Hooghly – Page 2 – Blog of Kinjal Bose

Durga Puja of Serampore Dey Bari

Durga Puja is held in many bonedi households in Serampore of which Dey Bari in Dey Street is one of the oldest. This year I paid a visit there in the afternoon and came to know that Durga Puja started way back in 1748 A.D by Ram Chandra Dey.

Family Durga Pujas in Janai and Baksha

A number of families in Janai and adjoining Baksha in Chanditala II block of Hooghly district celebrate Durga Puja with great pomp and splendour even today. Some of the pujas are pretty old. This year I decided to cover four such pujas – two each in Janai and Baksha, though there are other pujas also.

Bhadrakali Temple, Doltala, Uttarpara

Uttarpara, the fourth station in Howrah-Bandel section of Eastern Railway is roughly 11 kilometres from Howrah. This small yet beautiful town of Hooghly district has a number of things to offer.

Shiva Temples of Sahaganj, Hooghly

Bandel, a junction station, in Howrah-Barddhaman main line is roughly 38 kilometres from Howrah. On one sunny Sunday morning in March this year I boarded the Bandel local from Howrah and reached there. From Bandel I took an auto and headed for Sahaganj which is around 4 kilometres from there via Chinsurah-Bansberia Road. My destination is the Shiva Temples of Sahaganj founded by the Nandi family.

Temples of Baksa, Hooghly

Baksa, a village in Chanditala II block of Serampore subdivision of Hooghly district has a number of temples from aatchala to nabaratna and they are more two hundred years old.

Ram Sita Temple, Doltala, Uttarpara

Uttarpara, the fourth station in the Howrah-Bandel line, is roughly about 11 kilometers from Howrah. It can be reached either by road or by rail and even by water. Uttarapara being the first municipality of Bengal was created in 1853. This beautiful town houses the first public library built by Joykrishna Mukhopadhyay in 1849, which, at that time was the biggest library of India.

Temples of Gurap, Hooghly

Gurap, a village in Dhaniakhali block in Chinsurah subdivision of Hooghly district of West Bengal is famous for the aatchala Nandadulal Temple. Situated roughly 60 kilometres from Howrah the place can be reached both by road and rail.

Nanda Nandan Temple, Chandannagar

Chandannagar, a former French colony had a number of temples with ek-bangla (do-chala), aatchala, pancharatna, nabaratna and even flat-roofed (dalan) type of architecture and some have even terracotta decorations.

Durga Puja of Sheoraphuli Rajbari

The Durga Puja of Sheoraphuli Rajbari in Hooghly district is celebrating 287th saradastav this year. Yes, the puja was started way back in 1141 Bangabda i.e., in 1734 A.D by Raja Manohar Roy.

Nandadulal Temple, Chandernagore

Chandernagore, a former French colony, had a number of temples of which Nandadulal Jiu Mandir at Durga Charan Rakshit Road deserves mention. The temple is unique in the sense that it is one of the finest specimen of do chala (double sloped roof) mandir of Bengal’s temple architecture.

Kalidas Chatuspathi, Chandernagore

Chandernagore, a muncipal town in Hooghly district is about 33 kilometres from Howrah station. It can be reached by both road and rail. This town was a former French colony.

Rathayatra in Akshay Tritiya at Telinipara, Bhardreswar, Hooghly

Bhadreswar, a municipal town of Hooghly district of West Bengal can be reached both by road and rail. It is roughly forty minutes from Howrah by train in the Howrah-Bandel section of Eastern Railway. This industrial town finds mention in Bipradas’ Manasamangal. During the medieval times this area was a renowned seat of Sanskrit learning.

Rathayatra of Dasghara

Hooghly district of West Bengal is famous for Rathayatra – Mahesh in Serampore, Guptipara and Dasghara to name a few. Last year I was pretty lucky to visit Dasghara in the afternoon. It was a very hot and humid day. I took a train from Howrah and reached Tarakeswar at about quarter to two in the afternoon. Then I went to the bus stand and boarded a bus going to Dasghara. I sat by the window and when the bus started, I found after some time the landscape changed from urban to rural. Yes, we are leaving the temple town of Tarakeswar. The bus was more or less packed; but nobody was standing. After some thirty minutes I got down at Bazaar para and started walking towards my destination.

Henry Martin’s Pagoda

Serampore, a sub-divisional town in Hooghly district of West Bengal is only about 18 kilometres from Howrah. It is the eight station in Howrah-Bandel line of the Eastern Railway. The Grand Trunk Road passes through this town. The town can be reached either by road or by water; other than 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.

Shandeswartala Temple, Chinsurah

Chinsurah or Chuchura is the district headquarters of Hooghly. It is situated about 37 kilometers north of Kolkata by the western side of the Ganges. This town was previously a Dutch settlement till 1825. The town had a number of heritage monuments.