Places to Visit in East Midnapore District . Best Historical , Anthropological & Heritage tourist spot in Purba Medinipur ( West Bengal )
a) Tamluk Rajbari :
A proposal has been initiated for a heritage site with a museum in the old premises of the Rajbari by the Tamralipta Museum & Research Centre. Now it is preserved by the ASI as one of the Heritage sites in India. This building belongs to mediaeval period and approximately constructed during the beginning of eighteenth century possibly by Didar Ali Beg who took the administration of this Tamluk Zamindary for a short period at that time on behalf of the Masnad-i-Ali of Hijli.
b) Khejuri :
Before Calcutta Khejuri was the important centre of the East India Company for their commercial activities. In 1672 captain James of the East India Company first landed with his ship `Rebeka‟ for clearance of goods at Khejuri as at that time the big ships could not reach to Calcutta directly. All the goods could reach Calcutta by small sloops and therefore, Khejuri had turned to a sea port in 1679. Raja Rammohan Roy once and prince Dwarkanath Thakur of Thakur family of Calcutta twice had to stay one day at Khejuri during their journey to foreign countries. For its sea-side location many foreigners in India used to come there for recoveries of their health. Job Charnak also stayed for permanent settlement of the East India Company at Khejuri-Hijli areas before his establishment of Calcutta. For communication between the foreign sailors and the passengers of the ships, an old post office was opened at Khejuri in 1772. The post office of Khejuri was the first of its kind in India. Dr. Osagnesi, a Professor of of Calcutta Medical College first introduced telegraph line between Khejuri and Kukrahati and later it was extended upto Calcutta in 1857.
c) Dariapur :
On the way from Khejuri to Contai via Masnad-i-Ali a village named Dariapur is located with a famous temple of Kapal Kundala. Sahitya Samrat Bankim Chandra Chattapadhya visited this area and he stayed at Dak-Banglo of Dariapur of Contai Sub-Division. At that time this area was covered by jungle and this visit had inspired Bankim Chandra to write his famous novel `Kopalkundala‟. To commemorate his staying, every year the local people organize one annual fair in his name, which is known as `Bankim Smriti Mela’.
d) Bahiri :
Another important heritage place in Contai Sub-Division of Purba Medinipur. This village has its ancient archaeological value. It is an important centre of Buddhism. Four Buddha Stupas named Paltikri, Shaptikri, Dhantikri and Godhantikri are located at Bahiri. The name of the village`Bahiri’ derived from word `Bauddha Bihar‟.
e) Negua :
It is under Egra Sub-division. Once office of the Sub-Divisional Officer was located at Negua before shifting to Contai Town. Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay was the Deputy-Magistrate, S.D.O. of Negua at that time. He took the charge of S.D.O. Negua on 9th February, 1860.
f) Kajlagarh :
This important historic place is situated under Bhagabanpur block of Egra Sub-division. The great writer and poet Dwijendralal Roy came tothis place for the settlement of this area when Kajlagarh was under the administration of Burdwan Raj during 1890-1893.
a) Bargabhima Temple :
The temple of the Goddess Bargabhima is a very famous temple of Purba Medinipur. There are many legends about the origin of the Goddess Bargabhima. The king Tamraddhaj of Tamralipta of the epic Mahabharata had constructed this temple. There are references of Goddess Bargabhima in Bengali literatures like Dharmamangal kavyas of Manikram Ganguly and Ruparam Chakraborty and in the Chandimangal Kavya of Mukundaram Chakraborty. This evidence justifies the existence of this temple within thirteenth to fourteenth centuries in Tamluk of Purba Medinipur. Basically, this temple had been created on one of the Buddhist Stupas at the time of decay of Buddhist religion. Mainly people of Hindureligion had created this temple to worship their Goddess Bargabhima.
b) Hijli Masnad-i-Ala :
This mosque of Hijli of Purba Medinipur district is a symbol of communal harmony in West Bengal. Although it is a Muslim mosque but large number of peoplefrom different parts of our country irrespective of their caste, creed and religion assemble here. This mosque was constructed in 1651 ACE by a pious man named Tajkhan Masnad-i-Ala, the then administrator of HIjli area. It is also an example of successful execution of Indian architecture. The salty weather of this district even could not destroy any part of this. The colour this mosque is black from the time of Its formation by the decision of the Fort William authority. The place where this mosque is located in Purba Medinipur district is one of the best
tourist spots of the district .
c) Manik Pirer Darga :
It is situated by side of the Tamluk Panskura road very near to Tanluk Maniktala More. The darga is also a great centre of communal harmony. Large no. of people come to pray here irrespective of cast, creed and religion in each Sunday of every month. Previously it was a simple mud house. Recently it is being constructed as pucca building with the financial assistance of the Government of West Bengal.
d) Damodar Jew Temple :
The Damodar Jew Temple is located at the Hogla village under Tamluk sub-division of Purba Medinipur district. It was established in 1205 Bengali Era. The village of Hogla has immense value in terms of heritage for being the birth place of Matangini Hazra – the great martyr in India’s freedom struggle. She used to perform regular puja in this temple.The Damodar Jew temple is a mark of the great attractive architectural style of the temples of Bengal. The temple of Damodar Jew is also significant in terms of historical and religious reasons.
e) Kishore Raj temple :
The Kishore Raj temple is situated at Panchetgarh in Patashpur – II block under Egra sub-division of Purba Medinipur district. It was established by Jugal Kishore Das Mahapatra – one of the descendants of the zamindar Das Mahapatra family. It was constructed in the early eighteenth century.The East facing temple was constructed in the Rekha deul style with a height of about 50 ft. The temple bears ornamentation at its peak. The Jagamohana (prayer hall) of the temple is built in Sikhar deul style. But the cornice of the temple is not constructed in the traditional way and not parallel as well. They are constructed like arches.
f) Pancheswar Shiva Temple :
The Pancheswar Shiva Temple and Narayan Jew temple is situated at Panchetgarh in Patashpur – II block under Egra sub-division of Purba Medinipur district. The region is named as Panchet after the Pancheswar Shiva. The name of Kishore Rai Shri Krishna is also attached with the garh along with Pancheswar Shiva. It is said that during the construction of the Panchetgarh Palace (Rajbari), a black basalt stone was found while digging of soil was on. Some portion of the stone broke apart due to the digging. Later, the stone was excavated and it was found that the stone was originally a Shiva Linga (deity of Lord Shiva). A temple was constructed for the Shiva Linga. The Shiva linga was situated in this area much before the construction of the palace, it is said. It is considered that the temple was constructed between 1897 and 1907.
g) Pancharatna temple of Shitala Devi :
The Pancharatna temple of Shitala Devi is situated at Patashpur in Panchet under Egra sub-division of Purba Medinipur district. It was established by Chowdhury / Das Mahapatra – the zamindar family of the Patashpur pargana. The temple was established between the years 1900 and 1903. It was constructed at the entrance of the landlord house as per the wish of Tilottama Devi – the senior-most female member of the zamindar family.The temple was constructed with red color bricks and lime-surki in the Jorbangla / Ekbangla or Dochala temple style. The Pancharatna temple originally constructed in Ratna style with peak but it has a resemblance of the architectural patterns of the Jorbanglo style. The temple is considered to be of Pancharatna style as there are four peaks around the main Ekratna peak at the center. The entire temple is of a square shape.
| Place | Best For |
| West Bengal – Purba Medinipur | Historical, Anthropological & Heritage sites |
- Purba Medinipur Govt. Official Website – https://purbamedinipur.gov.in/
FAQ :
- How much does a Purba Medinipur trip cost ?
>> Around 1000/- to 5000/- Inr
