the Muslim ruler's heyday and glorious past. The rulers with artistic bend of mind are gone for ever but they have left behind a fine legacy that is relevant to the past. West Bengal's old capital Murshidabad is replete with countless monuments of artistic extravaganza. One good example is Hazardurai palace with 1000 doors. There are many other monuments as well that frequently go unnoticed for various reasons. One being lack of publicity. For architects, Murshidabad is a great place with ceremonial arches, stately structures and big garden that bear testimony to the past opulence. Most of the tourist attractions are observed in the Hazardurai complex, roughly 2 km away from the city outskirts.

Wasif Manzil, also known as New Palace built by Nawab Wasif Ali Mirza Khan is on the on the Nizamat Fort Campus between the campus's Dakshin Darwaza (south gate) and the Hazarduari Palace, just across the campus's South Zurud Mosque and parallel to the Bhagirathi-Hooghly River. Built under the direction and supervision of Mr. Vivian, officer of the Public Works Department of the Nadia Rivers Division and Surendra Barat, a Bengali engineer during the later colonial period (Raj), the building which may be called a palace, served as the Nawab's residence.

Originally, the palace had a well-maintained garden and an
artificial hill as revealed by the vintage photos. They, now, no longer exist. The reason was on 12 June 1897, there was a powerful earthquake that almost destroyed the palace's second floor. Subsequently, major repair work was done to bring the building back to original shape, barring the second floor.But it was destroyed beyond repair. The present building was completed in 1904.
The striking feature of this palace is it was designed as to look like a sort of castle with small corner turrets. Another noticeable feature is semi circular pediment with the Nawabs of Murshidabad's coat of arms on it. The garden, in front of the palace, has several good-looking marble statues along with a water fountain. The garden is protected by an iron-fencing to avoid intruders and trespassers. The main entrance, a Norman archway with open strong iron doors, is impressive.
Now, the palace is being maintained by the Archaeological Survey of India and has been transformed into a museum.
Tit-bits:

Nawab Wasif Ali Mirza Khan, Mushidabad, Wikipedia

Sir Wasif Ali Mirza Khan Bahadur KCSI KCVO (7 January 1875 – 23 October 1959) was the Nawab of Murshidabad during 1906–1959. Educated at Sherborne School, Rugby School and later at Trinity College, he succeeded his father Hassan Ali Mirza Khan Bahadur upon his death on 25 December 1906. Caught in a debt trap under the Raj, on 11 December 1931, Wasif Ali had no other choice except to surrender the administration of his estates to the Government of India after failing to clear a debt of ₹19 lakhs
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/

Wasif_Manzil