India Travel

The splendid Adina Masjid at PANDUA, 18km north of Malda, built by Sikander Shah around 1370, was in its day the largest mosque in the subcontinent. It now lies in ruins but these still betray the origin of much of the building materials - carved basalt masonry from earlier Hindu temples was used to support 88 brick-built arches and 378 identical small domes, the design following that of the great eighth-century mosque of Damascus.

Other monuments include the Eklakhi mausoleum - one of the first square brick tombs in Bengal with a carved Ganesh on the doorway; and Qutb Shahi Masjid, or the Golden Mosque, built to honour saint Nur Qutb-ul-Alam whose ruined shrine is nearby together with that of Saint Hazrat Shah JalalTabrizi.

Spread across a landscape of lush paddy fields, 16km south of Malda on the border with Bangladesh, GAUR was the seventh-century capital of King Sasanka, and then successively belonged to the Buddhist Pals and the Hindu Senas. The latter, the last Hindu kings of Bengal, were violently displaced by the Muslims at the start of the thirteenth century. The city was eventually sacked in 1537 by Sher Shah Suri, and its remaining inhabitants were wiped out by plague in 1575.

Deserted and overgrown, Gaur today is hard to relate to the city of one million inhabitants described by the Portuguese historian, Faria-y-Souza. Nothing remains of the pre-Muslim period apart from large tanks, such as the Sagar Dighi, built in 1126 and almost 1500m long, and the embankments of the old city, which extend for several kilometres through the verdant rural landscape. Dakhil Darwaza. an impressive gateway built in 142.t of small red bricks, leads through the embankments surrounding the Fort, in the southeast corner of which a colossal twenty-metre-high wall encloses the ruins of the old palace. Nearby are the Qadam Rasul Mosque, built in 1531 to contain the Prophet’s footprint in stone, and the seventeenth-century tomb of Fateh Khan, one of Aurangzeb’s generals, in Bengali hut style. Other remains of interest include the elegant Tantipara Mosque. with its finely detailed terracotta decoration, the Lattan or Painted Mosque, where traces remain visible of the enamelled bricks that gave it its name, and the massive Bara Sona Masjid, “Great Golden Mosque", northeast of the Fort.

The large, unattractive commercial town of MALDA. 340km north of Calcutta, straddles the highway co the north and is renowned for ins local mango harvest. A natural port, at the confluence of two rivers, it was once a prosperous trading post for silk and cotton: in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries it housed Dutch, French and English factories. Little of interest has survived from that period, but Malda makes a good base to explore the historic sites of Gaur and Pandua, both earlier capitals of Bengal, which can be reached by either bus or tonga.

Malda is on the main line between Calcutta and Darjeeling, served by trains such as the Gaur Express, Kanchenjunga Express and the Darjeeling Mail. Accommodation includes Manohar, a good budget option on Station Road with small rooms, attached baths and a restaurant; while Pratapaditya a short distance down Station Road, offers a lot more luxury with some a/c rooms and a good restaurant. Purbanchal at 420 Mor, New Banshbari, an old mid-range favourite, has a good restaurant, bar and travel service and is often full. The Malda Tourist Lodge, Rathbari, English Bazaar, doubles as the local tourist office and is currently being expanded. Taxis for both Gaur and Pandua charge Rs600 for the day.

Set in the brilliant green landscape of rural Bengal, historic MURSHIDABAD lies close to the bustling commercial town of Behrampur, 200km north of Calcutta. Several eighteenth-century monuments along the banks of the Hooghly stand as reminders of its days as the last independent capital of Bengal. Established early in the eighteenth century by the Nawab Murshid Quli Khan, Murshidabad was soon eclipsed when the forces of Siraj-ud-Uaula were defeated by Robert Clive at the Battle of Plassey in 1757, as a result of which the British came to dominate Bengal from the new city of Calcutta. Clive described Murshidabad as equal to London, with several palaces and seven hundred mosques; now it’s not even a city and most of its past glory lies in ruins, though it is still renowned for cottage industries, especially silk weaving.

Murshidabad’s intriguing mixture of cultures is reflected in its architectural styles, which range from the Italianate Hazarduari the nawab s palace, designed by General Duncan Macleod of the Bengal Engineers, to the Katra Mosque, built by Murshid Quli Khan in the style of the mosque at Mecca. The palace, with its mirrored banqueting hall, circular durbar room, armoury and library of fine manuscripts is now a museum - some of the paintings are in dire need of restoration but the portrait collection is excellent. Its gardens and riverside promenade are a popular recreational area.

A large oxbow lake, the Moti Jheel or Pearl Lake, guards the desolate ruins of Begum Ghaseti’s palace where Siraj-ud-Danli reigned before his defeat, and which was subsequently occupied for a while by Clive. To the south, across the river. Khushbagh. the Garden of Delight, holds the tombs of many of the nawabs, including Attvardi Khan and Siraj-ud-Daula.

Accommodation in Murshidabad is limited, with the friendly and welcoming Hotel Manjuska near Hazardwari offering rooms with balconies and a colourful flower garden on the river. Behrampur. easily accessible by auto-rickshaw or bus 12km away, lies on the busy north-south highway and has tar more amenities, including the Tourist Lodge which has some a/c rooms; the Behrampore Lodge, RN Tagore Rd is welcoming and serves meals. There’s another cheaper branch at 5 RN Tagore Rd. The Samrat, on the main highway some 3km south of the centre at Panchanantatala is handy tor the Murshidabad turnofF, with a wide range of accommodation from dorms to carpeted a/c rooms. The most luxurious around, it also has a garden, a good restaurant and an a/c restaurant-bar.

A handful of trains run here from Calcutta (Sealdah station: 4-6hr). including the Bhagirathi Express and the Lalgola Passenger: the latter also stops at Murshidabad. Buses (5hr) depart from Behrampur station for Calcutta’s Esplanade - ITDC leaves at 10pm and the better ABC Travels leaves at 11pm; purchase tickets before 5pm.

A quiet but important temple town on the edge of the Chotanagpur plateau, 58km northwest of Shantiniketan, BAKRESWAR is considered, along with Kalighat in Calcutta, to be one of the 51 Sati pithas.The temple of Mahishamardini commemorates the spot where a part of Shakti’s forehead fell, cut by Vishnu as the distraught and destructive Shiva earned her dead body. Shiva himself is venerated by the Bakranath temple. Nearby hot springs such as Agnikund, or “fire spring", have a high sulphur content, reach temperatures of 67°C, and are considered to have great therapeutic value. Buses for Bakreswar depart from the Jamboni bus stand to the west of Shantiniketan; change at Suri.

The town of KENDUBILWA, also known as Kenduli, on the bank of a wide shallow river 42km from Shantiniketan, is the birthplace of Jaidev, the author of Gita Govinda, and the spiritual home of the Bauls. Its small terracotta temple is engulfed each year in mid-January when the Jaidev Mela attracts streams of pilgrims, as well as an interesting collection of yogis and sadhus who gather amongst the folds of the tall banyan trees to hear the Bauls perform through the night. Over the years the meia has grown to include a wide range of stalls and even a funfair. During the mefo, special buses leave regularly from Bolpur (2hr).

One of the most important centres of Tantric Hinduism, TARAPITH, lies 8km from Rampurhat railway station. The temple and cremation ground, in a grove beside the river, are popular with Tantric sadhus, and it is not uncommon to witness rituals involving skulls and cremation ashes. The temple itself is a simple building in the bankura style dedicated to shakti as the mysterious and feared goddess Tara who appears here with a silver face and large eyes; shrines litter the area, and the grove is populated by vociferous monkeys. Tarapith has a handful of hotels like Sathi, simple guesthouses and a pleasant dharamshala near the temple. The Rampurhat Express, which departs from Howrah at 6am arrives at 10.20am, while the 5.10pm train from Rampurhat gets back to Shantiniketan at 6.23pm. Several Expresses also stop here but usually at inconvenient hours.

The Shantiniketan area holds a reasonable amount of accommodation, with the university’s International Guest Houses ideal if you’re planning a medium or long-term stay. The Tourist Lodge’s restaurant is popular for its simple wholesome cooking while the rooftop Paschimi, run by a Indo-British couple, is especially good in the evenings, serving Mediterranean food including pasta

Bolpur Lodge, Bolpur. Although it the Old and the New, although the old one looksmay look like a hostel, the large lodge set off the main road has a pleasant leafy courtyard, a/c rooms and a restaurant.

Bonpulak, Shyambati. Three wonderful airy rooms in a pleasant family home with a small colourful garden and meals by prior arrangement.

Camellia, Prantik, near the railway station. A concrete intrusion in a disappearing rustic landscape near Prantik station. Comfortable with a good restaurant and swimming pool open to nonresidents (from Rs75).

Chhiiti, 241 Charu Palli, Jamboni. Comfortable and well-laid-out complex, with thatched cottages, some a/c, and a good restaurant. The most luxurious option around Shantiniketan; credit cards accepted.

International Guesl House, Shantiniketan. The university runs two of these large guesthouses -newer. Large simple rooms and a cheap restaurant.

Khelaghar, 135 Purva Palli. A quiet leafy garden with comfortable cottages that need to be booked ahead.

Khushi Lodge, Ratan Palli. Papular and welcoming guesthouse with a Japanese connection but small rooms; the rooftop restaurant - Paschimi - serves Western food and is great in the evenings.

Surabhi Lodge, Shantiniketan Road. One of a handful of similar small lodges along this stretch of the main road from Bolpur. Plain rooms and poor location. For more comfort try Sathi around the corner.

Tourist Lodge, Bolpur Tourist Lodge Road. Large and rather institutional, but otherwise not too bad. A/c rooms, cottages, dorm (Rs80|, a garden and a decent restaurant.

Bolpur, 3km south of Shantiniketan, is the nearest railway station, on the main line between Calcutta and Darjeeling, and also served by local trains running between Burddhaman (or Burdwan) and Rampurhat. The best train get to Bolpur from Calcutta is the Shantiniketan Express #3015, which leaves Howrah at 9.55am and terminates at Bolpur at 12.30pm. Sometimes a fancy first-class lounge coach, decorated with terracotta, is attached, but even then it’s more fun to travel second-class, as Baul singers occasionally get on and busk. The Rampurhat Express #3017 leaves Howrah at 6.05am and passes through Bolpur at 8.54am; the same train (#3018) is the last returning train departing Bolpur at 6.30pm and arriving in Howrah at 9.45prn. Other day trains to consider are the Kanchenjunga Express and the Teesta Torsha Express.

If you’re heading on from Shantiniketan to Darjeeling. the best of the many express trains is the Darjeeling Mail, which is timetabled to stop at 10.32pm in Bolpur and to arrive in New Jalpaiguri (NJP) at 8.15am the next morning. Alternatively, the Kanchenjunga departs at 9.35am and arrives at NjP at 6.10pm, which means a night’s stay in the Siliguri area before moving on to Darjeeling. Reservation quotas from Bolpur are tiny, so book early: there’s another reservations counter near the post office in Shantiniketan.
Local buses from Bolpur use either the Bolpur bus stand, next to the station, or the Shantiniketan bus stand at Jamboni, 2km west towards Surul. Cycle rickshaws are the chief means of transport in the area. The best way to experience Shantiniketan is to cycle - ask at your hotel or at one of the cycle shops along the main road.

The Bengali poet and literary giant, Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941), has inspired generations of arrists, poets and musicians, He developed an early interest in theatre, and set his poenis to music now, as Rabmdrd Sangeei, one of the most popular musical traditions in Bengal. Introduced to England and the West by the painter William Rothenstein and the poet W.B. Yeats, Tagore had his collection of poems Gittinjali first published in translation in 1912, and the following year was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. Though he preferred to write in Bengali, and encouraged authors in other Indian languages, he was also a master of English prose. Not until he was in his seventies did his talent as an artist and painter emerge, developed from scribblings on the borders of his manuscripts. Tagore was an enormous inspiration to many, including his student, the illustrious painter Nandalal Bose, and later the film-maker Satyajit Ray (see p.938) who based several of his films on the works of the master captures the spirit of Tagore’s life and work with a collection of his paintings, manuscripts and personal effects.

The centre of Surul. a village 4km from Shantiniketan (a 20min cycle-rickshaw ride), holds several smaU but delightful terracotta temples. These are scattered near the Rajbari, or “the house of the zamindar” - a sort of manor house with a large courtyard.

The large fair of Posh Mela (also known as Posh Utsav), is held between December 22 and 25 to commemorate the initiation of Rabindranath Tagore’s father, Maharshi Debendranath Tagore, into the Brahmo Samaj. Posh Mela features sports, dances and music, all with a strong Shantal and folk influence, but is most renowned for the Bauls, Bengal’s wandering minstrels who have created their own unique style of folk music.
Across the railway track, roughly 4km east of Shantiniketan, the small Kali temple of Kankalitala, unusual in having an oil painting of Kali as its central image, makes a pleasant day out, especially if you arrange your own bicycle. Unfortunately, in recent years, the calm has been shattered by noisy picnickers, especially at weekends, who leave the place strewn with litter. Behind the temple there’s a smashana cremation ground - used by Tantrics.