History of North 24 Pargana District

When India was still groping under the British rule trying hard to come to terms laid down by the English, the first wave of patriotism gripped the brave soldiers of Barrackpur, that shared the same river line where the Dakshineswar Temple would be built, led to the Sepoy Mutiny Revolt in 1857. Kolkata was the capital of the country and was then the second largest city of the British Empire only next to London. This new ardour of patriotic fervor soon spread amidst the important people of the city. Among them was the brave and deeply religious Rani Rashmoni who is one of the pioneers to silently revolt against the foreign rule.

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Important Places of North 24 Parganas

Daksineswar Kali Temple

In the early 1800s, Dakshineswar was a small village along the eastern banks of the River Ganga. The picturesque details by J С Marshman in the January 1845 issue of Calcutta Review mentions &ldquoA little higher up we have the village of Dukhinsore, remarkable chiefly for the country seat, mapped down in the map of Hastie’s Garden, but which has repeatedly changed hands during the last thirty years. To the north of it lies the Powder Magazine. During the last four years which have elapsed since Joseph&rsquos map was published, four elegant houses have sprung up to the south of the garden.

Dense forest surrounded the area where the famous Dakshineswar temple stands today. It was 300 years back when Durgaprasad Roy Choudhury and Bhavaniprasad Roy Choudhury, members of the renowned Savarna Roy Choudhury family settled here. Yogindranath one of the successors of this family was an ardent devotee of Sri Ramakrishna who later was known as Swami Yogananda.

The famous Dakshineswar temple which houses the Goddess Kali was founded by Rani Rashmoni following a dream she saw when she was about to start on her pilgrimage to Benaras. A long term plan of the Rani materialized which she had longed to perform when her husband died with unfulfilled wish of constructing a Kali temple. 

A dynamic woman, Rani Rashmoni took over the administration of the enormous estate her husband left her. The benevolent administrator, Rani Rashmoni was always in conflict with the stringent British laws and policies. People honored her and loved her for her daring and benevolent spirit. Dakshineswar temple, bathing ghats, a way from Subarnarekha River to Puri, Imperial Library (present National Library) and Hindu College (present Presidency College) are the testimonials to her benevolent nature.

Important Person

Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay also known as Bankim Chandra Chatterjee was one of the greatest novelists and poets of India. He is famous as author of Vande Mataram, the national song of India. Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay was born on June 27, 1838 in the village Kantalpara of the 24 Paraganas District of Bengal. Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay began his literary career as a writer of verse. He then turned to fiction. Durgeshnandini, his first Bengali romance, was published in 1865. His famous novels include Kapalkundala (1866), Mrinalini (1869), Vishbriksha (1873), Chandrasekhar (1877), Rajani (1877), Rajsimha (1881), and Devi Chaudhurani (1884). Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay most famous novel was Anand Math (1882). Anand Math contained the song “Bande Mataram”, which was later adopted as National Song. 

Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay wanted to bring about a cultural revival of Bengal by stimulating the intellect of the Bengali speaking people through literary campaign. With this end in view he brought out monthly magazine called Bangadarshan in 1872. Bankim Chattopadhyay was superb story-teller, and a master of romance. No Bengali writer before or since has enjoyed such spontaneous and universal popularity as Chattopadhyay. His novels have been translated in almost all the major languages of India. He passed away on April 8, 1894

Folk Culture

One of the main traditions of North 24 Parganas is Folk Culture. People are proud of their own culture as Jhumur, Kabigan, Tarjagan, Manasha vasan,Rayani, Austakgan, Banabibir Pala,Tusu, Patar Bashi Bhatiyali etc. This various forms of folk culture has already reached to the people of the whole West Bengal as well as all over India. The Drun beats of Dhak, Dhol Badhya of this District had participated in Asian games with great success.

 

Immersion of Durga idols @ Ichhamati River

Ichamati River is a trans-boundary river which flows through India and Bangladesh and also forms the natural boundary between the two countries. At the end of Durga Puja , on Vijaya Dashami, the river offers a unique spectacle when boats crammed with people from both countries converge to immerse their respective idols. Boats of all shapes and sizes can be seen on the river, as far as the eye can see — each one flying the flag of its respective country. It is the only day during the year when border patrolling is relaxed and people can cross over to the other side of the river. Border Security Force and Bangladesh Border Guard keep on vigil by patrolling in boats. In previous years organizer of both the countries used to cherish the immersion ritual amidst relaxed restrictions to facilitate people of the two neighbouring countries to mingle with each other freely and greet “Subha Bijoya” to each other. While earlier, after immersing their idols, people could even disembark from their boats on the other side, restrictions imposed by border officials in the last few years has put an end to this practice. In Taki and adjacent areas of Hasnabad Block, the midstream of Ichhamati is the International Boundary (IB). Here the river stretches about 600-800 meter. The conventional spots of immersions are within a span of 3.5km-4 km ,ranging from Sodepur Point to the T shaped trijunction confluence of river Dasa with Ichhamati. On the other side of Taki Municipality territory remains the Debhatta Upa Zilla within Satkhira District of the Republic of Bangladesh.

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