Serene and historic-Garpanchkot in West Bengal

-
Tribal art on a hut in
Garpanchkot
Garpanchkot is 15 kms from Barakar at the border of Burdwan and Jharkhand and around 250 kms from Kolkata. You can choose to go by road or take a train from Howrah to Dhanbad. This is not a very popular tourist destination, I wonder why though. My cousin who recently went to Barakar and Garpanchkot was enamoured by the temples she saw in both of these places. The stone temples of Barakar and the terracotta temples of Garpanchkot are really beautiful.

Not only that, Garpanchkot can be a great place to visit because it is visually appealing too. It’s serene, sylvan and peaceful surroundings  makes for a great weekend getaway.
Old terracota temple
Garpanchkot
Terracotta temple
Garpanchkot, West Bengal




Terracotta temple
Terracotta pillars




A very old terracotta temple
at Garpanchkot

Comments

Bhaskar said…
Great Article. Thanks for the help. We are planning for Gharpanchkot on 13th July 2012. Of course By Road.
July 8, 2012 at 3:29 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Kash phool and Durga puja

-
Image
Kash Phool Ah-Kash! The appearance of Kans grass, Kash Phool (in Bengali) feels heavenly, not only because it so lovely, the white against the green, but it is also a happy reminder that the festive season is about to begin! Kash phool brings with it a change in weather, it starts to get a bit pleasant after the monsoonal downpour. Earlier, with so many open fields, one could get a glimpse of Kash any where, it is getting very difficult now with almost all the green spaces being taken away for real estate constructions :( With Mahalaya just two days away, Kolkata is in frenzy, with pandals gearing up to complete the decorations, people doing their last minute shopping; this weekend being the last weekend before Durga puja begins. It is true that it is almost impossible to move anywhere without getting stuck in traffic jams, but the mood is so positive, and optimistic that I don't mind .In fact, I don't want to go out of Kolkata during this time. I will miss it too ...
Read more

Ancient Ellora Cave temples; Ravan Ki Khai (cave 14) and Dasavatara (cave 15) cave temples

-
Image
Ellora Cave 14, Ravan Ki Khai Today's post is in continuation to my earlier post on Ellora . Caves 14 and 15 of the Brahmanical group may not be as grand as cave 16 , but they are beautiful and you can see some amazing sculptures and carvings in these caves. Cave 14 is called Ravan ki Khai because of the sculpture of Ravana shaking Kailasa (this happens to be quite a popular theme in Ellora.). This cave seems to be dedicated to Shakti worship because there are a number of female deities in this cave temple. A panel on the wall has seven (could not get a good picture). Cave 15 (Dasavatara cave ) is grand. It is called Dasavatara because of the various beautifully sculpted incarnations of Vishnu in this cave. There is a dance hall (Natya mandapa) right at the centre of the courtyard. The ground section of the cave does not have too many sculptures, but the upper level has quite a few sculptures. The first thing that you see in the upper level is Shiva’s chariot, a beautifu...
Read more

Daulatabad Fort-This 12th Century fort was perhaps one of the most fortified forts in India

-
Image
Daulatabad Fort Daulatabad Fort is located around 16km from Aurangabad in Maharashtra, India. Daulatabad, known as Devgiri then, was built in the 12th Century AD by Yadava King of Bhillama V. Devgiri  was taken over by Allauddin Khilji in 1226 AD followed by Sultan. Mohammed Bin-Tughlak who moved his capital from Delhi to Devgiri in In 1327 AD and named Devgiri, Daulatabad, the City of Fortune. This fort was very well fortified. It had triple rows of walls surrounding it. One could reach the top only through a narrow bridge. Surrounding the fort was a moat filled with water and crocodiles. On the way to the top, there is a very aptly named cave called Andheri, One can’t see a thing because it is pitch dark; once inside the cave it is rather difficult to make out anything. Thus must have been extremely confusing for the enemy. Even if someone were to stumble out of the cave, they would be easy target, and would get killed or fall from the many openings on the walls ...
Read more