( xxxi.) , to Calcutta,-of whatever section of Hinduismwould leave the metropolis without visiting and paying obeisance at the shrine. This God, and His installation in the present palatial building at Calcutta by Sadhu Gokul, one of the illustrious progenitors of the well-known Baghbazar Mitter family is the theme of many a song and tradition in Bengali, for Madan Mahan had originally been the family deity of the Bishnupur Rajas. Every student of the history of Bengal knows only too well the power and prestige of the Bishnupur House. The Bishnupur fort with its 7 ditches was a facsimile of the impregnable Bharatpur fort which cost the East India Company so much in men and money to reduce, under General Cumbermere. The two monster guns at Bishnupur, Dal and Madal by name, are still a curiosity to the antiquarian. The story runs that the Government wanted to remove them to Calcutta but when the Engineers reported that the removal would require a prohibitive sum, the idea was given up. It is that the mouth of each weapon is so large that a tailor may sit in it and ply his vocation I For centuries the Rajas of Bishnupur were independent in their territories, often harassing the Mahomedan 'rulers. Sree Madan Mohan was the family, Deity of such a house. But now He belongs to the Baghbazar Mitra family, and thereby hangs a tale. But before we tell it we should say something of the Mitters.
