HOOGHLY |
CONNECTIONS: | |
Many of the suburban towns were European colonial settlements along the banks of the Hooghly river. Each of them has its own distinctive flavor. However since Calcutta gets all the focus (good and bad), these suburban towns do not find their due place in the tourism industry. Their heritage is also fast disappearing as the towns grow bigger.
Serampore:
Chandannagore:
Pic: The Institute de Chandernagore North of Serampore is the French settlement (1673) in India. Chandannagore did change hands several times due to the Anglo French rivalry. However from 1815 Chandannagore remained under French control till it was returned to India in 1952. The town became a part of the state of West Bengal.
Chandannagore has several attractions like the Strand, several historic old buildings like the Hotel De Paris (now the civil court), the Gala Kuthi, the Patal Bari and churches. |
Places to see Hooghly was founded in 1537 by the Portuguese while Chinsura / Chunchura was the site of a Dutch factory built in 1656. They later passed into British hands. The main attraction is the large mosque - the Hooghly Imambara which was built in the 19th century.
Bansberia: Bansberia is about 15 kms north of the Hooghly. The temple complex here has two temples.
The smaller is the Vasudeva brick temple built in 1679. It has terracotta carvings. The larger temple with thirteen towers is the Hangsheswari temple and was built in the 19th century. Bandel:
|
HOOGHLY: CONNECTIONS : By Rail: All the towns except Barrackpore are on the left bank of the river Hooghly. The G.T Road (NH 2) starts from Howrah and passes through all these towns except Barrackpore. The bridges across the river Hooghly provide the connection to Calcutta. Barrackpore is connected by the B T Road to Calcutta. By Rail: Frequent Suburban train services for all the towns (except Barrackpore) are available from Howrah Station. From Sealdah North, to get to the towns on the opposite bank, one has to change trains at Bally Halt. Frequent suburban services connect Barrackpore and Sealdah North. LODGING: There are no big hotels in these towns. There is a WBTDC Tourist Lodge at Barrackpore. Most tourists stay in Calcutta.
|
Serampore was a Danish settlement form 1699 to 1845. As a
trading center it was not much of a success, but as a cultural center its contribution is
immense. Sir William Carey established a printing press here and the first vernacular
Bengali language newspaper was published from here. He also established the Serampore
College in 1819. In 1827 it was incorporated as the first modern university in Asia.
The other attraction of Serampore is the Jagannath temple in Mahesh. The Rathayatra of
Mahesh is one of the largest in the country. Tarakeshwar, an important
religious and pilgrimage center is connected by suburban rail services to Serampore and
Howrah. 
Bandel de Hooghly was founded in 1580 by the Portuguese. They
carried out slave trade from here. A flourishing town (for the wrong reasons) it was
destroyed, in 1632, by the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan (who built the Taj Mahal at
Agra). The Church of our Lady of Bandel was consecrated in 1599. It was later
rebuilt after the ransacking of Bandel.
The Nandadulal Mandirat Lal
Bagan is a beautiful example of Bengali architecture. It was built in 1740 by Indranarayan
Roychowdhury. 
Chandannagore is famous for its celebrations of the Jagaddhatri
Puja. Please refer to this site for more details.