Nandadirghi, Buddhist Vihar, Jagjibanpur, Malda

Nandadirghi Vihar

Buddhist Vihar, Jagjibanpur, Malda

Also see: Gour Pandua Tour

During the summer of 1987 Jagadish Gayen, a farmer from the remote village of Jagjibanpur bordering Bangladesh in Malda district, stumbled upon a copper plate. The plate measured 52.5cm x 37.5cm and had inscription on both side.

Ruins of Nandadirghi Vihar at Jagjibanpur under restoration

Gayen had no idea what was written but he could figure out that the plate was something extraordinary. Understanding the historic importance he submitted it at the panchayet office. The plate soon moved to the BDO office and then onwards to the DM office and final made its way to the State Archaeology department.

Murshidabad Heritage Festival 2022

Heritage of Murshidabad, Cossimbazar, Jiaganj and Azimganj

Also see: Murshidabad Heritage Festival 2022

The Murshidabad Heritage Festival is an initiative of Murshidabad Heritage Development Society (MHDS). MHDS was founded in 2010 by the Sheherwali community of Jiaganj and Azimganj with an objective of reviving the tangible and intangible heritage in Azimganj and Jiaganj in particular, and Murshidabad in general.

Participants of Murshidabad Heritage Festival 2022 at Nasipur Rajbari

MDHS plans to bring back Murshidabad in the tourism, cultural and heritage map of India. This lead to the formation of Murshidabad Heritage Festival first edition of which was celebrated in 2011.

Nimasarai Minar of Malda, tower of a medieval inn

Nimasarai Minar, Malda

Tower of a medieval inn

Also see: Gour Pandua Tour

Today Malda town the district headquarters of Malda district serves a base for tourist visiting the two medieval citadels of Gour and Pandua. Today Pandua lies about 32 km north of Malda, while Gour is 15 km south of Malda.

Nimasarai Minar, Malda

Today Malda town with its share of hotels and restaurants serve as a night stay option for tourist heading for the two medieval citadels of Gour-Pandua. Today good roads connect both the ancient towns to Malda and vehicles are readily available for tours covering the monuments of the twin citadels.

Historic Sites of Bardhaman Town

A compilation of historic sites of Bardhaman town

From colossal colonial styled gateways to magnificent Mughal styled mausoleum and from elaborate temple complex to the resting place of the first husband of the Mughal empress Noor Jahan

Clockwise from top left: Curzon Gate, Christ Church, Mazar of Pir Baharam, 108 Shiva Temples, Sarbangla Temple and Nawab Bari

Located about 100 km from Kolkata, the town of Bardhaman predates Kolkata by at least a couple of centuries. It can serve as a interesting day or a weekend trip from Kolkata covering an wide range of historic sites.

Mausoleum of Khwaja Anwar (Nawab Bari), Bardhaman

Mausoleum of Khwaja Anwar (Nawab Bari)

Bardhaman Town, West Bengal

Also see: More on Bardhaman Town

Bardhaman Town, the district headquarters of the Purba Bardhaman District and the former capital of the undivided Bradhaman District has its share of history. From the iconic Curzon Gate to the 108 Shiva Temples of Nawab Hat and from the historic campus of Bardhaman University to the resting place of Sher Afghan, the first husband of the Mughal empress Nur Jahan (Also see: Mazar of Pir Baharam)

Complex of the Mausoleum of Khwaja Anwar (popularly known as Nawab Bari), Bardhaman

But the historical site that stands out among the rest is the magnificent Mausoleum Complex of Khwaja Anwar (popularly known as Nawab Bari), sadly it is all in ruins and overgrown with vegetation.

Mazar of Pir Baharam, Bardhaman

Resting place of Pir Baharam, Sher Afghan Khan and Qutubuddin Koka

Two men lies in eternal rest under exactly similar graves next to each other but it is hard to believe that these men died fighting each other in a deadly ambush more than 500 years ago.

Panoramic view of the Mazar of Pir Baharam, Brdhaman

Next to the two warrior lies a Sufi Saint, who was known for providing drinking water to thirsty travellers. This is the Mazar of Pir Baharam in Bardhaman, which also contains several unmarked and unknown graves.

Curzon Gate, Bardhaman

Curzon Gate

Bardhaman (Burdwan), West Bengal

Curzon Gate is the most prominent land mark of Bardhaman (Burdwan) Town and is located at the meeting point of Bijoy Chand Road (BC Road) and Grand Trunk Road (GT Road) (Google map location)

Curzon Gate, Bardhaman

The gigantic gate towering at the busy intersection marks the entry to the Bardhaman town from GT Road. The gate was constructed to celebrate the coronation of the king of Bardhaman Maharaja Bijay Chand Mahatab in 1902.

Dariyapur, Dokra Village

Dariyapur

Dokra Village

Also see: Weekend family trip to Bhalki Machan

The Covid 19 outbreak have changed the way we live and after spending over 10 months confined at home we finally decided to hit the road. The visit to the Dariyapur, Dokra Village was part of a weekend trip to Bhalki Machan.

Gate of the Dokra Crafts Centre, Dariyapur

It was a two-day trip and included several side trips covering a variety of places. Our first stop for the second day was the Dokra Village of Dariyapur.

Bannabagram, Baul Ashram

Bannabagram

Baul Ashram

Also see: Weekend family trip to Bhalki Machan

Bauls are a group of mystic nomads of mixed elements Bhaktism and Sufisim from Bengal. Bauls are a very heterogeneous group, with many sects, but they can easily be identified by their distinctive clothes and musical instruments.

Baul performance at Bannabagram

Although Bauls comprise only a small fraction of the Bengali population, their influence on the culture of Bengal is considerable. In 2005, the Baul tradition of Bangladesh was included in the list of Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO.

Ichai Ghosher Deul, a towering temple on the banks of River Ajay

Ichai Ghosher Deul

A towering temple on the banks of River Ajay

Also see: Weekend family trip to Bhalki Machan

The Covid 19 outbreak have changed the way we live and after spending over 10 months confined at home we finally decided to hit the road. The visit to the Ichai Ghosher Deul was part of a weekend trip to Bhalki Machan, which was known for its crumbling tower like structure.

Ichai Ghosher Deul

According to local folklore the tower like structure in Bhalki Machan served as hunting platform, which was used by the local landlords to hunt bear. But historians have a different story and historical records confirm the tower was actually a Great Trigonometrical Survey (GTS) Tower, used for surveying and mapping the country almost 200 years ago.