My walking tour, “Kalighat
Chronicles – The Adi-Ganga Trail” with Immersive Trails, had me walking along
the Adi-Ganga River (Tolly’s Canal) through the historic neighbourhood of
Kalighat, exploring its rich cultural heritage, mythology and art ... especially
the temples in this area.
The Adi-Ganga, originally
known as the Govindpore Creek, was the primary navigable waterway to the Bay of
Bengal until the 15th-17th centuries. The creek was called ‘Surman’s Nullah’ (Canal) after John
Surman of the East India Company settled nearby in the early 18th
century. In the late 18th
century, Major William Tolly, an East India Company officer, excavated and
dredged the creek to create an important waterway connecting Calcutta Port to
Bengal hinterlands for trade and commerce and thereby facilitating the city’s
growth during the British colonial era.. The creek was renamed Tolly Nullah and the adjoining area became
known as Tollygunge. Several
temples and crematoriums were built along its banks, such as the famous
Kalighat Temple, adding to the creek’s cultural and religious significance. After
independence, Hindu migrants from East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) established jabar
dakhal colonies (Forcible Occupation) in this area, after successfully
fought off eviction attempts by the landlords. Over the years, urban
encroachment and silting reduced the once navigable creek of the Hooghly River
to a semi-stagnant waterway, almost like a sewer. However, for the devout, this
is the Adi-Ganga (‘Original Ganges’) – the holy river.
The temples around the
Adi-Ganga – particularly in the Tollygunge-Chetla stretch – are the legacy of
the Zamindar family of Bawali; about thirty kilometers from Calcutta, where the
Mondals were prominent landed gentry (Zamindar)
since the Mughal era. Basudevram Ray, a devout Gaudiya Vaishnav from Basantpur
in Nadia District of Bengal, was an official in the army of Emperor Akbar. His grandson
Sobharam Ray was appointed as Mondal, i.e. collector of taxes in Bengal.
Henceforth, the Rays came to be known as Mondals. Sobharam’s son (Meghnath) and
grandson (Rajaram) served the Nawab of Bengal. During the reign of Emperor Shah
Jahan/Aurangzeb, Rajaram suppressed a rebellion in Bengal and was rewarded with
a royal charter in the Mughal Court. This gave him Zamindari ownership of
fifteen villages in South 24 Parganas, including Bawali. The word ‘Bawali’
comes from the word ‘baoli’ (water
reservoirs). The Mondals flourished under the patronage of the East India
Company and accumulated great wealth. They expanded their Zamindari by
purchasing lands from the Sabarna Roychoudhury family. It is said that the
Bawali estate extended from Chetla, Alipore and Tollygunge to the Sunderbans,
and even Ganga-Sagar. Sometime in the 18th century, Ramnath and
Manick Mondal were invited by the then Governor-General, Robert Clive, to
Calcutta and they came and settled in Chetla/Tollygunge by the banks of the Adi-Ganga.
The Bawali Mondals were well-known for their lavish lifestyle, philanthropic
work and the temples they built in this area, such as the Rasbari temples
and the magnificent Radhakanta Temple, between 1796 and 1847. After
independence, the Zamindar system was abolished and the Bawali Mondals were lost
to time until their grand ancestral home at Bawali was restored as
the ‘Rajbari Bawali’ in 2010. The Rajbari now functions as a boutique
heritage resort for people who wish to experience the lifestyle of the
‘forgotten’ Zamindar family dating back to the era of Emperor Akbar.
The Rashbari Temples built by the Mondals are little-known outside the neighbourhood.
The term “Rashbari” usually
refers to a residence with a temple complex where the Rash festival is held on Ras Purnima – the full moon in Kartick
(November) or Chaitra (March-April) – to celebrate the divine love of Radha-Krishna. The
‘Boro Rashbari’ and ‘Choto Rashbari’ are historically
significant temple complexes located along the Adi-Ganga that showcase the Bengal
temple architectural styles – ‘aatchala’ and ‘nabaratna’ respectively.
‘Boro Rashbari’ comprises of two temple complexes. The first one is a group of twelve atchala Shiva temples arranged around a large compound and is in an extremely deplorable state. The Shivalinga still exists in some of the temples but some are missing. Some temples have been taken over by squatters who live inside the sanctum sanctorum. It was a shock to see clothes put out to dry and women cooking inside a Grade-A heritage building. The existing temples are dilapidated and there were probably two more temples in the complex which have disappeared.
The second complex of the ‘Boro Rashbari’ constructed by Udaynarayan Das Mondal of Bawali is well-maintained.
The temple is dedicated to the worship of Radha and Madan-Mohan, a
manifestation of Krishna.
The largest and most
spectacular temple in this area is the Radhanath Temple on Mondal Temple Lane.
The Nabaratna style temple (with nine
spires) soars to 90 feet from the base to the top of the central spire. The
descendants of the Bawali Mondal family still live in the temple complex and photography
is prohibited. Locals say the temple is cursed and tell stories of evil
consequences of touching the temple or taking photographs, such as the labourer
who slipped off the temple’s spire during restoration work, fell to the ground
below and died.
Our next stop was the Choto Rashbari built by Pyarilal Mondal and Monimohan Mondal of the Mondal family in 1847. The temple complex is within a walled courtyard a checkered pattern of black and white tiles and a spectacular gate with Doric columns. The most significant temples are the three located in the north – the central Nabaratna style and two in Pancharatna style on either side. As per the plaques on the walls of the temple complex, the central temple is dedicated to Sree Sree Gopal Jeu (Krishna) and the two temples are dedicated to “Kashi Pati” (Shiva). The main festival celebrated here is Baladev Ras in Chaitra on a full moon, usually in March/ April every year. Though a Grade-I heritage building, the temple complex is in a pathetic state … trees have taken root all over the structure and the priceless heritage needs immediate repairs and restoration. Close to the Choto Rashbari is the Rashbari Ghat which is also in bad shape.
Around the temple, there are the ruins of three more Shiva temples which are used by local artisans as workshops for making idols and potters for making bhar clay cups for serving tea at the roadside tea-stalls.
The temples constructed by
the Bawali Zamindars along the Adi-Ganga dedicated to Vishnu and Shiva; reveal
an interesting spiritual journey of the interplay between ‘Shaiva’ and ‘Vaishnav’ worship ultimately recognizing
the essential unity as the deities are seen as manifestations of the one
Supreme Being. It is painful to see these heritage buildings decaying
amidst urban sprawl … they visibly symbolize the gradual erosion of the
socio-cultural ethos that gives Kolkata its unique identity.
