Rathyatra is a major festival and it is celebrated in many areas of West Bengal. They are also celebrated in many bonedi households and in many temples, some of which are pretty old. In many houses, this festival also marks the beginning of kathamo puja of Goddess Durga.
Continue reading Rathayatra of Choto RashbariCategory: Kolkata
Abandoned Temple of Radha Gobinda
Baro Rasbari of 78, Tollygunge Road, Kolkata consists of two temple complexes – eleven aatchala Shiv Mandir together with a pancharatna temple in one big courtyard completed in the second decade of the nineteenth century and a big aatchala temple dedicated to Madan Mohan completed in 1834. The entire temple complex of Baro Rasbari is a Grade – I heritage structure. It finds mention in the Graded List of Heritage Buildings (Volume XI) of Kolkata Muncipal Corporation.
Continue reading Abandoned Temple of Radha Gobinda
Bhukailash Temple, Khidirpur
Situated in Khidirpur, in Ward No 79 of Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) Bhukailash Rajbari is a prominent place where one will witness two big aatchala Shiva temples – Raktakamaleswar and Krishnachandreswar standing there from 1780 onwards and which have archaeological, architectural and historical significance. The temples along with the thakurbari including gateway of Bhukailash Rajbari is a Grade-I Heritage of the KMC.
Tulsimancha
Manchas are of three types – rasmancha, dolmancha and tulsimancha. In my previous blog posts I have written about Rasmancha and Dolmancha. Today I will concentrate on tulsimancha. Of the three manchas, tulsimancha is the smallest and is mainly found in domestic households and also in many temples of West Bengal. A tulsimancha is built centering a tulsi tree.
Dochala Siva Temple
There are a very large number of Siva temples in Kolkata; of which some are pretty old and each follows a distinct temple architecture. Baghbazaar situated towards the north of Kolkata has a number of temples of which one temple on the eastern pavement of Kshirode Vidyavinode Avenue drew my attention. This temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva.
Cossipore Rasbati
Cossipore had a number of old temples and heritage places which dates back to history. Being a frequent visitor there I found a very old rasmancha inside a math (open space) at Ratan Babu Road. This structure aroused my interest and that actually led me to visit there to trace its history. On one of my visit to the nearby Baranagar, I met respected Late Ajit Sen, and from his books, I gathered some information about this Rasbati.
Rasmancha
Manchas are of three types – rasmancha, dolmancha and tulsimancha. A rasmancha (a temple-like structure generally octagonal in shape with the sides open and situated on a raised-platform) is the largest among the three. It was very common in the nineteenth century Bengal. The rasmancha is normally smaller in size than the main temple where the Radha Krishna deities reside throughout the year. The main purpose of building the rasmancha is to enable the people to witness the deities (here Radha Krishna) from all the sides on a special occasion (Rashyatra).
Jagaddhatri Mandir, Kolkata
When we speak of Jagaddhatri Puja, the first thing that comes to our mind is Chandannnagar in Hooghly district of West Bengal where the puja is held for five days just like the Durga Puja. Then comes Krishnanagar where it is a single day festival – held in the Nabami tithi. Apart from Chandannagar, Mankundu and Bhadrewsar are also famous. In Kolkata, mostly the puja is held for a single day just like Krishnanagar.
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