Tarapith

Tarapith is a small temple town near Rampurhat in Birbhum district of West Bengal. This Hindu temple is dedicated to goddess Tara, a fearsome Tantric aspect of the Hindu Divine Mother. It is considered to be another form of Kali. It is one of the 51 Shakti Peethas. It is believed that the eyeball of Sati fell down at Tarapith. In Bengali, the eye ball is called 'Tara' and that is why the name of the village was changed from the earlier Chandipur to Tarapith.



Around 265 kms from Calcutta, Tarapith is situated on the banks of the north flowing Dwarka river. The cremation grounds (Shamshan as it is commonly called) are situated on the sides of the river. Previously light was not allowed inside the cremation areas. But nowadays, you can find candles light here and there inside the area. In case, one wishes to go inside the area, they have to leave their shoes outside the cremation ground. If you do not have a fear of ghosts, you can very well experience the peacefulness inside the cremation grounds during night\midnight.

Dwarka River


The original form of the goddess (Adi roop) can be seen once everyday. This is covered with the idol/image which we normally see. The temple road has many small or medium stalls which helps pilgrims to offer pujas and buy puja materials. But be careful, as many other temple, there can be fraud people misguiding you.

Places to Stay:
There are numerous hotels and lodges in and around the temple road. There is nothing luxurious as this is a pilgrimage center and all of these cater to the basic needs. There are plenty of moderate eating houses serving standard Bengali meals.

Temple Road


How to reach:
Reaching Tarapith is not very difficult.Rampurhat is the nearest station. One can take any train to Rampurhat and then take a cycle rikshaw or bus to reach Tarapith. Tarapith is around 6 kms from Rampurhat.

Tarapith is also famous for Bamakhepa known as the 'mad saint', who worshipped in the temple and resided in the cremation grounds as a mendicant and practised and perfected Yoga and the Tantric art. Bama Khepa dedicated his entire life to the worship of mother Tara. His ashram is also located close to the temple.

Places Nearby:
There are few other places which one can add to their travel bag during the same visit like Bakreshwar hotwater spring, Massanjore Dam etc.
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Serampore - My Hometown

Serampore is a town in Hooghly district in West Bengal. It is around 25 kms from Kolkata. It is a pre-colonial town on the right bank of the Hoogli River. It was part of Danish India under the name Frederiksnagore from 1755 to 1845.

Serampore being a town considered to older than Kolkata mainly comprises of 4 villages - Mahesh, Ballavpore, Chatra and Serampore. Among the many places, the main attraction is the Serampore College. This was founded by William Carey. For the department of theology it is considered to be a deemed University. The college is affiliated to the Senate of Serampore College (University). Several theological colleges and seminaries all over India including Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka are affiliated to the Senate of Serampore College (University).

Carey Museum and Carey House is also an attraction. The Carey Museum and Library at Serampore give a glimpse of early printing in Indian languages. The library collection was compiled in 1818 by Rev William Carey with his associates J Marshman and W Ward. The library preserves rare specimen of early printing in various Indian and Asian scripts from India and overseas. Another attraction are the manuscript copies of Hindu scriptures like the Vedas and the Upanishads, done on Carey's request. The personal belongings of Carey such as his table, chairs and pulpit are also preserved here. This facility is open all day on weekdays, free of charge.

Carey made an outstanding contribution by founding the Serampore Mission Press in 1800 where the wooden Bangla types made by Panchanan Karmakar were installed. The first newspaper published in an Indian language was the Samachar Darpan in Bengali. The first issue of this daily was published from this Serampore Mission Press on May 23, 1818.

Other than missionary establishment, there are several Hindu temples which needs special mention. Radhaballav Mandir in Ballabhpur (18th century) is one of them. During the festivals of Sri Krishna (like Rash Yatra, Dolyatra, Jhulan Yatra, etc), the mandir gets decorated with different colors and lights. Small fair is also set up in the adjacent area.

Radhaballav Mandir

Mahesh is famous for its Rath Yatra. The Rathajatra of Mahesh is the second oldest chariot festival in India (after Rath Yatra at Puri) and oldest in Bengal. The ceremony is organized by the patrons of Jagannath temple. The 45 feet Ratha has 10 wheels and 9 churas. A big fair is set up at the time of the festival and continues for 1 month.

Mahesh Rathyatra

Among the other temples which deserve special mention is the temple of Gauranga in Chatra dating back to the 16th century. Sashan Kali Mandir also deserve special mention. It is considered to be an enormous deity and people from far away places comes here during Kali Puja (Diwali) festival to visit here.

Last by not the least, the soothing winds blowing by the river side during the evening freshens up our minds and inspite of the tiring works makes us feel better.

With all the history and present, I feel proud to be born in Serampore.
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Bansberia - Hangsheswari Mandir

Hangseshwari Temple is situated at Bansberia, which is 47 km north of Kolkata in West Bengal. The main deity is the blue neem-wood idol of the four-armed goddess Hanseswari, a manifestation of Goddess Kali.

Near to this temple there are also two other important temple named Ananta Basudeba Temple, which is decorated with very rich teracotta pointed plates and Swanbhaba Kali Temple built by Nrisinhadeb. The five-storied Hangseshwari temple is built in a unique architectural style, comprising thirteen lotus bud-shaped minars and inner layout following human anatomy. The construction of the temple was started by Raja Nrisinhadeb Roy Mahasay and was completed by his wife, Rani Sankari in 1814.

The ruins of Dattaroy Palace are situated next to the temple and all that remain of the structure are the broken walls and fragments of arches.



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