Temple of Ichai Ghosh A Rare Marvel

Kinjal Bose

Since the past couple of years, the ‘Culture’ column of Kolkata on Wheels has been dedicated to bringing you interesting and untold tales on various festivals, ancient temples and others places of worship. We sincerely hope that you have enjoyed reading this series as much as we have loved penning it down for you. This month, let’s travel to Gourangapur village in Paschim Barddhaman to witness the beauty of the ‘Temple of Ichai Ghosh’ situated on the southern bank of River Ajay.

If you happen to visit Bolpur – Santiniketan, then the Temple of Ichai Ghosh is a must visit. It takes almost an hour by car to cover a distance of about 33 kilometres to reach the spot from Bolpur station. Alternately, one can also reach there from Illambazar in just about half an hour by covering a distance of merely 15 kilometres.

The road condition is fairly good and one has to cross a toll bridge over River Ajay and continue straight through Panagarh-Morgram State Highway. Then turn right on to Bonkati Road. At one juncture, the road becomes narrow and passes through a forest until one comes across an enclosed courtyard and the deul in front. Along with the Temple of Ichai Ghosh, one can also explore other temples in the vicinity including the brass chariot of Bankati and the adjoining Gopaleshwar Temple which boasts of an intricate terracotta decoration.

According to Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), the temple dates back to mid-eighteenth century A.D. It is said that Ichai Ghosh was a devotee of Devi Bhavani. Pralay Sen in his book, “Paschim Banglar Tirtha” mentioned that this temple might have been built in the 16th-17th century A.D. However, apart from this, very little information is found about this temple. Even the foundation stone couldn’t be located. It is speculated that Gope Kings may have been involved in building this temple.

Previously the inner sanctum of this temple was empty. However, now a Shiva lingam can be spotted. The temple is well maintained except some growth of vegetation on the top. One could see some ornamentation on the upper part of the four sides of the temple wall but no such decoration exists in the lower part.

A close look at the decorations will reveal human figures, which may be of Gods, dancers and floral motifs. Due to the passage of time some of them have become less visible and the rest have disappeared.

Presently, the Temple of Ichai Ghosh is a protected monument under Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), Kolkata Circle