History revisited at Bandel

Visit to Bandel,a suburban area in Chinsurah-Mogra block in Chinsurah subdivision of Hooghly district in the West Bengal turned out to be my escape from regular boring routine life... Situated around 45km away from Howrah, Bandel can be easily reached by boarding a train of Howrah - Burdwan route and getting down at Bandel Junction.. So on one sunday in order to quench my thirst of exploring I visited Bandel..

This places houses 'The basilica of the Holy-Rosary' popularly known as the Bandel Church which dates back to 1599.  According to history the Portuguese establishment at Chinsurah called Australian Monks from Goa to build a Monastry & a church in 1599. The church was destroyed by Mughal Siege of Hooghly and four priests were killed. Fr. Joan da Cruz survived and with thousands of Christians was deported to Agra fort. They were condemned by Emporer Shah Jahan to die at the mercy of ferrocious elephants . Surprisingly the elephant with his truck raised Fr. Joan da Cruz on his back and carrying him before Shah Jahan knelt before him as if pleading for mercy. The emporer impressed by this miracle set the prisoners free. Shah Jahan not only sent them back to Bandel but also gave them money and 777 bigha of land to reconstruct the church. 

Standing on Bank of River Ganges this church is amongst the oldest church in West Bengal, India. Magnificent Prayer hall, Corridors with several paintings, picturesque location & interesting architecture made the visit great. 

                                                                                 

From Bandel Church I went to Imambara, the structure was started in the year 1841 by Haji Mohammad Mahasin & completed in the year 1861.  Again situated at bank of Ganga , this two storied building consisted of a mosque, the walls of which were decorated by the texts from the Holy Koran, ranged rooms, lovely lanterns, a wide entrance of main gate flanked by two nos. of giant towers & a massive clock tower in between them, a beautiful fountain, beautiful zafri ,colourful glass on windows & a sun clock.  Here I experienced the beauty of Muslim architecture..

My next destination was Hansheshwari temple at Basberia. The structure of this temple was representation of Tantrik Satchakrabhed. I was awed by the distinctive architecture of this temple. It consistied of 13 minars or Ratnas, each built as a blooming lotus bud. The temple was built in the beginning of the 19th century. The main deity is the blue neem-wood idol of the four-armed goddess Hanseswari, a manifestation of Goddess Kali. The temple campus was extremely quite & serene. I offered my prayers in feet of Ma Hansheshwari.

In this same complex was Ananta Basudeb Temple, a temple of Lord Krishna. Built by Raja Rameswar Datta in 1679, this temple had exquisite terra cotta works on its walls. The temple was built in the traditional eka-ratna style, with curved cornices. The tower on top of the temple was octagonal. The terracota works depicted stories from the great Indian epics Ramayana and Mahabharata, as well as from lilas of Krishna.

I felt too young amidst these old structures that have been surviving for so many years. After spending great time in Bandel I finally started my return journey . It was about 7 in evening. My camera must have totally enjoyed clicking all the way. Travelling is always blissful & a day filled with so many ancient place visit re-energized my senses... Till I make another journey to another place...