The Temple of Ichai Ghosh in Gourangapur village of Kanksa block in Durgapur subdivision of Paschim Barddhaman district is a protected monument under Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), Kolkata Circle. This brick-built temple of “large smooth curvilinear” type of rekha deul is located on the southern bank of River Ajay.
An hour’s travel by car from Bolpur Shantiniketan station will land you to Ichai Ghosher Deul. The distance is about 33 kilometres. Alternately, it can also be reached from Illambazar in just a little about half-an-hour’s time and the distance is only 15 kilometres. Exactly a year ago in the month of February I explored this temple along with other temples including the chariot of Bankati and the adjoining Gopaleshwar Temple.
I boarded Vande-Bharat Express from Howrah station and reached Bolpur Shantiniketan at 7:40 am. As I have already booked a car, I did not wait and headed straight to Ichai Ghosher deul. It was pretty cold and I enjoyed the journey. The road condition is good and one has to cross a toll bridge over River Ajay and move straight through Panagarh-Morgram State Highway and turn right to Bonkati Road and, at one point of time, the road becomes narrow and passes through a forest until one comes across an enclosed courtyard and the deul in front. In this connection references can also be made of similar deuls like Sat Deul, Purba Bardhaman, Jatar Deul in South 24 Parganas, Jora (Twin) Deul in Baidyapur, Purba Barddhaman to name a few.
It was said that Ichai Ghosh was a devotee of Devi Bhavani. According to ASI, the temple dates back to mid 18th century A.D. In the book Paschim Banglar Tirtha by Pralay Sen, it has been mentioned that the temple might have been built in the 16th-17th century A.D. Very little information is found regarding the date of the construction of this temple. There was not even any foundation stone.
It was also said that some later Gope kings might built have built it. Previously the inner sanctum of the temple was empty but now it has a Shiva lingam. The temple is well maintained but I could see some vegetation growth on the temple top. One could see some ornamentations on the upper part of the four sides of the temple wall but no such decoration exists in the lower part. The deul has a base dimension of 20′ sq. I feel that lesser number of people visit this area.
A close look at the decorations will reveal human figures may be dancers, gods and floral motifs. Due to the passage of time some of the decorations become less visible and in rest it has disappeared.
References:
- Paschim Banglar Tirtha – Pralay Sen
- Late Mediaeval Temples of Bengal – David J. McCutchion
Date of posting: 18th February, 2025.
Blog of Kinjal Bose 