Temples of Surul, Birbhum

About five kilometres from Shantiniketan in Bolpur subdivision of Birbhum district of West Bengal, you will come across a village named Surul. The village comprises of a number of richly decorated terracotta temples mostly dedicated to Lord Shiva. Here apart from an aatchala temple and a pancharatna temple there are about four deuls out of which three are renovated but without losing its exquisite terracotta ornamentation.

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Nilkantheshwari Temple, Gondalpara, Chandannagar

Chandannagar, a former French colony, is just 35 kilometres from Kolkata can be reached by both rail and road. Chandannagar is now a subdivision of Hooghly district of West Bengal. When we speak of Chandannagar, the first thing that comes to our mind is Jagadhatri Puja which is celebrated here for five days with great pomp and grandeur just like Durga Puja. A number of temples are there in Chandannagar of which Nilkantheshwari Temple of Gondalpara deserves mention.

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Jagadhatri Puja of Kolkata’s ‘Bonedi’ Families

When we speak of Jagadhatri Puja, we think of Chandannagar, Mankundu, Bhadreswar in Hooghly district and Krishnanagar in Nadia district of West Bengal. In Hooghly district it is a five-day festival starting from Sasthi to Dasami like that of Durga Puja whereas in Krishnanagar the puja starts in Nabami.

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Siddheswari Kalibari, Kutighat

There are a number of Kali temples in Baranagar which are more than hundred years old of which Siddheswari Kalibari in Kutighat is one. Built by zamindar Joy Narayan Bandopadhyay in 1843, the temple is one hundred and seventy five years old. A road – Joy Narayan Banerjee Lane – in Baranagar is named after him. He was a very pious and religious man.

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