The district of Bardhaman is located in West Bengal, India. It is located in the ancient town of Sharifabad. It is an ancient district that has acquired its name after the twenty-fourth Jain Tirthankar, Vardhamanswami or Mahavira as he spent few days of his life in Astikagrama. Again, the place is a haven for the archaeologists and historians alike.
Bardhaman is one of the most famous industrial belts of India. The major industrialised towns in the district of Bardhaman for which it has gained prominence are Durgapur, Andal, Raniganj, Asansol and Bardhaman city (the district headquarters sharing the same name).
Different townships of Bardhaman exhibit different phases of the Indian history and jointly the district becomes a true multi-cultural heritage of West Bengal. Many invaders in the past, including Pashtuns, Marathas and Mughals, invaded this land. Hence, one can say that the place witnessed several ups and downs in the history. Beautiful monuments, temples and ancient edifices attract a lot of tourists to this place every year. The district had been visited by a string of Delhi Sultanates like Raja Todarmal, Daud Karnani, Sher Afgan, Kutub-ud-din Ajimuswan and Shah Jahan.
The industry of tourism in Bardhaman has been growing tremendously since the last decade. Some of the major tourist destinations of this region are as follows –
Lord Curzon Gate – In the year 1904 AD, this gate was built in the honour of Lord Curzon. Later, the gate was renamed as ‘Bijoy Toran’ or ‘Vijay Toran’ in memory of its architect Maharajadhiraj Bijoy Chand Mahatab. The tower acts as a landmark of the place where G.T. Road and B.C. Road converge.
River Damodar – The district of Bardhaman lies on the banks of this river. The river is considered extremely sacred for the people this district. The name Damodar also exhibits a spiritual aura where ‘Damu’ stands for sacred and ‘da’ for water. Sadly, owing to environmental degradation most of the branches of Damodar River are now facing near extinction. Banks of the River Damodar is visited by innumerable tourists throughout the year. Tourists in thousands accumulate on the banks of this river during the ‘Poila Magh’ festival.
The Duel Park – This Park was built by Gopraj Ishwar Ghosh and Ichai Ghosh. It is especially famous for elephants and many tourists visit this place during the weekends with friends and family. The beauty of this park is that it is flanked by River Ajoy and Ghar forest on both sides. The famous Maa Shyamarupa Temple is also located just around 4 km from this park.
Pir Brahmin – Situated at the Royal Palace of Rajbati, the place is of great mythological significance. It is considered extremely sacred as here the Parsi sultan Baharam satisfied the wish of his guru by performing an extended water charity which ran for full twelve years. After this long ritual, the sultan renounced the social life and became a famous Sufi Pir called Sakta.
Nehru Park or Lahmeyer Park – This Park is situated on the banks of River Damodar at Burnpur in the district of Bardhaman. Originally, the Park was called Riverside Park and it was renamed as Nehru Park in the year 1989 in honour of the first Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru.
The industry of tourism in Bardhaman has a tremendous scope for further growth as increasing number of people are now getting acquainted with the district owing to its industrial and economical progress.
Author Bio: Leon Grant is the writer-editor at Bardhamanlive. He and his team is greatly involved in understanding and exploring various avenues for encouraging tourism in Bardhaman District.
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