Terracotta - the lost craftsmanship of Bengal

Terracotta temples of Bengal are a tradition of the medieval period which attained prominence during the 13^th and 14^th century.

Origin-With the rise of Bhakti and Sufi movements common people's relation with the worshipped deities became somewhat of a personal kinship. Thus with gradual decrease in Bhramanical supremacy we find Gods and Goddesses being nurtured as domestic members; Gopal as a playful child, Krishna as a friend, Durga, Laxmi and Saraswati as daughters and Shiva as the whimsical son-in law.

Landlords started building these temples primarily for 3 reasons – as status symbol, for religious purposes particularly to promote the concept of Ram Rajya and as community spaces where elders narrated traditional stories.

The making - Terracotta artisans flourished as stone was a scarcity in the alluvial plains of Southern Bengal. A mixture of mud and hay was put into designed moulds and then hardened as burnt bricks to form the terracotta plaques. The engravings were mostly scenes from Ramayana, Mahabharata, stories of Dhasavatara and Krishna, while those at the lower part of the temples depicted social scenes like hunting, harvest etc. Interestingly, the plaques constructed after 1764 often showed European soldiers in action with their characteristic hats. Another variation- called as the phoolpather used crushed laterite mixed with binders and then fired as clay. These were characterized by a harder texture and darker appearance. It’s a tragedy that the craftsmanship involved in the building of these terracotta temples has been lost forever hence dilapidated temples are now being very poorly restored.

Replica of terracotta figurines, pottery, jewelry, and other decorative artefacts have immense aesthetic values even today.

Some terracotta temples have barely survived the onslaught of time, an account of them are given below.

Birbhum

Kalikapur: Located 138 Km from Kolkata, the Rajbari has two well maintained temples at its premises. Although the palace is almost in shambles, with only the Durga dalan remaining, the temples have been preserved by the trustees. The family is a descendant of Paramananda Ray, the tax collector of Burdwan royal family who managed to maintain his prominence even after the declaration of the Permanent Settlement Act in 1793. There was an Indigo plantation nearby although nothing of it remains now.

Hetampur - Dubrajpur: Located 46 Km from Kalikapur, this village was probably named after Hatem Khan, the revenue collector of Mughal dynasty. This village faced the Maratha invasion. King Ranjan Ray built the New Palace in 1905 for which he appointed Italian architects. Several temples of this village were repaired with cement and only two temples still retain the original pieces. The Chandranath Shiva Temple built in 1939 was designed by an Italian person and bears plaques to commemorate Queen Victoria. The Dewanji Temple was constructed in 1840s.

Album picture of Hetampur Palace

Ganpur: The Ganpur royals belonged to the Chowdhury family who served under the Rajnagar rulers and later came under the jurisdiction of the colonial rule. A cluster of 5 Shiva temples although declared as heritage site were being so badly restored that the local people intervened and took to its maintenance. Another terracotta temple complex comprising of 25 Shiva temples dates back to 1770-1774. Rash festival is celebrated here.

Maluti: Situated at the Bengal – Jharkhand border, this village originally had 70 temples although very few now remain. It probably has some of the oldest temples of Bengal dating back to the 15^th century Bengal Sultanate.

Rajnagar was an Islamic state with a terracotta mosque which has lost much of its grandeur due to improper restoration

Pictures from Birbhum courtesy Immersive Trails

Hoogly

Antpur: Located near Tarakeshwar the most famous terracotta temple of Radha – Govinda - Jiu has a towering height of almost 100 feet. It was built by Krishnaram Mitra, Diwan of Burdwan in 1786. The adjacent Rajbalhat town has the picturesque Radhakantajiu temple.

Pictures from Antpur and Rajbalhat courtesy Dr. Sritama Mukherjee

The heritage towns of Guptipara, Tribeni and Bansberia houses some terracotta architectural splendours particularly the Hangsheswari Temple built between 1801 and 1814 by King Nrisinghadev, who had studied tantric philosophy in Benares and designed the temple accordingly. Guptipara terracotta temples dates back to the 17^th and 18^th centuries and is known as the Brindabanchandra Math comprising of four separate Vaishnava temples—Chaitanya, Brindabanchandra, Ramchandra and Krishnachandra. Parts of the Zafar Khan Gazi mosque built in 1298 also bear terracotta ornamentations. Encrypted figurines depicted Durga are found at Bali Dewanganj Durga mandir near Arambagh, Gupinath mandir Dashghara, Advaita mandir Nadia among several others.

Bishnupur and Bankura

The rulers of the Malla dynasty ruled the territory, which included present day Bankura, parts of Burdwan, Birbhum, Santhal Parganas, Midnapur, Purulia and south eastern Jharkahnd collectively known as the Mallabhum kingdom. Of the Bishnupur temples, majority are not of terracotta but made of laterite which has a more rough texture. The distinctive temple architecture is linked to the 16^th century Gaudiya Vaishnava devotional movement. The construction time of the terracotta temples ranges from 1622 to 1758. The notable ones built by the members of this dynasty are the Shyam Rai and Jor Bangla temples by Raghunath Singha, Malleshwar and Lalji temple by Bir Singha, Madan Mohan and Murali Mohan by Siromani, Jor Mandir by Gopal Singha, Radha Gobind by Krishna Singha and others.

Pictures from Mallabhum courtesy Dr. Sritama Mukherjee

Kolkata

During the reign of Chaitanya Singha Dev, Lord Madan Mohan left Mallabhum in accordance with the priest’s curse and is said to take shelter at the Madan Mohan temple presently a much crumbling architechture at Bagbazar in Kolkata. The original temple was destroyed in an earthquake and the present temple was built.

A group of 5 Shiva temple (one has become extinct) are present at Chitpore Road built in 1700 by Bishnuram Chakraborty is now almost in shambles and escapes the passerby's view easily.