I, Deep, Dhriti, and Tapas were planning for a short trip in this year for a long time. But unfortunately, we could not manage a common time after Puja holidays. Especially after returning back from Goecha La trekking in west Sikkim, I was having a difficult time to manage a leave for the yearly trip with my friends. Finally, we four friends together decided to visit Bishnupur on December 2008 and get amazed by the awesome handcrafted works of the terracotta temples there. Bishnupur is a town in Bankura District in the state of West Bengal, India. This place is very famous for the ancient terracotta temples and the local Balucheri sarees (a very common cultural dress for women in India).
We started our journey by the evening Asansol express. I and Dhriti joined the group directly after attending the office. We all were very excited because of the plan to visit Bishnupur finally worked out for all of us.
Being a famous tourist place, Bishnupur is well connected to all the major places of West Bengal. This place is well connected via road and long distance buses from Kolkata, Durgapur, Asansol are available. From Kolkata to Bishnupur, it’s a 4.5-5 hours journey. This town has a railway station which is well connected via the Kharagpur and Adra line. The Rupashi Bangla Express, Aranyak Express, and the Purulia Express are the most popular trains to reach this place from Kolkata. By train, it takes around 3 hours to reach Bishnupur.
Below is a list of the terracotta temples here (Source Wikipedia):
- Rasmancha (oldest brick temple with an elongated pyramidal tower Surrounded by hut-shaped turrets)
- Pancha Ratna Temple of Shyam Rai
- Jorebangla Temple of Keshta Rai
- Madanmohan Temple
- Dalmadal Kaman
- Lalgarh
- Lalbandh
- Acharya Jogeshchandra Museum
- Gumgarh
- Pathar Darwaja (Main Gateway of Bishnupur)
- Garh Darwaja (Small Gateway of Bishnupur)
- Stone Chariot
- Nutan Mahal
- Memorial of Shrinibas Acharya
- Gour-Nitai Temple (Tejpal)
- KeshabRai Temple (Patpur)
We were enjoying a lot during our train journey. After all, it’s a long-awaited trip with the friends.
Bishnupur – Raas Mancha Terracotta Temple
Shyam Rai Temple, one of the most famous temples.
Hi Supratim,
Your article is very short and nice. I also go through your site minutely, Great Stuff. I have already gone to Bishnupur and make a blog also. Please share your views.
Thanks
Ruma Dey Baidya