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| Gopal Bhar | |
|---|---|
| Court Jester of Krishnanagar | |
 Statue of Gopal Bhar at Krishnanagar, Nadia | |
| Born | Gopal Chandra Pramanik[citation needed] 23rd September 1701 (1701-09-23) Ghurni,Nadia Raj,Bengal,Mughal Empire |
| Died | 1767 (aged 65–66) Krishnanagar, Nadia Raj, Bengal (present-dayWest Bengal, India) |
| Occupation | Courtier andjester in the court ofRaja Krishnachandra Roy |
Gopal Bhar orGopalBhand[1] (Bengali:গোপাল ভাঁড়[ˈɡopalbʱãˑɽ]) was an 18th-century figure inBengal who is said to be a humorist orjester in the court ofRaja Krishnachandra Roy (r. 1710–1783), the king ofNadia Raj.[1][2] Legends say that he was a part of theNavaratnas (lit. 'Nine-jewels') of Krishnachandra's court. His statue can still be seen in the Royal palace and inGhurni, Krishnanagar town. Gopal is believed to have possessed a keen intelligence.[3] Although the historicity of the figure remains disputed, he remains a revered character in Bangladesh and the Indian state ofWest Bengal.
Tales of his exploits are narrated in West Bengal and Bangladesh to this day in numerous short stories. Their origin may be traced to local oral cultures of humour. The stories are popular and humorous, often ridiculing figures of authority, including the king, Krishnachandra, himself. Many of his stories depict him coming up with inventive and clever answers to satisfy the whimsical requests of royal personages, such as the Maharaja and the Rani. In some stories, Raja Krishnachandra asks him to complete certain tasks specifically to test his intelligence, or to embarrass him in public. Gopal Bhar always rebuffs the attempt successfully. The application of humour never crosses over to the realm of direct disrespect, but manages to point out the weakness in the opponent's argument or conviction. As such, his stories are comparable with those ofBirbal,Tenali Raman,Gonu Jha andNasreddin.[citation needed]
There exists widespread debate over the historicity of the figure "Gopal Bhar". Gopal Bhar's name was not mentioned inBengali literature before 19th century.[1] A 1926 bookNabadwip-Kahini (lit. 'The Nabadwip Tales') written by Nagendranath Das, a self-claimed descendent of Gopal Bhar, mentions Gopal's summarized biography. According to the book, Gopal's birth name was Gopalchandra Nai, who came from aNapit family. He was aBhandar (caretaker) of Krishnachandra's court, from where the wordBhand orBhar came. Gopal's father, Dulalchandra Nai, was aVaidya atNawabAlivardi Khan's court. Gopal's older brother Kalyan Dulal saved Prince (later Nawab)Siraj-ud-Daulah's life from severe fever. After hearing about Gopal's intelligence, Raja Krishnachandra appointed him as his court jester. Nagendranath also claimed that there is an oil painting of Gopal at Krishnachandra's palace.[4][5][6]
No reference for Gopal can be found in the writings of Bharatchandra Raigunakar andRamprasad Sen, both of whom were court poets in Raja Krishnachandra's court.[5] According toBanglapedia, there was a person named Shankar Taranga, who is known to have been a bodyguard of Raja Krishnachandra and whom the raja regarded highly because of his wisdom and courage.[1]
Despite the scarcity of evidence, researcher-journalist Sujit Roy supported the historical authenticity of Gopal Bhar, claiming that many documents about him had lost, destroyed or looted.[6] Prominent Bengali linguistSukumar Sen opined:[4][5]
"The curiosity for Gopal Bhar among the modernBengalis has given rise to a national tradition of folklore about this real or fictional person, and the seed of its arousal is theBhar part of his name, by which many have identified the caste of Gopal considering theBhar of Gopal Bhar to be a variant of theSanskrit wordBhandar. Whatever the arguments for and against, Gopal Bhar remains ingrained in Bengali humour and folk culture."
On 20 February 2024, after2024 Bangladeshi general election,Gono Odhikar Parishad leaderNurul Haq Nur, criticisingSheikh Hasina, claimed that theSangsad had turned into the "club of Gopal Bhar" where parliamentarians' work is to "entertain the king".[7]
During2024 Indian general election campaign,Trinamool Congress supporters, including the West Bengal government minister Ujjwal Roy, slammedBJP MP candidate from Krishnanagar Amrita Roy, who is the titular queen of Krishnanagar, accusing her ancestor Raja Krishnachandra Roy for the death of Gopal Bhar. Although, historian Goutam Bhadra claimed that there is no proof that Raja Krishnachandra was responsible for the death of Gopal Bhar.[8][6]