Guptipara
| Guptipara | |||
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 India
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| State : | West Bengal | ||
| District : | Hugli | ||
| Sub-district : | Balagarh | ||
| Location : | 23 ° 12 ′ N , 88 ° 25 ′ E | ||
| Height : | 15 m | ||
| Area : | 73 ha | ||
| Residents : | 2,169 (2011) | ||
| Population density : | 2971 inhabitants / km² | ||
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Guptipara is a place with about 2,200 inhabitants in the east Indian state of West Bengal . The place is significant because of several Bengali temples from the 18th and early 19th centuries.
location
Guptipara is about 15 meters above sea level on the Hugli River . d. M. and approx. 100 km (driving distance) north of Calcutta ; From there buses run almost every hour (journey time approx. 3.5 hours). The temple town of Kalna is only about 8 km northwest.
population
Official population statistics have only been kept and published since 1991.
| year | 1991 | 2001 | 2011 |
| Residents | - | 2.012 | 2,169 |
Most of the residents are Hindus . In contrast to what is common in northern India, the male and female proportions of the population are roughly the same.
economy
Agriculture still plays the most important role in the villages around the place, which functions as a regional center of trade, handicrafts and services. Regional (pilgrimage) tourism also brings income to the city's coffers.
history
Little is known about the early and medieval history of Guptipara. In the 12th century the rise of Islam began, which reached its climax under the Mughal rulers and spread to Bengal . During the final phase of the decline of the Mughal Empire (i.e. in the 18th and early 19th centuries), the place experienced a heyday.
Attractions
The most important sights of the place are the four brick- built Vishnu temples ( Chaitanya, Brindabanchandra, Ramchandra and Krishnachandra ) in the Brindaban Chandra's Math complex from the 18th and early 19th centuries, the heyday of the largely independent ruling Maharajas of Bardhaman. They all belong to the Bengali temples , a special form of Hindu architecture, which is characterized by a special roof shape ( Bengali roof ) as well as by tower-like attachments ( ratnas ), which in architectural terms have little to do with the shikharas of the north Indian Nagara style to have. The facade of the Ramchandra temple is adorned with figural terracotta motifs, the others only have simple decorative shapes and are mostly whitewashed; some have colored paintings inside.
Festivals
The annual Ratha Yatra Festival is known nationwide, where - similar to Puri - the figures of Jagannath and his siblings Balabhadra and Subhadra , who are also venerated here, are driven through the town in a procession on a large wooden wagon.
Web links
- Guptipara, Temple - Photos and information (English)
- Guptipara, temple - photos + brief information (English)
- Guptipara, temple - video