Rediscovering the Heritage Hooghly

Total trip distance 249km

This time the destination was heritage places of rural bengal. The destination was Hooghly and Burdwan, which has the most oldest temples,church,mosque and so many ancient architectures scattered around these two districts of West Bengal.

Riders are-

Arijit in Pulsar 150

Avtar in Karizma R

Bikram in Pulsar 220F

Ramneek in Pulsar 135LS (Pradeep pillion to Ramneek)

Tarun in Ninja 250R

Ujjal in Pulsar 180

Destinations-

1.Chandannagar Strand

2.Bandel

3.Imambara

4.Itachuna Rajbari

5.Pandua

6.Ambika Kalna

Meeting point was Dakshineswar crossing @ 6:30am. Me & Arijit reached there at around 6:15. So after meeting and some leg pullings of each other we had some tea and went onto ride till Chandanagar for our breakfast.

We took the PWD road then continued onto Durgapur expressway for 1km and from there we took the SH-6 and again rode for another 20-25mins. We reached @ Chandanagar few mins past 7am.

Chandannagar Strand

My eyes got stunned after seeing the sunshine reflecting onto the Ganges and looks like some glittering jewels. We parked our rides just beside the food stall and ordered Naan Puri-Sabji-Dal...

Then we see off Ramneek, Avtar and Pradeep and four of us (Arijit, Tarun, Bikram and myself) started on our journey.

Next destination was Bandel church,

Bandel church

We reached Bandel church. We roam inside the church and went to the top where people holds the pray to beloved Mother Mary and still so many candels were there. When we entered the prayer hall, our heart was soothing with the peace inside it. during these I noticed a strange thing that in some of the boxes (which are usually used to announce something inside the church) a hindi song is playing.. OMG :O

We clicked few photos and went to see the Imambara which was just few kms away from the church.

Imambara 

This is another heritage which is ignored from time to time and so many valuable culturual history we lost with it.. but against all these odds this piece of history still shines and people still visit this place

You just need to keep silence and just open your eyes, the rest will be done by the walls, big clock, the prayer hall, the solar clock, the fountain which were once a part of the history.. they ll say about their history.. sometimes you might find yourself nostalgic.. we bid adieu to it with another promise to visit it again in near future...

As the day progresses, the scorching heat was increasing and it was really essential for us to keep ourselves hydrated.. we took a break for 5 mins and had some waters and then again we hit the road to meet another archiological beauty.


Our next ride was till Itachuna which was few kms away from Bandel. We took the GT road and from Khanyan more we took the left turn and continue aprx 3km to reach the Itachuna Rajbari. This was another frustating experience for us. As we reached there around 12pm and the gateman was telling us that it is open till 11am and again at 4pm. We requested him so much but seeing us desparate he justed locked the gate!!  how irony..

We planned to take the GT road on our way return so while doing that we can visit it again in the late afternoon. We then headed for our next destination to Pandua..


Pandua 

Pandua has a major historical architecture called the Minar which was built by some King and was used for the war.

It was also being ignored by time again.. we sat there beside the minar for few mins and took some photos and chatted with a person who was sitting next to us.

We heard so many stories about the Minar from him and how it was used etc etc... again we felt why such a beautiful piece of architecture is neglected and no proper maintanance is going around. We rode again keeping the question in our mind and the next stop as per plan was to Ambika Kalna.

We took some route help from the locals and then we took the right turn from GT Road and after riding almost 26 km we reached Kalna. It is another heritage of bengal which is also overlooked by so many peoples...

Ambika Kalna

After reaching Kalna the clock was showing almost 2pm. We have our lunch as quickly possible. After filling our tummies with rice,dal, aalo bhaja and chicken we started to see the places..

Ambika Kalna is famous for its Shiv temples and we  took some help from the local people to get there. This was another worth visit after entering the Kings palace. The garden is maintained by some people there and one of them helped us to tell something about this palace.

Next to the palace was the 108 shiv temples. People used to worship the God and devotees come for prayer there during the early morning and evening. We took some photos of these temples and palace.

It was showing almost 3:45pm and as we had another place still left (Itachuna Rajbari) to visit so quickly we took the direction help and started onto our ride.

We returned on the same way and continued onto GT road for few kms where we spotted a hotel and we thought lets have a few mins of snacks break...

Then we decided that it ll take too long for us to reach our places if we take the GT road. The condition of GT road not as good as NH-2. So we searched for places from where we can take the NH-2 which is more comfortable road to drive on. We found that we can take the NH-2 if we continue the same road which passes by the Rajbari. So we found a little joy in that like 'Ok now we only have to drive those few odd km on GT road and from then on its smooth as silk'...

Itachuna Rajbari

We reached Rajbari and it was almost getting dark. This time the guard came right away to greet us..
There were few people occupying the rooms available there.. we look at the palace and mesmerizes about the beauty n history in it...

Atlast the time came for our return journey and we started en route to our home leaving behind all the history and tradition in its place and promised to us that this is just the starting of our ride towards our heritage bengal..

At 7:45pm we reached Dakshineswar from where we started our journey for the day. Finally I reached home at 8:15 pm and still cherishing the sweet memories of the day


Trip log by Tarun
http://xkmph.com/discuss/index.php?topic=4100.0

Ambika Kalna - The Temple Town

Located on the west bank of the Bhagirathi, Ambika Kalna (popularly known as Kalna) once flourished as a prosperous port town. It reached it’s pinnacle of glory during the late 18th century under the patronage of the Maharajas of Bardhaman, who built several magnificent temples with intricate terracotta ornamentation. The maritime trade has long stopped and Kalna has lost the status of a flourishing port city, but the temples are still there reminding one of Kalna’s glorious past.

Apart from the temples Kalna has several religious structures dedicated to Sree Chaitanya one of the greatest social reformers of Bengal. Located just 82km from Calcutta, Kalna can be an ideal pilgrimage on any Sunday and double up as a trip back in time and back into the pages of history.

The Rajbari complex in Kalna has the maximum concentration of temples. Spread on either side of a metalled road the complex contains a unique mixture of Bengal’s temple architecture. On one side of the road lies the Nabakailas Temples. Built in 1809 by the Bardhaman Maharaja Tej Chandra Bahadur the complex contains 108 aat – chala (eight sloped roofed) temples arranged in two concentric circles separated by a well-maintained lawn with beautiful flowerbeds. The outer circle consists of 74 temples consisting of alternate black & white lingas while the 34 temples of the inner circle have only white lingas.

On the other side of the road lies a walled complex, containing the most diversified form of Bengal’s temple architecture. 

The star attraction of the complex is the Pratapeshwar Temple, with its elegant shape and rich terracotta ornamentation. Built in 1849 in Deul (Spire) style the temple contains terracotta plaques depicting themes of Hindu epic, mythical life of Sree Chaitanya, images of Durga & Ravana and various aspects of day to day life.

The other two star attraction of the complex are Lalaji Mandir & Krishnachandra Mandir. Both are three-storied Panchavimsatiratna (25 pinnacled). 

The Lalaji Temple is built in 1739 and is the oldest temple in the complex. It is fronted by a char-chala (four sloped roof) mandap. The temples also have some beautiful terracotta panels. 

The Krishnachandra temple built in 1751-55 is very similar in structure to the Lalji Mandir. The complex also houses several minor structures like a roofless Rash Mancha, several aat-chala structures among which a flat roofed temple of Giri Govardhan needs special mention.

Bhaduri-para also has a large collection of temples including the Panchavimsatiratna (25 pinnacled) temple of Gopalbari. 

But the holiest attraction of Bhaduri-para is the Siddheswari Temple, dedicated to the Mother Goddess Ambika or Kali. Built in 1740 AD by Chitra Sen, the then King of Bardhaman, this shrine is considered to be the most auspicious one in the town. The char-chala structure reached by a flight of 14 beautifully curved steps (signifying the 9 planets & the 5 tantric cults) houses the image of auspicious Bamakali Idol, built of a single neem log. 

The complex also contains three Shiva Temples. 

The nearby Ananta-Basudev Mandir is another interesting terracotta temple, but sadly only a few of the panels have survived the test of time.

The riverbank houses three interesting temples, known as the Jagannath Temple. The external walls are decorated with intricately curved terracotta panels but lack of conservation and maintenance has turned them into ruins. The site also provides a grand view of Bhagirathi River, creating a contrasting mix between history & nature. The town Ambika Kalna has a close association with Chitanya and Bhaba Pagla. So there are quiet a few shrines dedicated to this great social reformers. The town houses temples of several deities including Kali, Siva and Lord Krishna.

Thus proving its uniqueness as a confluence of Shakti and Vaishnava forms of worship. Thus a trip to Kalna not only proves to be a unique pilgrimage but also doubles up as a gateway to the glorious days of Bengal’s temple architecture.

Trip Log:-

Sealdah – Katwa local (Sealdah departure 07:57, Ambika Kalna arrival 10:30)

Rickshaws are the only alternative. It takes 2 ½ to 3 hours for the entire trip. Charges are about Rs100 per rickshaw for the entire trip, but it is subject to heavy bargain.