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West Bengal Santragachhi Lake
Santragachi Jheel is an ideal picnic spot which is situated some 20 minutes drive from Kolkata and is sprawled over an area of 13, 75,000 square feet lake. It is in the winter months from October to March that he Jheel draws 4,000 to 5,000 ducks and other waders to this awesome and beautiful safe haven.
When you visit this Jheel and see the unconcerned way in which these beautiful water birds move about it will not be possible for you to appreciate the miracle of the Santragachi Jheel. This credit goes to the Indian Railways who own and maintain the lake as well as the many local residents who take pride in protecting the birds.
Nearby Attractions
Every city has some or the other attractions and this is also true for this Lake also. It is the attractions surrounding the place which gives the place its popularity.
In order to understand a place fully you must also visit some of the nearby places. One such place is Tibbetibaba which is popularly known as Mahasadhak Tibbetibaba. It was previously known by the name of Nabin hattopadhhyaya or Nabin or Nabin Chandra. He was a popular Bengali philosopher. He was the rarest of rare saints in India whose life was a mixture of both the Advaita Vedanta philosophy of Hinduism and also the Mahayana Buddhist philosophy. Swami Vivekananda was a religious follower of Vedanta and also a great admirer of Gautama Buddha. Vivekananda had nicknamed Buddha as the ideal Karma yogi. Tibbetibaba had mastered the eight siddhis. He also had some remarkable healing powers. In spite of being a master of all the siddhis, he never used them personally.
Terracotta Temples
The terracotta temples of the place depict the Ratna and Chala class of medieval Bengali architecture. There were in all were five terracotta temples in Routpara. However, three of them have been destroyed.
Mangal Chandi Temple, Routpara
This temple is considered to be an example of the medieval Bengali terracotta style of architecture with thirteen pinnacles. The sad part is that all of the pinnacles have all been ruined and all out efforts should be undertaken to restore the damaged parts of the temple.
Shiv Mandir In Routpara
The Siva temple was constructed much later than the Mangal Chandi temple or even the Durga temple place. It is considered to be a small altar in comparison to the architectural grandeurs as well as the proportions of the other temples of the region.
Dasghara Temples, Hooghly
As a lover of history you must visit this temple as this small village near Tarakeshwar is home to some remarkable architectures and terracotta temples. It is a small village which is located some 12 kilometers North of Tarakeswar, famously called the temple town. The history of the region can be traced back to the early phase of the 18th century. On visiting the place you will dazzled by its stunning architecture.
An old construction of the village is the Gopinath Temple which was built by a local zamindar known as Sadananda Biswas. The temple has five pinnacles and some of its significant terracotta panels are still in excellent condition.
On visiting Dasghara, you will come across an old Durga Dalan as well as the house of the Biswas family all at a short distance from the temple, which reflects a hint of its past glory.
How to Reach
If you wish to enjoy the beauty of a place you must also be able to reach it easily and conveniently. This is also equally true with this Lake which has all modes of transport available.
You can reach the city of Santragachi from the Kona Expressway connecting it with the second Hoogly Bridge with the National Highway No 6. On crossing the bridge from Kolkata you should take the connector from Kona, Santragachi Railway Station is situated only 20 minutes drive. You can spot the Jheel behind the railway line tracks and a short walk away from the station. You can also reach your destination which is barely 10 kilometers from Raj Bhavan.
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