Chandrakona

Chandrakona
—  town  —
Chandrakona Location of Chandrakona in West Bengal and India
Coordinates	22°44′N 87°31′E / 22.73°N 87.52°E / 22.73; 87.52Coordinates: 22°44′N 87°31′E / 22.73°N 87.52°E / 22.73; 87.52
Country	India
State	West Bengal
District(s)	Paschim Medinipur
Parliamentary constituency	Arambagh
Assembly constituency	Chandrakona
Population	20,400 (2001[update])
Time zone	IST (UTC+05:30)
Area • Elevation	• 28 metres (92 ft)
Codes • Pincode • 721201 • Telephone • +03225
Website	paschimmedinipur.gov.in/

Chandrakona (Bengali: চন্দ্রকোণা) is a town with a municipality in the Ghatal subdivision of Paschim Medinipur district in the state of West Bengal, India. It is a small town. This town is located between Ghatal and Garhbeta. The king – Chandraketu was the founder of the kingdom of Chandrakona. In Ain-E-Akbari it was mentioned as ‘Mana’.

Geography

Chandrakona is located at 22°26′N 87°19′E / 22.44°N 87.31°E / 22.44; 87.31.^[1] It has an average elevation of 28 metres (91 feet).

Demographics

As of 2001^[update] India census,^[2] Chandrakona Municipality had a population of 20,400. Males constitute 51% of the population and females 49%. Chandrakona has an average literacy rate of 66%, higher than the national average of 59.5%; with male literacy of 73% and female literacy of 58%. 14% of the population is under 6 years of age.

As per 2001 census, Chandrakona I CD Block had a population of 118,077 of which 60,277 were males and 57,800 were females. Chnadrakona II CD Block had a population of 106,587 out of which 54,504 were males and 52,083 were females. Gorwth of population in the period 1991-2001 was 13.98 for Chandrakona I and 18.85 for Chandrakona II.^[3]

Economy

The main economy is dependent on agriculture. Main products are rice, potato and jute. Only large scale industry here is formed by about 20 cold storages of potato. A few of the percentage of the people are government employees, School Teachers and employed in other small private sectors. The financial status of most of the people is in middle class and lower middle class category.

History

A traceable history of Chandrakona and its adjoining areas begins to emerge about 690 A.D. when the Malla Dynasty was founded at Bishnupur. It must have been at that time a prosperous place, but not much else is certain. Historically, it was turbulent times; the anarchical period known as Matsyanyaya (মাৎসানঔয়) in the history of Bengal. But tucked into the less-populated, forest covered fringes of the Chotonagpur plateau, the kingdom of Bishnupur lived by its own standards. And thanks to its excellent supply-system of agriculturally rich areas irrigated by river Shilaboti and its canals, Chandrakona grew in eminence, though gradually. Its proximity to the Puri route helped greatly, since it remained a part of Utkal or Orissa for a considerable period beginning early 13th century. The Jagannath temple had been completed only half a century ago.

17th century scholar Jagamohan Pandit,in his Sanskrit geography-text Deshavali Vivriti, described Chandrakona as an important place in Bhan Desh - a land lying between the rivers Kangsabati and Shilaboti; a rich land where quality jute grew in abundance and sustained a renowned jute-textile industry. Cotton also grew, and the cotton-textile industry was almost equally famous.Its rivers and waterbodies yielded abundant fish and sustained a large population of fishermen.We must remember that this prosperity was gained even as the Mughals and the Pathans clashed over the terrain for dominance till the former emerged victorious.

The political stability required for this prosperity came Chandrakona's way as the chief of a Rajput contingent, Indraketu, established almost independent rule here in the early 15th century. At about the same time another Rajput, Gajapati Singh, assumed the rule of Bagri, lying west of Chandrakona. These two tiny kingdoms fought each other several times during the next centuries, so that their family trees and fate became inextricably entangled.

Chandrakona thrived during the century-long rule of the Ketu kings. The town probably got its name from the third of them - Chandraketu. Jogesh Chandra Basu, a scholar on the history of Medinipur, says that Chandrakona was previously known as Mana. Chandraketu ruled during the early decades of the fifteenth century. The Gurudwara of Chandrakona dates from this time. Guru Nanakji and Mardanaji came to Chandrakona in 1510 on their way to Puri and set up a manji here which has now evolved into a gurudwara revered and visited by Sikhs from different parts of the state.

During Mughal rule Chandrakona retained its status of a semi-independent kingdom. By the middle of the 16th century Birbhan Singh, a Chauhan, began a new line of rulers. They efficiently ruled over the town for about 150 years, till in the early eighteenth century Maharaj Kirtichandra of Burdwan overthrew Raghunath Singh, the last of them. However, most of what constitutes the glory of Chandrakona, its temple complexes and its large tanks, tell us of the interest the Bhan rulers took in public works as well as of their patronage of religion and art. The legendary prosperity of Chandrakona, a town with fifty-two market places and a network of fifty-three inter-linked roads, owed itself to the efficient administration of the Bhan rulers.

Chandrakona came under the British East India Company in 1760. The textile industry was most hardly hit as a consequence. The famous weavers of Chandrakona had either to re-locate or to take up farming as profession. However, the town held its own as an important centre of trade and commerce. In the nineteenth century Chandrakona was known for producing quality brass utensils. It got its municipal administration in 1869 and Beverley's Census Report of Bengal, 1872, records that the town had a population of 21,311; that is to say, almost equal to its present population. Once a part of Hooghly district, the town was incorporated into the Ghatal subdivision of Medinipur district in 1872. Over the next six decades the population of the town depleted alarmingly. In 1931, it was reported to have a population of a little over 6000.

Like its more famous neighbour Bishnupur, Chandrakona may also be termed a temple town. Its temples display the blending of several architectural styles - the Odissi Rekha-Deul, the Char-chala and At-chala styles of Bengal, and so on. Some of them, like the one at Mitrasenpur, are decorated with excellent teracotta plates depicting events from the Mahabharata and the Avatars of Vishnu. The pancharatna temple of Malleswar is also a grand structure. But most of these temples have become dilapidated, and hardly any effort is being made to preserve these heritage structures. In addition to the temples, there are three Asthals of the Ramopasak community. Rama, and his cohorts Laxman and Sita, are worshipped by the Ramopasaks.

The eminence of the Dharmathakur cult in Chandrakona points to the co-existence for centuries of Brahminical and non-Brahminical religions. Several Dharmathakur images are found at Gobindapur, Narahipur and Jayantipur localities of Chandrakona. The Shivagajan festival at the end of the Bengali year, one of the major religious festivals in Chandrakona, is also reminiscent of pre-Aryan rituals.

Transportation

Chandrakona is well connected by roads/highways to other important towns of South Bengal including Medinipur(42 km South West), Burdwan, and Bankura. State Highway 4 connects the town to National Highway 6 (Kolkata-Mumbai) at Mechogram (60 km South East).The nearest railway station is Chandrakona Road, 20 km West. Locals use bicycles and motorbikes for transportation within the town. Rickshaws and cabs are also available.

Education

Institute of Science and Technology,Chandrakona

There are some schools and colleges in Chandrakona Town. There is an engineering college named Institute of Science & Technology[1]. It is a newly emerging technical college in Paschim Medinipur. There is also a college named Chandrakona Vidyasagar Mahavidyalaya[2] which is under Vidyasagar University[3]. The schools of Chandrakona Town are- Chandrakona Jirat High School, Kalyanshri J D Girls School, Malleswarpur Sarada Vidyapith High School and Atasi Smriti High School. There is also a non- governmental educational organization to help the poor meritorious students named Rakshabandhan For Education[4].

Culture

Chandrakona may also be called as a temple town. There is Pancharatna mandir, Malleswar temple. Dharma thakur pujo takes place in chandrakona and its nearest places. The regular bengali festivals like Durga Puja, Saraswati Puja and Kali Puja are well attended. Other common pujas in the worship of Sitala, Jagaddhatri, Holi,Janmastami, Bheema Puja also takes place.

History Of Temples Of Chandrakona

Chandrakona, a block in the ghatal sub division has a large number of important temples, which will be described at some details. Chandrakona fully illustrate that circumstances determine the vicissitudes of places also. Chandrakona was a prosperous town divided into a number of bazaars like bhayer bazaar, Khirki bazaar, Bara bazaar, Nutan bazaar, Samadhi bazaar etc.

The markets have all disappeared but the names linger. The former importance of the place, which is now only, a village is shown by the old relics, a few old institutions like asthals, three forts, namely, Lalgarh, Ramgarh and Raghunathgarh in utter ruins and a group of temples kept up by the Burdwan Raj.

Probably no other village in Midnapore district has more of traditions than Chandrakona. It is said that the name of Chandrakona is derived from Chandraketu, the raja of the place who was the contemporary of the Pandavas. There are stories about the Rajas and that some of the Rains had sacrificed their life after going through Jaharbrata. There is still a Jahar-Puskarini (tank).

It is at Chandrakona that we find a clear impact of Orissan culture not only in the temple types but also in the language, customs and manners. The Bagri princes and the Chandrakona princely house were closely connected and it is probable that the Chandrakona princely house was one of the satraps of the Bishnupur Malla kings.

From Baharistan it is seen that at the beginning of the 17th century when the Moghals carried out their invasion against the Bengal's Zamindar's, there were two landlords of Chandrakona named Chandravan and Birvan. It is said that Chandravan as well as the other Zamindars did not prove loyal and had refused to join the expedition and it became incumbent for Murad to punish these people first of all.

According to the regional history there was a succession of satraps in the Bhan dynasty and Chandravan was really Chandraketu.There is an inscription on the famous Lalaji temple at Chandrakona, which throws some light on the dates of the rulers of Bhan dynasty. The Lalaji temple was erected in 1655 according to these inscriptions.

Chandrakona in its heyday was supposed to have 52 bazaars and 53 roads. It was a place of trade importance and noted for its textile products, sugar, brass-ware and milk products. But all this is now nostalgic and all that remains are lofty buildings in ruins and relics literally of innumerable temples.

It is difficult to think what Chandrakona was like when all these temples used to tinkle with the temple bells for Arti in the evenings. There is hardly any locality or lane at Chandrakona where there are no temples. It looks as if every thriving family had a family deity enshrined in a temple. The abandoned homestead lands where the temples are now in ruins, jungles thrive and jackals howl. Just as the occupants have deserted the houses so the deities have also deserted the temples.

Most of the temples have no deities now. Very few towns or villages in India have probably so many abandoned houses and deserted temples. But although the temples have been in utter ruins they have an individuality and indicate the wide exchange of thoughts and ideas in temple structure among the Orissan artists and architects have studied the Rekha-deul temple types of Orissa and taken some of the ideas in their four-roofed and eight- roofed buildings and temples (Char-chala and At-chala).

The Pancharatna and Navaratna temples of Chandrakona have clearly adopted quite a few ideas of the Rekha-duel temple. The old temples in ruins at Chandrakona show us the tremendous impact the cult of Dharmathakur had over the area. It is peculiar that Contai and Taluk subdivisions of Midnapore district do not have this impact.

Several Dharmathakur images are found at Gobindapur, Narahipur and Jayantipur localities of Chandrakona. We find the different names of Dharmathakur such as Sitalnarain, Swarupnarain, Rajballav Roy and Bankura Roy in one and the same temple. Several female counter-parts of Dharmathakur known as Kaminya are also found in the different localities of Chandrakona.

The more famous of them is Kalkali Devi at Naraharipur locality. It may be mentioned here that different types of tortoises and at places often represent Dharmathakur only by a few stone pieces and there is not much to distinguish between the image of one name from the other. The names of the Dharma Kaminya are also peculiar, such as, Jai Durga, Kalkali, Kaliburi, Raiburi, Raibaghini, etc. It is not correct that Dharma Thakur has no anthropomorphic form and that he is not worshipped in any image as asserted elsewhere.

There are more than one thousand Dharmathakur images in tortoise's shape in the villages of Ghatal, Bishnupur and Arambagh subdivisions and in Howrah district and Calcutta and its neighborhood.

Like Chandrakona we also find a large number of Dharmathakur images in different villages of ghatal subdivision of Medinipur district as well. Dharmapuja has been associated with tantric Buddhism but "there is a tendency in Medinipur to equate Dharma to Siva by making him husband of a Shakti."

This fusion has been principally brought about through the media of the Brahmin priests. The Gajans (religious meals) of Dharmathakur and Lord Siva are very similar. Just as Lord Siva has his Shakti, Dharmathakur has his Shakti and they are Kaliburi, Raibaghini, Kalkali, etc., who have been given the colloquial name of Kaminya. The Dharma Kaminyas have a special appeal to the Santals and the other semi-tribals of the district. There are two more modern temples at Chandrakona where worship is now regularly held. They are the Lalaji temple and the Malleswar temple both belonging to Burdwan Raj.

"The Lalaji temple, which stands on a high plinth, is of the Bengali style ofarchitecture. In its verandah is preserved a stone slab (lying loose) with an inscription in Bengali characters, dated 1577 Saka (1655 A.D.), recording the erection of a Navaratna temple of Krishna by Rani Lakshmanavati, wife of Raja Hari Narayan.

In front of the Lalaji temple is a natmandir or dancing hall, to the west of which stands an Orissan tower with a porch in front dedicated to Raghunathji. The outer yard is separated from the inner by a wall, and contains a small Pancharatna temple of Kameswar Siva with an inscription dated 1577 Saka; to its southwest lies a circular pavement for the rasamancha.

The whole is enclosed by a high wall, with a large gateway to the ascribing the erection of the thakurbari to the Burdwan Raj in 1238 B.S. (1831 A.D.). In front of the gateway are two cars, which are drawn on the Dasara day, the smaller being that of Lalaji and the larger that of Raghunathji. The cost of the establishment and of the festivals is met from the income of a debottar estate set apart for the purpose by the Burdwan Raj.

The temple of Malleswar, two miles from the policestation, also belongs to the Burdwan Raj. It is nearly 60 feet high and was built by Raja Kirti Chandra of Burdwan in the first quarter of the 18th century; but the shrine is said to be much older, being ascribed to Khaira Malla, the last Malla king of this tract. In the floor inside is a hollow about 2 and half feet deep, the upper edge being built of masonry, while the basin is made up of laterite slabs.

The slabs have two openings or crevices, through which water flows, apparently from a spring or springs, and it is said, fills the hollows on particular nights. This has been observed in other sacred places; for example in the temple of Loknath at Puri, where the basin in which the linga stands is filled with water except on the Shivaratri day, when it is baled out and the linga exposed.

Chandrakona Flim City

Main article: Chandrakona Flim City

There have new city developed what is being touted as Bengal’s first State of the Art Film City.It is also called Prayag Film City. Work is on the way and it is done by Some Famous Cheat Fund Company of Bengal. Not a single film still shooted there but we hope it will work.

Famous Tourist Spots

Parimal Kanan; Main Gate

1. Ramgard and Lalgard - Chouhan kings build these two forts. The idol of Raghunath Jiu established in Ramgard fort in the year 1522. The idol of Giridhar Jiu (made by 8 metals) established in Lalgard fort in the year 1655.

2. Baroduari - Baroduari means 12 doors, Baroduari is king Chandraketu's palace having 12 doors.

3. Lal Jiu Temple - Made by king Hariarayan's wife queen Lakhanaboti (1655). 60 ft high.

4. Maleswar Mahadeb Temple - Situated near Baroduari temple. Old temple was destroyed by Kala Pahar. The present temple is built by Burdwan king Kirtichandra. On the way towards the Maleswar Temple you can watch a beautiful temple.

5.Khirpai Temple - There are few beauty full temples with Terakota architecture near Khirpai. These temles will remind you Birbhum's Jaydeb Kenduli and Nadia's Birnagar Temple . If you go to Berabera village, you can see 6 tombs (may be British period). Local people use to light clay made lamps during festivals.

Parimal Kanan; Boating Spot

6. Sobha Singha's Fort - Ruins of Sobha Singha's fort at Ramnagar village.

7. Parimal Kanan - It is the most attractive visiting place

8. Arabari Forest

9. Digri Air Field - Largest Airfiled in Medinipur

10. Digri Santorium Mr. Bangur TB Hospital :- Largest Sanatorium In West Bangal Set up by Dr. Bidhan Chandra Roy

11. Andharia Kaju garden and Bandh

References

1. ^ Falling Rain Genomics, Inc - Chandrakona
2. ^ "Census of India 2001: Data from the 2001 Census, including cities, villages and towns (Provisional)". Census Commission of India. Archived from the original on 2004-06-16. http://web.archive.org/web/20040616075334/http://www.censusindia.net/results/town.php?stad=A&state5=999. Retrieved 2008-11-01. 
3. ^ "Provisional population totals, West Bengal, Table 4, (erstwhile) Medinipur District". Census of India 2001. Census Commission of India. http://web.cmc.net.in/wbcensus/DataTables/02/Table4_15.htm. Retrieved 2010-12-22. 

External links

• Noticeboard of Medinipur... News, Photo Gallery, Classified and many more
• WE RESTORE, Let's preserve our heritage (An initiative, demanding the conservation of the historical structures of medieval ages of Chandrakona like Palace of King, various temples etc.)