Blog of Kinjal Bose

Dasabhuja Mandir, Mankundu

Mankundu, being the 12th station in the Howrah-Bandel section of the Eastern Railway has a rich history to offer as far as the Dasabhuja Temple is concerned. The four hundred year old temple has beautiful and intricate terracotta works (though much of it has lost its original glory) and houses the deities of Dasabhuja in astodhatu (an alloy of eight metals) and Radha Krishna.

Jhulan Festival of Central Kolkata

Jhulanyatra, a five-day festival is celebrated in the Bengali month of Shravan (August) every year. This festival is held in different parts of Kolkata; but there are several houses in Central Kolkata where Jhulanyatra is held with pomp and gaeity even today. Some of the household are celebrating this festival for more than 150 years. I was lucky to witness this Jhulanyatra for two years and I am describing here seven of those families who are still celebrating this festival; although there are many families who are still maintaining this age-old tradition.

Susanna Anna Maria’s Tomb, Chinsurah

Chinsurah or Chuchura is now the headquarters of Hooghly district of West Bengal. But Chinsurah was a Dutch colony during the period from 1635 to 1824. Though a long period has passed since then but the Dutch legacy still remained. One such is the tomb of Susanna Anna Maria, a Dutch lady who died in the year 1809.

Dasghara

Located about 12 kms from the temple town of Tarakeshwar, Dasghara is famous for the pancharatna Gopinath temple with ridged rekha turrets containing exquisite terracotta works built in 1729 by Sadananda Biswas along with other temples and structures. The architectural splendour consists not only in temples but also in great mansions, clock towers and of course, the Rathyatra.

Madanmohan Mandir, Serampore

Serampore, a sub-divisional town of Hooghly district of West Bengal is about 18 kilometres from Howrah. The Grand Trunk Road passes through this town. It can be reached either by rail or by road or even by the river route. Serampore has a rich history to offer and has many heritage structures scattered throughout the town. The town was called Fredericknagar as the Danes names it in 1757 in the name of the then King Frederick V of Denmark.

Shyamsundar Mandir, Khardah

Khardah, a town of Barrackpore subdivision of North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal houses a number of beautiful temples of which Shyamsundar Mandir deserves special mention. It is a very large “at-chala temple with porch on triple entrance.” A stone plaque on the entrance to the temple states that the temple is renovated by P. C. Robertson who happens to be the manager of Khardah Jute Mills.

Nandadulal Jiu Temple, Saibon

A beautiful temple housing the idols of Nandadulal Jiu and Radharani is situated at a place called Saibon or Saibona in North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal. This is the third Krishna idol after Ballavji of Serampore and Shyamsundarji of Khardah.

Radhaballav Temple, Serampore

Serampore, a sub-divisional town in Hooghly district of West Bengal is about 18 kilometres from Howrah and is the eight station in Howrah-Bandel line of Eastern Railway. Grand Trunk Road passes through this town. The town can be reached either by road or by river apart from the rail route. This town has a rich history to offer. The Danes named this town as Fredericknagar in 1757 in the name of the then King Frederick V of Denmark.

Annapurna Mandir, Bhadreswar, Hooghly

Bhadreswar, a muncipal town of Hooghly district of West Bengal, roughly 28 kms from Howrah can be reached both by rail and road. It is the 11th station from Howrah in the Howrah-Bandel section of the Eastern Railway. This industrial town is located to the south of Chandannagar. The mention of Bhandreswar can be found in Bipradas’s Manasamangal.

Annapurna Mandir, Barrackpore

A beautiful nabaratna temple, like that of the famous Dakshineswar Temple is situated in Talpukur area of the subdivisional town of North 24 Parganas – Barrackpore just by the sides of the Ganges. The temple is dedicated to Goddess Annapurna.