Rathayatra is a major and popular festival of West Bengal. The roads and streets are adorned with chariots of various shapes and sizes. There are a number houses where brass chariots are used. This year I witnessed the rathayatra of Joydev Kenduli in Birbhum and Bankati in Paschim Barddhaman district. The three notable places in Paschim Barddhaman where brass drawn chariots are used are Searsole, Ukhra and Bankati.
I had visited Bankati of Kanksa block in Durgapur subdivision last year on my way to Ichai Ghoser Deul.
At that time I also saw the pancharatna Gopaleshwar Temple having excellent terracotta decorations in the front. Just beside it there is a rath ghar where the chariot is kept. I came to know that the rath at Bankati is very old and not only that it had excellent artworks in the form of engravings on four sides. But since the chariot is inside the rath ghar it is not possible to take photos of the other three sides. I made up mind that in the near future I will definitely try to visit it on the day of Rathayatra.
Normally Jagannath, Balaram and Subhadra ride on the chariot but I have found a few households where instead of Jagannath, the presiding deity or deities are made to sit inside the rath like in Dasghara, Ukhra and in Bankati, to name a few.
In Bankati the presiding deity – Gopaleshwar rides on this beautiful pancharatna rath. The rath looks like a five pinnacled temple. This year when I went at around ten in the morning I found that special puja is going on inside the rath ghar. I was told that it has recently been renovated. Locals have assembled there. The lower central panel of Gopaleshwar Temple has two figures of chariots made of terracotta on both sides drawn by horses. They are still intact.
The brass chariot was lying on one side of the road and incense sticks were offered. The beauty of this chariot lies in its wonderful engraving artworks on all sides. I have never come across this type of decorations earlier. I was busy trying to photograph as many images as possible without paying any heed to the scorching sun. I am sharing a few of them.
Another thing which drew my attention is mrityulata or death vine on the four corners of the rath. It is familiar in temples but very rare in chariots. I was seeing it for the first time in any chariot.
I was told that Gopaleshwar Temple was built in 1832 by the Mukhopadhyay family and the rath came up more or less three years later. At present it is looked after by the Roy family. The chariot has eight iron wheels. There are two horses and a charioteer – all made of brass and they will be attached with the chariot. I was simply mesmerised by the excellent art work. Inspite of the desire to see the chariot being drawn by the people I had to take leave from Bankati as I had to catch the return train to Howrah.
Going there: I personally went to Bolpur Shantiniketan by train. From there I hired a car and went to Illambazar, cross the toll bridge over Ajay river, moved straight through Panagarh-Morgram State Highway and turn right to Bankati road.
Date of posting: 27th June, 2025.
Blog of Kinjal Bose 