Kalna- the ‘Temple City’ of Bardhaman. Lalji Temple episode.

The Lalji temple was built in the year 1739AD under Mrs. Braja Kumari, the queen of Maharaj Kirti Chand of Bardhaman. There are Twenty Five peaks on the temple. This type of temples are known as Panchabinsati-Ratna (পঞ্চবিংশতি রত্ন). There is a Natmancha (নাটমঞ্চ) at front of the temple. Built in a enclosed compound, this temple is the oldest of it’s kind.

 

The terracotta artwork and other ornamentations on the walls of the temple are magnificent. It’s a kind of dream for a photographer to witness this beauty and having the opportunity to shoot.

 

The temple is pretty old and time is taking its troll in fading the artworks. Although the Archaeological Department is trying to protect but recreating those beauties is simply impossible.

 







 

My Native Place Bardhaman (বর্ধমান) Part-II

HISTORY BEHIND THE NAME:

It is said Vardhamana Mahavira, the 23th Jain Tirthankara had visited the place and stayed for some months. Some local Pundits believe that he had attained his Kevalajnana (কৈবল্য) near Jougram (then known as ‘Jomvio’ village) of the Bardhaman district. The similarity between the names of Vardhamana and Bardhaman may have lighted up the imagination of Pundits that this place is draws its name from the great Trithankara of Jainism during the 500-600 BCE.

Some people belive that Bardhaman draws its name from the word Brodmon as stated by famous Greek Historian Ptolemy. The reason behind Brodmon is said to be the existence of two certain native indigenous inhabitants named as Boro and Domon. Simultaneous pronunciation of Boro-Domon may have resulted the name Bardhaman.

Whatever be the reason, both the references dated so long that there is no doubt about the anciency of Bardhaman.

My Native Place Bardhaman (বর্ধমান)

The name Bardhaman means one that is growing. Though in modern culture the word growing may not be of much use but this land with a huge diversity of agriculture and industrialization is certainly growing in its own aspect.

The Bardhaman District occupies the central position of West Bengal. It is well connected with almost all parts of the state except the extreme south of South 24-Parganas.

The western part of the district, comprising of Asansol, Raniganj and Durgapur is known for its great industries. Numerous coal mines in the adjacent area of Raniganj are the main economical backbone of this part. There are three major steel plants at Durgapur, Burnpur and Kulti are a great source of employment for the local people. Apart from these three, there are several other small and mid-sized steel plants situated here and there. Kulti is one of the oldest industrial area of the whole India.

The eastern part is rich in agriculture. From paddy to wheat, potato to onion and a lot, you name the item and its there. This part is made of fertile soil from the repositeries of the rivers Damodar and Ajay and the Bhagirathi. The fertile soil is the reason for which Bardhaman is known as the Godown of Food of Bengal (শস্যগোলা)। The Damodar Valley Corporation Canal system improved the water distribution system across the district improving the overall productivity of agricultural items throughout the district.

...... to be continued

Mama Bhagne Pahar at Dubrajpur, Birbhum, West Bengal.

Mama Bhagne (wikipedia link) Pahar is a rock formation near Dubrajpur town of district Birbhum in the Indian state of West Bengal. Dubrajpur is regarded as a tourist spot for the very existence of this rock formation.

The Entrance

It is a pair of almost spherical natural boulders of granite rock, one balancing on the top of other. The balancing of the rocks are so surprising that it is a famous landmark in West Bengal, where it is known as Mama-Bhagne (the uncle and the nephew ). The site has a number of boulders splintered across the place. It is the extreme eastern part of the Chota Nagpur plateau where "the granite is gray and composed of glassy quartz pink, gray feldspar and black mica." At the base of the rocks is a temple of Shiva entitled Pahareswar.

A view from the Entrance

Look at the Shape

The appearance of the place has a kind of strange feelings. The surrounding areas are plains with agricultural fields and human habitats. But this place, not more than a sq. Km area in total is literally crowded with rocks of various sizes and shapes. Though most of them have a roundish shape but their variety of sizes and placing of one over another in somewhat astonishing. there is no doubt that local people and some very old mythologies took full opportunity of this strange yet beautiful place.

Stairs were made for easy navigation of the place

Does not it seem that the smaller one is crying and the bigger one is patting?

Sometimes it's hard to guess in which direction we are moving

It is said when Ram decided to attack Ravan he found it necessary to throw a bridge across the straits for the conveyance of his troops, he drove in his aerial chariot to the Himalayas, picked up what stones he needed and drove back. As he was passing Dubrajpur his horses took fright and tilted up the chariot and so some stones fell out. These are the stones at Mama Bhagne.
 

There is no shortages of sizes and shapes

 There is an another story. There ia another legend to the effect that they were collected by Viswakarma, at the command of Shiva, to erect in one night a second Kasi. When he collected the rocks and was about to commence work day dawned and so he left.

It looks like an ancient animal

There are doubts regarding the reason behind the existence of such rocks. The most acceptable one is that these rocks are very extended parts of the Chotonagpur Plateau. The nearby soils get lower by means of erosion due to natural phenomena like water, air etc. But the hard rocks remained less affected and thus remained erected. 

Look at their placings

Some people are of the view that these rocks were formatted due to a very small volcanic eruption. The lava so erupted got cooled in due time and formed those rocks. A 'Hot-Spring' near this place may support this view.

Me beside the famous Mama of the Mama-Bhagne

The 'Mama'

Look at the base of the 'Mama'. This rock stands almost on two points only. The  remaining parts are  left untouched

The 'Bhagne'

From the plains

But it does not matter what is the reason behind, this place is unique of its kind.

An Inside Watch - II

Those departed lovers would find their way of life through ups and downs, through different shades of greens, across the Hooghly and Howrah district to Kolkata. But my journey was not along their way. I just came to feel this place.

After that we decided to relive my memory at Barsul, a place near Shaktigarh. Barsul was famous for the Primary Teachers Training Institute situated there. In the year 2005-06 the last batch of students had their training here, and I, fortunate or unfortunate is a matter of debate, was one of them. Since then, a strange conflict between Central Govt and State Govt regarding training facilities took place and the training programme stopped. I being one of the last trainees had a live picture of how a training institute dies due to govt policies.

However, I show my wife our training institute and the surroundings, the places we used to play, chat and sometimes tease local girls. There was a institute for girls too and that was a major attraction of Barsul. A lot of us used to try their luck in persuading some of them in order to have a more secure future having dual income source. Sadly, I could not join them cause a sister of one of my friends was having her training there. There was a great chance that I may be caught and that could ruin my image.( I am extremely image conscious).

The institute and the hostels were full of entertainment thanks to different type of trainees of various age groups. There were some coming just after they reached the minimum age limit of 18, some like us who passed the graduation but was not finding any chance for masters, some teachers who had to complete this training in order to get their promotion. That unique mixture of students made this place an unlimited source of fun.

Barsul is a place with no shortage of entertainment. The Damodar river pass beside it, the DVC canal is also there for people like me who sometimes seeks solitude from crowd. There is a small park. 

But above all the hostel was the most entertaining. There were some who were expert in music, some in drawing and some in poetry too. In our own room, we were 6 boarder. One of us, Ranjit-da was known for his guitar skills, many came to our room to listen him playing his guitar. Malay, an another masterpiece of different kind was famous for his extraordinary beautiful hand writing and quick wittedness. Sudipta was considered as a leader for his deep voice and huge built. Though he was master of nothing but it was impossible to ignore him in anything. Amit-da and Rameswar-da were simple persons with their simple yet valuable opinions. I was kinda Chess Champion there. Boarders from different rooms used to come to check their abilities against me. Sometimes 2 or 3 of them played together against me, only to get confused for the inevitable result. It's not that I was invincible but they were just unable. Later I figured out that they were overly afraid of my next move and tried their best which took so much time that I thought out my next move by then. When they finally had taken any step I was ready for that and my move was extremely fast which confused them even more.
There were Rahul, Milan, Santu, Chandan, Barun, Subir, Bangshi-da, Nasir and so many who enriched my life. Life went on but their memories live.

Barsul was also known for its cultural programmes. Lot of cultural programmes were organised and we were always there not to miss any of the enjoyment.

Such a lively place to live.

But the scenario had changed dramatically. Now the institutes and the hostel buildings are left abandoned in absence of boarders. The place is deserted to become a haunted one. Buildings are being wasted and the place itself is dying. The drastic transformation of this place brought tears to my eyes. I saw a part of my life dying, dying because of some stupid Govt policy. And I am sure many of us would find their part of lives dying too. I went there to re-live my old days and found it lost.

An Inside Watch

It was Sunday and it was a lazy day. So we, my wife and me along with our little princess, decided to make it a little happening. So we set out for a ride!

Although there is no shortage of places to enjoy but we chose a rather simple one. It was the crossing of NH-2 with G. T. Road near Rasulpur station. Here the two roads separate from each other to reach their destination or meet to walk together, the difference is in which side of the crossing you are in. That place is neither very beautiful nor it has a tremendous piece of engineering to show off, but I don't know why it seems very romantic to me. I explained the situation to my wife and she, as she always do, agreed to venture there.

At first I thought to go by our car, but my wife preferred to go by bike. The distance was nearly 20 km so a bike like Bajaj Pulser would not be a bad choice either. So the preparation was done, and journey began.

On our way I show her recent developments around that part of our city, countless shops of infamous 'Langcha', which belongs to Shaktigarh and the Railway Junction at Shaktigarh. Here the railway tracks are devided into two, namely Main line (which pass through Bandel Junction) and Chord line (which pass through Dankuni Junction). Once this place used to have heavy traffic jam due to non availability of flyover and frequent arrivals of train from and to those two lines. But the problem was solved by constructing two flyovers, one for the motor vehicles and the other for Up Main line trains. As the flyover and bypass resolves the problem of heave traffic jam, it created a unique problem for the local people. The main Shaktigarh market which was famous for numerous Langcha shops was suffering from non-availability of surpassing Customers. Gradually the shop owners changed their place of business and re-established beside the bypass which certainly made this place a half-deserted one. (I feel this is the reason why the people of Panagarh, an another city in Burdwan which suffers from heavy traffic jam, denied the proposal of a bypass. Cause once the bypass would be ready most of the vehicles will avail it and gradually the present market of Panagarh would die, because Panagarh itself does not have that many population upon which such a large market can sustain.)

Then came the Pulsit station where the vicinity of the Highway and railway tracks are so close that if someone jumps from the train he would land on a surpassing vehicle on that highway. But our destination was a little ahead. After passing Pulsit the Highway devides into two. One goes directly to Kolkata, and the other continues its journey parallel to the mighty Hooghly river to Kolkata too. Here the elevation of another flyover gives a very distant view of both roads and the surrounding background, covered in green grasses and agricultural field.. Everytime I saw this place a thought comes to me, these roads seemed to me as departed lovers, being forced by the situation they had to take different routes for their journey, but simultaneously they hoped to meet again when they reached their destination.

............ to be continued.

A Horrible Experience

Have you ever experienced what it feels when you came to know that the train is going to be late for about an hour or two after a long day with exhausting workload at office, and that on Friday?
I have! Today!
I work at a Government office which deals with various court and law matters. Generally, Friday is the day when most numbers of litigation come. There are many reason behind it, I am not going into them. The fact is I have to work harder on Fridays. And today was an EXTREME Friday. However, when the official work was completed, the only thing that came to mind is the comfort of ‘home sweet home’. Also there was a plan to go to the inauguration ceremony of a Book-fair at my native town. I reached the railway station just in time and went directly to the usual platform, only to find the train was not there! After waiting several minutes, an announcement was made that, that particular train would be delayed due to some problems in other railway division!
The mind devastated, the heart broke and the hopes were sunk. All the plans for Friday night were cancelled.
Then I caught a local train, which has numerous stoppages before my destination. It was a journey of about two and half hours. But that was not the end of suffering- it was the beginning of a new kind! The local train was a overly crowded one, because it was office closing time. Somehow I got a place to stand and after some stations to sit. Then came the second problem.
Probably the brakes of the train were not working properly- jerking unexpectedly, shaking during acceleration and deceleration and sounding horrible noise. So the driver might have decided to drive it slower than the usual speed. What hurt more was the express train in which I generally travel got past the local train I was travelling- making my journey more intolerable. I reached my destination after almost two hours late than the scheduled time.
But the icing on the cake was not done yet. When I came out of the station premises, no public transport was available. No bus, no auto! Only some Rickshaws- refusing to go and Cabs- who were asking for a price, if I had that much money to spend everyday, I would have bought an iPhone 4S in every second month. Having no other options I started walking- it was nearly two and half kilometres from the station and took around 30 minutes and finally, finally and FINALLY I reached the home.

The horrible experience was over!

The Story of My Tour to Puri

It is often said, we Bengalis have only three places to go,Di-Pu-Da. Digha, Puri & Darjeeling! I myself being a Bengali, am no exception. I have visited two of them Di and Pu, yet to go to Da. The pictures are some of the snaps of my tour to Puri.

The tour is a memorable one to me. It was January, 2010, me and my wife was going there on our own. Though my cousin brother and his wife had promised to accompany us and their tickets were booked with us, they cancelled their journey citing some silly excuse. So it was left to us alone (though we were two but got the opportunity to get alone). I was a little bit nervous since this was going to be my first expedition on my own. My wife had just entered college, she too had very little experience of outing. But we decided to go forward (now looking back I feel how good that decision was) and our family, though a conservative one, approved. So we set out. From where we live, we had to come to Howrah and catch the train that carried us to our destination.

After reaching Puri at the dawn, we caught an auto-rickshaw and went for a suitable hotel and got a quite good one near a relatively less-crowded beach. It was the first time my wife came face to face with the greatest feature of the earth, the sea. 

The countless waves, roar of the sea and the white bubbles on top of the sea water made her speechless. We just completed the necessary check-in formalities of the hotel and rushed to the beach. The water was coming continuously, kissing our toes and asking us to join her in her play. We could not deny her anymore and jumped into the water. The water was caressing our body and mind with soft touches and soothes us. The fatigue due to overnight journey just washed away. When we returned to our room which was by then prepared by the room service, we were literally soaked in salt water. “It is the best morning in my life ever”, my wife had told me many times by then. That day and the next we spent embracing the sea. We took long walk along the sea beach, took part in making castle of sands, enjoying the beach-side foods and bathing in every available opportunity.

Then came the day we decided to go to the famous ‘Jagannath Temple’ to pay our tribute to the god. Though I myself is not a believer of gods (actually a hard core fan of the ‘God of War’ game series), but went there to see the magnificent artworks of the temple. Only downside is that camera is not allowed there, photography is strictly prohibited. However my wife said her prayers and offerings though through some ‘Panda’(another downside).

 

Then we started for ‘Chilka’. Chilka is a brakish water lagoon spread across Puri and its neighbouring districts. One of the USP of Chilka tourism is boating at the vast water of the lake. There are several packages consisting of different features. We bought the best one and sailed. There was a point in the options to watch the Dolphins, but they were somewhat displeased with us, I guess, cause they seldom showed up and whenever I was ready with my camera, they just disappeared! Alas no picture of the Dolphins were shot. Then after cruising here and there for some time, we came to the sea mouth. It is the place where the sea meets the lake. The outwardly beauty of that place left me mesmerising. The different colour of the water and their mixture was a must see. The deep blue of the sea and the green of the lake and it gradually becomes a little transparent towards the land in which we were standing.  I have never been in Kashmir or Switzerland, so I cant compare, but it seemed to me a piece of heaven had dropped here. We could have spent the whole day there, but the time was coming short and we had to return.

Read on to see more.