Bhot Bagan, Howarah Buddhist Monastery with a tumultuous history

Bhot Bagan

The Howarah Buddhist Monastery with a tumultuous history

Visitors in the Himalayas are all familiar with monasteries. They generally consist of Buddhist shrines of Tibetan origin surrounded by fluttering prayer flags with green hills or snow peaks in the backdrop. But can you imagine such a monastery in the plains of Bengal!! That too right next to the Hooghly River and bang opposite the city of Kolkata.

Bhot Bagan Monastery, Ghusuri, Howrah

Bhot Bagan, literally meaning the Tibetan Garden, is presently located in the winding lanes of Ghusuri in Howrah. It dates back to 1780 and happens to be the oldest Tibetan Buddhist Monastery outside the Himalayas.

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Taki, one day outing from Kolkata

Taki, 24 Parganas (North)

A day outing during Covid 19 pandemic

Ever since we tested Covid 19 positive in May 2021 we had totally lost the confidence of going out for a holiday. Even a day trip seemed a distant dream. But time is always a best healer and after two and month after our recovery we finally decided to hit the road.

Panoramic view of Ichamati River and watch tower, Taki

We decided to keep it short and decided for a day trip. After shortlisting about half a dozen places we finally zoomed down at Taki, a favourite picnic and weekend spot from Kolkata. Although Taki has several places to stay but we decided to keep it restricted to a day.

Temple of Dakshin Rai, Dhapdhapi

Temple of Dakshin Rai

Dhapdhapi, 24 Parganas (South)

Dakshin Rai or Dakshin Ray, literally meaning the King of the South, is the local deity of Sundarban and rules over beast and daemons. He is worshiped by all those who enter the Sunderban forest, for subsistence, irrespective of their caste, creed or religion.

Idol of Dakshin Rai, Dakshineswar Temple, Dhapdhapi

There are lot of controversies regarding Dakshin Rai, although considered and worshiped as god by many but many other considered him as a demon with a uncanny curving for human flesh.

Achipur Barood Ghar, A Gunpowder Magazine en route Kolkata Port

Achipur Barood Ghar

A Gunpowder Magazine en route Kolkata Port

Today Achipur is a quiet little village on the banks of the Hooghly River near Budge Budge about 33 km south of Kolkata. The place has an interesting history and is named after Tong Achew, the first official Chinese settler in the country.

Warehouses of Achipur Barood Ghar with a dead tree, Achipur, Budge Budge

According to historical records in the late 18^th century a Chinese tea trader by the name of Tong Achew landed on the banks of Hooghly, somewhere near present day Budge – Budge, never to return again.

Jatar Deul and finally the Horse Race

Horse Race at Jatar Deul

Kankandighi, Raidighi, 24 Parganas (South)

Also see: Jatar Deul and the Illusive Horse Race

It was the second day of the Bengali new year 1420 (16 April 2011), my friend Amitabha Gupta and I headed for the Jatar Deul to witness the horse race. After a 4 + hour journey via train, auto and motor van we finally made it to Jatar Deul only to be informed that the horse race has been postponed to 25 Baikash (9 May) because of Elections.

Galloping past cheering crowd, horse race at Jatar Deul

Amitabha and I decided to retrace out steps back to Jatar Deul for the illusive horse race. On 9^thMay we repeated our 5 hours long journey only to be informed that the race was called off due to unofficial reasons. (Also see: Jatar Deul and the Illusive Horse Race)

Hanseswari Temple and Ananta Basudev Temple, Bansberia, Hooghly

Hanseswari Temple and Ananta Basudev Temple

Bansberia, Hooghly

The history of Bansberia dates back to the days of Shah Jahan. In 1656, the Mughal emperor appointed Raghab Dattaroy of Patuli as the zamindar of an area that includes the present-day Bansberia. Legend has it that Raghab’s son Rameshwar cleared a bamboo grove to build a fort, inspiring the name Bansberia.

L: Ananta Basudev Temple & R: Hanseswari Temple, Bansberia, Hooghly

Bansberia was also one of the important villages of the Saptagram (a unit of seven villages), an important port town in medieval Bengal. Its importance in pre-Muslim Bengal was religious, owing to its location at the Tribeni or confluence of three rivers.

Lakshmi Janardhan Temple, Debipur

A towering rekh deul temple

Lakshmi Janardhan Temple, Debipur

The nondescript village of Debipur, located on the Howrah – Bardhman main line has a distinction of housing a towering temple.

For the most comfortable journey it is best to take the Bardhman Local (Main) from Howrah. It takes about one and half hour to reach Debipur.

A short bus or trekker ride from Debipur station takes you to Shivtala, where the towering Lakshmi Janardhan Temple (Lakshmi Janardan Temple) is located.

Before reaching the Lakshmi Janardhan Temple the visitors will be welcomed by a unique structure at the Shivtala bus stop.

This structure consists of three connected structures built on a single raised platform. The structures on the side are aat – chal (8 sloped roof) shiva temples.

The central structure is a dol mancha. The open dol mancha, stands on a elevated platform and towers above both the temples.

The structure contains beautiful terracotta ornamentation on its front surface, including a false door way, below the dol mancha. A marble plaque on the doorway indicates that the structure was constructed in 1283 of Bengali calendar which is equivalent to 1836.

Komagata Maru Memorial, Budge Budge, 24 Parganas (South)

Komagata Maru Memorial

Budge Budge, 24 Parganas (South)

Komagata Maru Memorial, Budge Budge, 24 Parganas (South)

Just next to the docks of Budge Budge, about 30 km south of Calcutta (Kolkata), lies a strange memorial. Popularly known as the “Punjabi Monument” it is modelled as the Sikh kirpan (dagger), the white and green cement structure rises in a magnificent arch to touch the sky.

The memorial is dedicated to victims of the notorious Komagata Maru Incident that happened almost a century ago.

“The visions of men are widened by travel and contacts with citizens of a free country will infuse a spirit of independence and foster yearnings for freedom in the minds of the emasculated subjects of alien rule.”

~ Gurdit Singh

In 1914, a wealthy Indian fisherman settled in Singapore, Gurdit Singh Sandhu, did quite the unthinkable. He chartered a Japanese steamship of 3,000-odd gross register tonnage to transport a large number of his Punjabi brethren from India to Canada in a bid to outsmart the tough immigration laws the northern American country had imposed to keep Asians out.

Palpara Brick Temple

The Archeological Survey of India (ASI) website describes it as the Palpara Brick Temple, while the locals call it the Moth Mandir, Kali Mandir or even Shiv Mandir. The seventeenth century temple has long been abundant. It is recently been restored by the ASI and declared as a Monument of National Importance.

Palpara Brick Temple

The brick built south facing char – chala temple (four sloped roofs meeting at a pinnacle) stands on a raised plinth and is believed to be built by Gandharba Roy in seventeenth century, although the foundation plaque containing necessary information like name of founder and year of foundation has long been lost. The temple standing on a square base, and crowned with the four sloping roofs, rises to a height of 21 meters.

Ambika Kalna ~ 108 Shiva Temples

Space age view of century old temples

It was a winter Sunday morning almost a decade ago, when I desperately panned my SLR film camera (Vivitar v3800s) to shoot a panorama of the 108 Shiva Temples of Ambika Kalna. The negative and the prints still at my possession but by limited dark room knowledge was not enough to stitch up the panorama.

Panoramic view of 108 Shiva Temples, Ambika Kalna

A decade later in April 2012 I was back again at the same spot where I panned my DSLR (Nikkon D60) to shoot a 8 shot panorama of the 108 Shiva Temples of Ambika Kalna. The shots were stitched up in a matter of minutes in my digital darkroom.