Exploring heritages and histories in West Bengal’s Nadia
The author visited the famous cities of Krishnanagar and Nabadwip in Nadia, West Bengal. Known as the birthplace of Sree Chaitanya Dev, Nabadwip is also famous for having the largest temple for Iskcon devotees
For years, Bangalees have loved reading stories of Maharaja Krishnachandra and his court jester Gopal Bhar's hilarious encounters. Whether these characters were real or not, we do not know.
What we do know is, there is a city named Krishnanagar (perhaps after this king) in the Nadia district in India's West Bengal and I had the chance to visit it. Along with Krishnanagar, I also explored Nabadwip, the famous heritage city in Nadia.
The journey
My post-pandemic journey to Kolkata took place after two and a half years. From Sealdah Rail Station, I started for Krishnanagar on the Lalgola train to Murshidabad. After two and a half hours, I reached my destination.
Raja Krishnachandra's forefather Raja Rudra Roy changed the name of this place from 'Rewui' to Krishnanagar. Some believe he named the city after God Krishna.
Krishnanagar Rail Station is as clean as most rail stations in West Bengal. There are small snack stations or 'cabins', as they are popularly known. Although there were two hotels near the station, I did not like their appearance and walked toward the main city to look for a better one.
The Krishnanagar Palace
After exploring the city, I took an autorickshaw to the Krishnanagar Palace. There was a local fair going on, the yearly 'Barodoler Mela', which piqued my interest.
Before entering the palace, I stopped near its boundary. There was a gate, maybe it was the main gate once. Along with it were some other abandoned, old structures.
The fair was held near the main entrance of the palace.
Historical records show that Raja Krishnachandra's reign lasted from 1728 to 1782. The Battle of Plassey and other historically significant events took place within this time.
In 1772, the Nadia Collecterate Zilla and the Krishnanagar Civil Court were formed. During the same period, the indigo planters also arrived here. All in all, Nadia became an important city of that time.
I looked for a caretaker to enter the palace but locals informed me that visitors are only allowed during Durga Puja when the owners are also present. I met some elderly people sitting nearby who were interested to talk to me when I introduced myself as a lone Bangladeshi tourist.
Some of them shared stories about Bangladesh while some said they have relatives there. Behind the palace is an old ghat called Chandni Ghat.
I roamed around for a bit in the fair, it looked like our local fairs in Bangladesh. There were small shops selling toys, pickles and fried snacks. After this, I checked into a guest house and after freshening up, went out to enjoy the nightlife in the city.
Nightlife in Krishnanagar
There is a beautiful century-old church in Krishnanagar. The Krishnanagar Catholic Church was established in 1886. Beside it is another small church called Christ Mandir. It was already late in the evening so I could not go inside.
Krishnanagar is famous for its 'shor bhaja' sweets and needless to say I gorged on a variety of this sweet delicacy before returning to the hotel.
My next destination was the historic city of Nabadwip where Bakhtiar Khilji began the Muslim rule. It was also the capital of the Sen Dynasty between 1159 to 1202. Although this is not the same Nabadwip as it was before, this place is still one of the most important pilgrim places for devout Hindus.
Known as the birthplace of Sree Chaitanya Dev, Nabadwip is also famous for having the largest temple of Iskcon, the famed Hare Krishna movement. I really looked forward to visiting the temple.
City of temples
After waking up to the phone alarm, I packed my bag and went to the bus stop. After 40 minutes, I reached the Nabadwip Dham Rail Station. I reserved a local auto-rickshaw, known locally as 'Toto', for INR200. There are around 150 temples in Nabadwip, out of which 21 are listed as heritage sites. I did not have time to visit so many of them and selected a few that I wanted to visit before going to Mayapur.
The streets were narrow, much like the ones in Old Dhaka. I visited the Samajbari Ashram, Sreebas Angan, Gauranga Temple and Jagai Madhai. Sreebas Angan or Sreebas Temple is an ancient structure. Most of the heritage temples were built at the end of 18th century or the beginning of 19th century.
The Samajbari Ashram is a large space with people flocking here throughout the day. A devotee asked where I came from and offered me vegetarian lunch. There are some shops outside the ashram which sell puja offerings.
I took an auto-rickshaw and went to see the birthplace of Sree Chaitanya. My next destination was the Chandrodaya Temple in Mayadwip. I took a boat to Mayadwip on the other side of the Hoogly River from the Nabadwip Ghat Counter.
Chandrodaya Temple
The huge temple complex sprawls over 22 acres of land. Construction work was still going on. This temple is thought to be the world's tallest Hindu Temple. I saw many European Iskcon devotees here. Devotees can eat lunch and dinner here. There are some restaurants too.
I found a bus to Krishnanagar from the temple gate. From here I took the train to Bangaon via Ranaghat.
How to go
If you plan to visit Nadia, you must have an Indian visa. There are direct trains to Krishnanagar from Kolkata. One can also take the bus from Ranaghat. From Krishnanagar you can take a bus to Nabadwip or Mayadwip quite easily.
Fares
From Sealdah Station to Krishnanagar by train- INR25.
Kolkata to Krishnanagar by bus- INR300 to INR400.
Krishnanagar to Nabadwip by bus- INR30 to INR40.
Nabadwip to Mayadwip by boat- INR15.
Where to stay
Non A/C hotels in Krishnanagar cost INR400 to INR600. For Hindu visitors, there are temple guest houses.
