Dihar ~ Ruined Twin Temples
Dihar ~ Ruined Twin Temples
Near Bishnupur, Bankura, West Bengal
Also see: Beyond Bishnupur ~ Brick and Stone Temples
Saileswar and Sareswar Temples, Dihar (near Bishnupur), Bankura
Located 8 km from Bishnupur, on the Bishnupur – Sonamukhi highway, the village of Dihar houses two ruined but majestic temples. Both the temples are dedicated to Lord Shiva and are known as Sareswar and Saileswar. A Nandi Bull guards the entrance of Sareswar Temple.
Stucco Work, Dihar
In the early part of the 19th century D B Sooner, then superintendent of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), Eastern Region, took interest in the two temples. Today the Sareswar and Saileswar Temples are protected monuments under ASI and the area around the structure is fenced off and landscaped.
Located atop a small mound the Sareswar and Saileswar Temples are built of laterite stones. Built in 1346 by the Malla King Pritvi Malla, the temples follow the typical Oriya Deul style architecture. The towering spires of both Sareswar and Saileswar have long collapsed, but they still commands majestic presence. The Temple contains beautiful floral and geometric stucco work on its outer walls, but most of it has been wiped out by the forces of nature and centuries of human neglect.
A stone Nandi bull in front of the Sareswar Temple, may have given the temple its name (Sar literally means bull). Sadly the elements of nature has its effect on the laterite stone bull, its heavily eroded and in the process loosing most of its intricate features. The temples attracts a large number of pilgrims, from the neighboring region, during the shivaratri festival.
Nandi Bull, Dihar
But the region around the Sareswar and Saileswar Temple dates far beyond the days of King Privi Malla. The Archaeological Department of the Calcutta University has carried out several digs in the Dihar village. Several artifacts and articles have been excavated, some of them dating back to the neolithic (new stone) and chalcolithic (copper) age.
A trip to Bishnupur, the famed tourist spot of West Bengal, will always remain incomplete without a visit to the Sareswar and Saileswar Temples of Dihar.
Reference:
- Jewels of West Bengal – District of Bankura – Temples, Terracotta and Handicrafts
- Next weekend you can be at … Dihar by Somen Sengupta, The Telegraph, 17 Aug, 2008
Chinese Breakfast, Old Chinatown (Tiretta Bazar), Calcutta (Kolkata)
Chinese Breakfast
Old Chinatown (Tiretta Bazar), Calcutta (Kolkata)
Also see: My blog post on Calcutta (Kolkata) Chinatown
Chinese Breakfast, Old Chinatown (Tiretta Bazar), Calcutta (Kolkata)
Its early Sunday morning and sun is yet to come out, but the stoves are already fired up and the morning silence is broken by the sound of the knife hitting the chopping plate.
Chinese Breakfast, Old Chinatown (Tiretta Bazar), Calcutta (Kolkata)
Night owls crawl out of their late night parties and call centre night shifts to rejuvenate themselves with bowls of hot fish ball soups from the road side vendors. Hungry soles huddle around makeshift stall, jostling with each other to grab the day’s first meal.
Both side of the thoroughfare, are lined with stacks of momo containers, containing steaming momos with pork, chicken and shrimp stuffing. Sausages hung from ropes tied to lamp post like fancy lights. Yes, its breakfast time, Chinatown Calcutta !!!!
Dimsums and momos are always the most sort after items. Spring rolls and pork sausages are not far behind. Pau, the ball shaped over sized dumpling, which comes with all sorts of pork, chicken, and fish filling is definitely on the must have list.
Chinese Breakfast, Old Chinatown (Tiretta Bazar), Calcutta (Kolkata)
The food is cooked in home style following the authentic Chinese recipe and are served with homely warmth. The place has a laid back attitude, with elderly Chinese reading the Chinese newspaper and sipping on cups of green tea and women talking about the latest gossip in Chinatown.
In the recent years the Chinese Breakfast has become extremely popular but sadly popularity has its ill effects too. Many have the age old Chinese stall have stop selling pork items and ingredients and recopies have been modified to meet the requirement of Indian, or Calcutta (Kolkata) taste buds. Even stall selling puri – bhajis and other standard Indian breakfast items have also sprung up.
Paus, Dim sums & Sausages. Chinese Breakfast, Chinatown, Calcutta (Kolkata)
The Chinese connection to the city dates back almost 250 years. In the late 18th century a Chinese tea trader by the name of Tong Achew landed on the banks of Hooghly, somewhere near present day Budge – Budge (about 30 km south of Calcutta). He fell in love with the place and decided never to return again. He applied for land which was granted by the Governor General Warren Hastings.
Entrance of Hap Hing Co., Chinese Provision Store
According to records to British East India Company “Achew was granted 650 bighas of land about 6 miles south of Budge – Budge for an annual rent of Rs 45.” After acquiring the land Achew set up a sugar – cane plantation along with a sugar mill. He brought in a band of Chinese workers to work in his plantation and factory and thus forming the first Chinese settlement in India.
But Achew died soon after and his sugar factory was abandoned. His workers left for the city of Calcutta, where their descendents still continue to live. The place came to be known as Achipur after Tong Achew. Sadly today apart from a Chinese Temple and Achew’s horse shoe shaped grave Achipur has no Chinese connection.
Items at Hap Hing Co., Chinese Provision Store
It’s definitely not a fine dining experience. Timing is odd as the breakfast literally starts at the rooster’s first call and ends before the first public bus rolls out of the terminal. Every thing is served out of make shift stall and eaten on the pavements and people concerned about hygiene must keep away. But in spite all odds the Chinese Breakfast of Old Chinatown in Tiretta Bazar, Calcutta (Kolkata) can well rate among the most sought after breakfast of the country.
Stella Chen, Hap Hing Co., Chinese Provision Store
No trip to the Chinese Breakfast of Tiretta Bazar is complete with out a visit to Hap Hing Co., Chinese Provision & Medicine Stores, which can well remind one of Diagon Alley of Harry Potter. It is a place to stock up authentic Chinese ingredients and try the recopies at home.
The inside of the pre – independence store, is dark and smoky, the black polished wooden shelves are stacked with the most amazing oriental provisions. Exotic green tea, pickled plums, rice noodle, orange peels, sun dried mushrooms, pink edged prawn wafers you name it and Hap Hing Co., Chinese Provision Store has it. Hap Hing Co. also stores a unique assortment of Chinese Medicine from the ever popular Tiger Balm to strange medicated oils with miraculous cures.
Run by Stella Chen, who prefers to use a abacus instead of a pocket calculator, is a gazette of information on Calcutta’s Chinese community. A extremely friendly lady always in the lookout of striking a conversation about the glorious days of Calcutta Chinatown.
The Glorious Dead Cenotaph, Calcutta (Kolkata)
The Glorious Dead Cenotaph
Maidan, Calcutta (Kolkata)
Also see: World War I (WWI) Memorials in Calcutta (Kolkata)
Glorious Dead Cenotaph, Calcutta (Kolkata)
Cenotaph literally means an empty tomb or monument erected in honour of a person or group of people whose remains are elsewhere.
Located on the Northern end of the Calcutta (Kolkata) Maidan the Glorious Dead Cenotaph is the most well known of the WWI Memorials of Calcutta (Kolkata). It is popularly but wrongly known as the “Memorial of Unknown Soldiers.”
Designed by architect Herbert William Palliser, the sandstone built memorial loosely resembles the Cenotaph of Whitehall, London.
Built in 1924 the Glorious Dead Cenotaph commemorates those Calcutta British and Anglo Indians who gave their lives for King and Country between 1914 and 1918. The Eastern side of the cenotaph bears the inscription “Glorious Dead” on the lower portion.
The top portion of the Southern and Northern side contains strange inscription of MCMXIV and MCMXVIII respectively. But this are actually not random alphabets but Roman numerals representing 1914 and 1918, the beginning and end of the Great War. (M = 1000, C = 100, X = 10, V = 5, I = 1).
Strangely the memorial contains no plaques with the names of those fallen and probably because of this the memorial is commonly known as the memorial of unknown soldiers.
- Glorious Dead Memorial Inscription ans and Brass Plaque at St. John’s Church
Statue of British Soldier, Glorious Dead Cenotaph
But the memorial once had plaques and they were removed in 1959 to the nearby St. John’s Church where they can still be seen to this day. St. John’s Church also contains a brass plaque which mentions about the transfer of the plaques in 1959.
All the names noted in the brass plaque were British name indicating that the “Glorious Dead” cenotaph was a WWI dedicated only to British and Anglo – Indian soldiers.
A low yellow coloured baluster railing separates the memorial from the adjoining Red Road. The entrance is marked with two statues of British Tommies (Soldiers).
The statues adopting the standard British army funeral vigil stance of heads bowed with bayonetted rifle turned upside-down. The statues were cast in London from the foundry of EJ Parlanti. The sculptor was Herbert William Palliser whose name can just be deciphered on the pedestal.
Every year on the Sunday nearest to 11 November at 11am , a Remembrance Service is held at the Cenotaph to commemorate British and Commonwealth servicemen and women who died in the two World Wars and later conflicts
Reference:
- Cenotaph, Calcutta 1924. Flickr photo by D C R Finch
- War Memorial, Calcutta 1924. Flickr photo by D C R Finch
Old or Mission Church, Calcuta (Kolata)
Old or Mission Church, Calcutta (Kolkata)
~ Oldest Protestant Church of Calcutta (Kolkata) ~
Also see my compilation of Calcutta (Kolkata) Churches
Founded by the Swedish Lutheran missionary Johann Zachariah Kiernander the Mission Church was founded in 1770 and happens to be the oldest Protestant Church in Calcutta (Kolkata) and the second oldest (only next to Armenian Church) in the city.
Mission Church Interior, Calcutta (Kolkata)
Johann Zachariah Kiernander arrived in India in 1740 as a missionary under the auspicious of the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge (SPCK). After spending 18 years in South India he was invited to Bengal by Lord Clive. Kiernander established the Mission Church in the rent free house provide to him by Lord Clive.
Left: Mission Church (1880s photo). Right: Mission Church with Lal Dighi (Thomas Daniell, 1786)
In 1767 Kieranander purchased land and decided to built a church at his own expense. The church was completed in 1770. Kiernander himself called the church Beth Tephillah (Hebrew: House of Prayer).
Mission Church, Calcutta (Ko;kata)
But the church was popularly known as the Mission Church and locals called it the Lal Girja, literally meaning the Red Church, because of its brick red finish. According to some records Lal Dighi, formally Tank Square, got its name because of the reflection of the Lal Girja.
After the construction of the St. John’s Church the Mission Church came to be known as the Old Church but not Old Mission Church, but strangely the name stuck and even today a marble plaque and metallic lettering at the entrance of the church reads “Old Mission Church.”
Stained Glass, Old or Mission Church, Calcutta (Kolkata)
Over the years the Old or Mission Church underwent several modification and extensions. Johann Zachariah Kiernander grand son George Henry Kiernander added the stained glass at the alter which can be seen to this day.
In the 1880s and 1890s the tall slender spire of the Kiernander’s Church still dominated the Calcutta skyline, but tragedy struck in 1897 when the spire was damaged during the Assam earthquake, the damage was beyond repair and the the spire had to be removed robbing the Mission Church of its glory.
225 years of Mission Church, Calcutta
Bad days of the Church continued as the elegant structure was slowly encroached upon by box like multi storied buildings and in the process blocking its reflection on the Lal Dighi.The brick red faced of the Lal Girja has long been plastered off.
Today the region around the Mission Church, included the pavement in front of it, is heavily encroached. An assortment of vehicles of Kolkata Police is perennially parked in front of the Mission Church making it almost invisible.
But the long colonnaded corridor, supported by lofty Doric pillars, remains the same and the interiors are as grand as before.
A long corridor leads to the beautifully stained glass decorated alter there are several plaques including a plaque commemorating the 225 years of the Church. There is also a beautiful marble bust of Bishop Thomas Dealtry.
Interior, Mission Church, Calcutta
Also it was at this very Mission Church the famous poet Madhusudan Dutta was baptised and came to be known as Michael Madusudan Dutt but sadly there is no plaque commemorating the historic event but its quite likely the church archive still contains the historic record.
References:
- 10 Walks in Calcutta by Prosenjit Das Gupta
- Swasato Kolkata – Ingrej Amaler Stapotha by Nishitranjan Roy
- Kiernander Church by Aidan Kjernander
Special Thanks:
- A special thanks to my Facebook Aidan Kjernander for his wonderful blog entry on Kiernander Church. Several information have been taken from his blog including the old photo and the painting by Thomas Daniell
Photo Publication – IX
Photo Publication – IX
Click Your Township, Salt Lake, The Telegraph, Calcutta
Dated 17 May, 2013
Also see: Jane’s Walk of East Calcutta Wetlands
Click Your Township is a column in the Salt Lake supplement of The Telegraph where readers can exhibit there photography skills by clicking their township of Salt Lake and Newtown.
Three of my photos of wetlands beyond Salt Lake (Sec. V) was published in the Salt Lake supplement of The Telegraph dated 17 May, 2013.
Salt Lake, The Telegraph, 17 May 2013
The caption read “The best place to photograph stunning clouds is the wetland (bheri) behind sector V. With scattered white clouds creating a striking contrast against the deep blue sky, this is photographer’s heaven. The panoramic shot was shot from behind Godrej Waterside, combining eight shots horizontally. I used a Nikon D60with 18 – 55 mm lens and a Graduated Neutral Density filter. I am a mathematics teacher by profession and am attached with various management & IT institutes of Salt Lake on a part – time basis. I am also a travel writer with a passion for photography.”
East Calcutta Wetlands
A Photographers Heaven
Also see: Jane’s Walk 2013, East Calcutta Wetlands
“If the Maidan is the lungs of Calcutta, the East Calcutta Wetlands would be the kidney!”
Bonani Kakkar, Environment Activist
Godrej Waterside from East Calcutta Wetlands
Located on the eastern fringes of the city the East Calcutta Wetlands is an interesting mix of natural and man made water bodies interconnected by a complex network of canals. Covering an area of 125 square kilometers, the East Calcutta Wetland include salt marshes and salt meadows, as well as sewage farms and settling ponds and is the world’s largest wastewater fed aqua culture system.
The East Calcutta Wetlands provide a very cheap, efficient and eco-friendly system of solid waste and sewer treatment system for the city of Calcutta (Kolkata), hence
Sadly for majority of Calcuttans the East Calcutta wetlands is just a quick glance from the passing car window along the Eastern Metropolitan Bypass or a glimpses from the office window of Salt Lake (Sec. V).
I have been no stranger to the East Calcutta Wetlands (locally called bheri). For the last two decades I have been exploring the region through long walks and bicycle rides.
I still remember the long bicycle rides through the bheris taking me all the way from Salt Lake (Sec. V) to Chingrighata on the Eastern Metropolitan Bypass.
East Calcutta Wetland Panorama, with Salt Lake (Sec V) skyline (File Photo)
East Calcutta Wetlands is also a photographers’ heaven. It was also the place where I learned my basics of photography starting with a point and shoot film camera. It was also in the East Calcutta Wetlands I graduated to analog SlR and then to a DSLR.
East Calcutta Wetlands
It is also the place where I used to experiment with high end photography skills like HDR and panorama shooting.
These three photos published in the “Click your Township” column of the Salt Lake supplement of The Telegraph, Calcutta was shot on July 2012.
It was a Sunday and the monsoon was at its height, it rained heavily in the night and in the morning I rose of to see spectacular white feathery clouds against deep blue sky.
I at once packed my camera and headed for the East Calcutta Wetlands from my residence in Salt Lake. I soon made my way past the Godrej Waterside building deep inside the wetlands.
After about two hours I got my dream shots but not before covering about 4 km on foot. I returned exhausted but with a bag full of photographs, which took hours of processing in my computer.
Maluti, Rebirth of a Temple Town
Maluti
Rebirth of a Temple Town
Located in the Dumka District of Jharkhand the non descriptive village of Maluti houses several temple with intricate art work.
Cluster of Temples, Maluti
Baj Basanta
Legend, Myth and a bit of History
Family Tree of Baj Basanta
It was during the reign of Alauddin Hussan Shah of Gour (1495 – 1525) and the sultan has camped in the nearby area about 500 years back. It was during the camp the Begum lost his favorite pet hawk (baj). A young local orphan farmer by the name of Basanta captured the bird and returned it to the queen. The sultan was so impressed that as a token of gratitude he gifted several acres of tax free land to Basnata, marking the beginning of Nankar (tax free) kingdom and Basanta came to be known as Baj Basanta.
Baj Basant’s great grand son Rajchandra was defeated by the King of Rajnagar in a battle and was brutally murdered. His four sons shifted the capital to Maluti in about 1680 and started living separately.
The house of Rakharchandra, the eldest son, came to be known as Rajbari (house of the king). The second son Prithvichandra’s house was called the Madhyam Bari (house of the second). Ramchandra, who like his brother got one – fourth share, and was called Sikir Bari (house of one – fourth share). The fourth and last son Madhavchandra had six sons, so his house came to be known as Chhai Taraf (house of six). The four sons build several temples converting the non descriptive village into a temple town.
Gopaldas Mukherjee (Batu da)
The Lone Crusader
“Whoever comes to Maluti, Batuda takes him around, tells him some fabulous stories about each temple. He knows the temples brick by brick”
Satish Tyagi, former deputy director archaeology, Jharkhand
Gopaldas Mukherjee (Batu da)
The 72 out of the 108 temples of Maluti stands to this day. They have survived due to the efforts of a single man Gopaldas Mukherjee (locally known as Batu da). The 82 years old Batu da have been a custodian of the Maulti temples for over half a century. It is only due to the efforts of this gentleman the temples of Maluti have survived and are presently being conserved by the Government of Jharkhand.
Gopaldas Mukherjee the retired school teacher and ex air-force soldier have not only saved the temples from destruction but also documented the history of the village. He has written several books on Maluti in Bengali, Hindi and English.
His Bengali books include “Devbhumi Maluti,” “Bajer Badale Raj” and “Nankar Maluti.” His English book “Temples of Maluti” is all set to be published. His Hindi works include a booklet titled “Guptakasi Maluti.”
Maluti
My Personal Travelogue
Although Maluti is located in Dumka District of Jharkhand but it is best approachable from Rampurhat in Birbhum district of West Bengal. Although no regular autos are available from the Rampurhat station one has to book a auto to visit the temples of Maluti.
Cluster of Temples, Maluti, Dumka, Jharkhand
The highlight of the auto ride is an amazing shortcut along a abandoned second world War (WWII) airstrip. The towering sentinel like temples welcomed us into the village of Maluti. Batu da himself welcomed us into the village and volunteered to give us a temple tour.
Mahisasuramardini. Maluti
The temples of Maluti are distributed in four clusters, belonging to the four great great grandsons of Baj Basanta. The first cluster belongs to the Madhyam Bari. The second and third clusters are clubbed together and belong to the Rajbari and Sikir Bari. The fourth and last cluster belong to Chhai Taraf.
Apart from these there are several other scattered temples along with a few new temples, including the newly constructed abode of Goddess Mauliksha, after whom Maluti gets its named.
Ramayana in Arch Panel, Maluti
Most of the temples of Maluti follow the char – challa (four sloped roofs) form of architecture, however there are a few flat roof temples and a single pinnacle temple. But the star attraction of Maluti temple is its intricate terracotta. Some scholars have opined that the intricate designs are not terracotta but curved out of a sandstone called phool pathar, but several others, including Gopaldas Mukherjee, consider it as terracotta (burnt clay).
As the experts argue over finer issue we decide to explore the temple town of Maluti. We started with the first cluster consisting of several temples, known as Madhyam Bari, with intricate carvings. The temples are approached by a single arched entrance with is crowned by a war scene between Ram and Ravan. This scene is found in several temples all over Maluti, but they are not replicas. Each differ from the other for example Ravana is seen to mount a chariot or sporting decorative foot wears while Hunuman carries Ram on his shoulder. Another common panel is that Durga in Mahisasuramardini poster flaked with her children in traditional style. This panel is normally found above the arch panel in almost all the temples of Maluti.
Durga with her children, Maluti
Our next stop was the second combined cluster of Rajbari and Sikir Bari, approachable by a complex maze of lanes. This is the largest of the clusters and contains several temples of different shapes and sizes, including a roofless hexagonal Rasmancha. In one of the temples the Ram – Ravan scene in the arch panel is replaced with a beautiful Mahisasuramarini panel.
Chariot, Maluti
Finally we made our way again through a complex networks of lanes and bylanes to the last of the cluster, known as Chhai Taraf. Consisting of a few scattered temples on either side of the road. All the temples follow the char chala structure and are decorated with beautiful terracotta carvings.
Finally it was time for home and we returned with a signed copy of Gopaldas Mukherjee’s book “Nankar Maluti” and with memories to last a life time and dreams to return again.
Necessary Information:
Getting There: Rampurhat is the nearest railhead. Gandevata Express is the best option. There are no regular transport from Rampurhat. Auto needs to be reserved from Rampurhat for the Maluti trip. The journey (one way) takes an hour via a shortcut through an abandoned Second World War highway. Aprox. Cost is Rs400, subject to bargain, for the whole trip.
Places to stay: Maluti can be covered in a single day from Kolkata. There are no places to stay in Maluti. Hotels are available in Rampurhat. The trip can be clubbed with the popular pilgrimage of Tarapith.
Places to eat: Maluti has no eateries. Basic food is available in Rampurhat.
Jane’s Walk 2013, East Calcutta (Kolkata) Wetlands
Jane Jacobs
Journalist, Author, Activist and Urban Thinker
“You’ve got to get out and walk”
Jane Jacobs (Source: Wikipedia Commons)
Jane Jacobs (May 4, 1916 – April 25, 2006) was an American–Canadian journalist, author, and activist best known for her influence on urban studies. She had no formal training in architecture or urban planning yet her influential book “The Death and Life of Great American Cities” (published in 1961) introduced ground breaking ideas about how cities function, evolve and fail that now seem like common sense to generations of architects, planners, politicians and activists.
Jacobs saw cities as integrated systems that had their own logic and dynamism which would change over time according to how they were used. With a keen eye for detail, she wrote eloquently about sidewalks, parks, retail design and self-organization.
A firm believer in the importance of local residents having input on how their neighborhoods develop, Jacobs encouraged people to familiarize themselves with the places where they live, work, and play.
Started in 2007, a year after her death, Jane’s Walks are held annually during the first weekend in May, to coincide with her birthday. Jane’s Walk consists of a series of neighbourhood walking tours. The walks are led by local volunteers and offered for free.
(Sorce: Official wuebsite of Jane Jacobs Walk)
Jane’s Walk Calcutta (Kolkata) Edition
3 – 5 May. 2013
“To Calcutta much abused, much loved and always interesting”
Desmond Doig
The 2013 Calcutta (Kolkata) edition of the Jane’s Walk was organised by The Telegraph Explore Calcutta Walks, in association with Calcutta Walks and was presented by Prabha Khaitan Foundation. Nine walks (including a bicycling ride) was designed by Calcutta Walks to cover the different cultural, social and even environmental aspects of the “City of Joy.”
Jane’s Walk, Calcutta (Kolkata) Edition Schedule
|
Walk |
Leader |
Meeting |
May 4 & 5 |
|
East Calcutta Wetlands |
Bonani Kakkar |
Paroma Police Station |
7 am |
|
Park Street |
Usha Uthup |
Asiatic Society |
8 am |
|
Kalighat |
Santimoy Bhattacharya |
Kalighat Police Station |
8 am |
|
Photowalk |
Rahul Mall |
Victoria Memorial Main Gate |
8 am |
|
Rabindra Sarobar |
Mudar Patherya |
Menoka Cinema |
8 am |
|
Calcutta Theatre Story |
Shuktara Lal |
Girish Park Metro Exit |
8 am |
|
Sovabazar |
Akhil Sarkar |
Chatubabu Latubabur Bari |
8 am |
|
Bicycling Calcutta |
Gautam Sharoff |
Victoria Memorial Main Gate |
6 am |
|
Chinatown – Tiretta Bazar |
Joseph Percy Ling |
Poddar Court Remeonds |
8 am |
It was a tough decision choosing the walk, and after a series of decisions and indecisions I decided to head for the East Calcutta Wetlands Walk on 5 May 2013.
East Calcutta Wetlands Walk
With Bonani Kakkar, 5 May 2013
“If the Maidan is the lungs of Calcutta, the East Calcutta Wetlands would be the kidney!”
Bonani Kakkar, Environment Activist
East Calcutta Wetland, with Salt Lake (Sec, V) skyline (File Photo)
Located on the eastern fringes of the city the East Calcutta Wetlands is an interesting mix of natural and man made water bodies interconnected by a complex network of canals. Covering an area of 125 square kilometers, the East Calcutta Wetland include salt marshes and salt meadows, as well as sewage farms and settling ponds and is the world’s largest wastewater fed aqua culture system.
Bonani Kakkar (left) unfolding the mysteries of East Calcutta Wetlands
The East Calcutta Wetlands provide a very cheap, efficient and eco-friendly system of solid waste and sewer treatment system for the city of Calcutta (Kolkata), hence
Sadly for majority of Calcuttans the East Calcutta wetlands is just a quick glance from the passing car window along the Eastern Metropolitan Bypass or a glimpses from the office window of Salt Lake (Sec. V).
The Jane’s Walk of the East Calcutta Wetlands kicked of from the Bantala Dock after a 3 km drive from the Paroma Island. Walk leader Bonani Kakkar, environmentalist and activist who rums the NGO People United for Better Living in Calcutta (PUBLiC), introduced the wetlands standing next to one of the numerous sluice gates that controls the flow of water in & out of the wetlands.
Sluice Gate, East Calcutta Wetlands
According to Bonani Kakkar Calcutta (Kolkata) slopes West to East and away from the river. The East Calcutta Wetland comes to the rescue saving to the city from flooding. Time and again unplanned planning have led to excessive water logging in some pockets of the city, Bonani cited the example of Lake Town being flooded after the construction of the Eastern Metropolitan Bypass.
The walk soon started and we made our way past some ruined structure, which according to Bonani was a sewage water treatment plant set up by the British. But Calcutta had its own natural sewage treatment system and quiet likely the plant never started operation.
Bamboo Fencing, East Calcutta Wetland
As we made our way past one of these structure a slithering snake, which lived in perfect harmony with a family of pigs, welcomed us. Soon our discussion shifted to wildlife of East Calcutta Wetland and Bonani shared her experience of spotting monitor lizards and mongoose. Sadly our wildlife spotting was restricted to few water birds like kingfisher, cormorants, herons and the rare open bill stork.
Soon the discussion changed to ecology, and Bonani explained the role of water hyacinths in providing shade to small fishes and the role of algae in keeping the four feet deep water of the wetlands (locally called bheri) clean.
Fishing Net, East Calcutta Wetland (File Photo)
As we crossed a rickety bamboo bridge and ventured deep into the bheri region Bonani became nostalgic as she narrated about the epic battle against the West Bengal Government to protect the East Calcutta Wetlands. Bonani went on to narrate the story of Justice Umesh Ch. Banerjee being welcomed to the bheri by a yellow coloured giant frog (locally called sona bang) on his official visit to the wetlands. Finally in 1992 it was victory for Bonani and PUBLiC, Justice Umesh Ch. Banerjee of High Court ruled that no development activity could take place without its prior permission. More success followed as in 2002 the East Calcutta Wetlands was declared as Wetland of International Importance by Ramsar Bureau.
Jane’s Walk through East Calcutta Wetland
We continued our walk along narrow embankments separating one bheri from the other with the Calcutta (Kolkata) skyline in the distant horizon. We walked passed boats and fishing nets left to dry and strange bamboo screens which prevented the fish from moving from one bheri to another.
Occasionally we made way for fishermen on bicycles carrying fresh stock of fish to the market. Bonani’s husband Pradeep, who was accompanying us, explained that the East Calcutta Wetlands not only provides fish to the Calcutta market but also fresh vegetables grown in the adjoining land, which is technically a part of the wetland.
East Calcutta Wetlands, a paradise (File Photo)
We finished our East Calcutta Wetland walk discussing about the threats to this fragile ecosystem. Although a protected place the land sharks are always lookout for an opportunity. Also the toxic chemical wastes are threatening to contaminate the fish and vegetables.
Note:
- The File Photos are not shot during Jane’s East Calcutta Wetland Walk on 5 May 2013.
Special Thanks:
- Bonani Kakkar for the wonderful introduction of the East Calcutta Wetlands
- The Telegraph for hosting the Jane’s Walk in Calcutta
- Calcutta Walks not only for its efficient management but also for supporting this blog
