Page:The Bansberia Raj.djvu/21

 as he was a friendless young man, could not do much to improve the condition in which he had been placed. He lived and died an ordinary mortal, leaving a son named Kulapati. Though the latter bore a high name, he too failed to give a better turn to the fortune of the family. Like his father, he died unnoticed and unknown. But what distinguishes his case from that of his father, Ubaru, is that he left a large progeny, consisting of nine children. Of these sons, the eldest, Kabi Dutt, was the ablest and most important. Fortune again smiled upon the family, and this worthy descendant of Devaditya rose sufficiently high. As was quite natural, he longed to go back to the place founded by his famous ancestor and in this he was also favoured by circumstances. By this time Raja Ballal Sen had gone to give his last account before a much higher Tribunal, leaving his throne to his worthy son Lakshman Sen. As the latter was a milder ruler than the ferocious Ballal, Kabi Dutt found no difficulty in gaining his favour, and, availing himself of it, managed to return to his ancestral abode at Duttabati. There he rose high in rank and influence and was honoured with the title of Khan. Thus, he came to be known as the Khan of Duttabati. Kabi had six sons, of whom Ishwar was the ablest and most influential. Like his grandfather Kulapati, Ishwar had a very large family consisting of eight sons and nine daughters. But it does not appear that they all survived him. At any rate, among the sons, only Kisu (Keshav) and Bisu (Bishen or Vishnu) rendered themselves famous. Like the unfading banyan tree, Kisu has been the prolific parent that has kept alive the old Patuli family in all its glory and magnificence. As for his younger Bishu, he distinguished himself in another way. He got a high appointment under the Mahomedan Governor of Bengal and acquired considerable property in the district of Dinajpur. Along with this rise in material condition, his social rank was heightened by his being honoured with the title of Thacoor Mahashai. He died, leaving a son, named Sreemanta, who, like him, was a high official in the service of the Provincial Governor. Sreemanta flourished towards the end of the fifteenth century when the seat of Government was at Rajmahal. He was a Canongoe, who, unlike the officers bearing the same name in the present day, was charged with the collection of the Imperial revenues and exercised both civil and military powers over the people in his jurisdiction. Sreemanta having lost his only son during his life-time, gave away his estate to his son-in-law, Hariram Ghose