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18th May 2012

Images by Anuradha Goyal

Bishnupur, a discovery in West Bengal

by Anuradha Goyal

Bishnupur is a quaint town about 160 kms north west of Kolkata. Not many outside West Bengal have heard of it, though is a small town with wealth of art and culture hidden in its folds and monuments and art forms preserved with uncommon care.

The most well known are the terracotta temples built by various Malla dynasty kings in the 17th and 18th century. Most of the temples are dedicated to Krishna and his beloved Radha. The choice of terracotta as a material for the temple was made as there is no native stone in this region. So the artisans baked stories in clay tiles, picking up scenes from Puranas, Ramayana and Mahabharata along with the scenes from the daily lives of the people, plants and animals – both real and imaginary. Most temples have very ornate exteriors, with ornamental tiles on the front face or on all of them, but the interiors are fairly simple.

There are three styles of temples architecture in Bishnupur. The most common is the Ratna style, where there are one, five or nine domes called shikharas on top a slightly curved roof. Shyam Rai temple, with its five shikharas, is the best example of this style.

The most peculiar style is Chala style that resembles the Bengali thatched roof, triangular in shape with a shikhara on top of that; it's visible on Jor Bangla temple, which has two triangular roofs joined together.

Then there is simple Duel style, very common in Orrisa temples, with long tapering Shikhara. Not many temples of this style are left here.

Rasamancha is a unique structure in Bishnupur. It is a pyramid-like structure on a huge square platform. The circumambulate corridors have huge arches that create a labyrinthine way to the central point, where probably a deity was worshipped. This place was used for the local Rasa festival. It is said that it is one of its kind structure in the world and no similar structure has been found anywhere.

Besides temples, when you are in Bishnupur look for Baluchari Saris, where the artisans weave the stories in silk just like the way centuries ago they were woven in terracotta. You can also find for the Ganjifa cards that are the origin of modern day playing cards and are now hand made by only one family here.

Bishnupur has an incredible cultural richness. A visit will leave you delighted.