Bishnupur and Joypur forest

Settlement began in Bishnupur when Maharaja Jagat Malla selected this place as the capital of his empire in 994 AD. He was the 18^th descendant of the Malla dynasty which was founded by King Adi Malla sometime around 694 AD. This year is taken as the beginning of the Malla calendar. As per legends, Maharaja Jagat Malla received divine vision from Mrinmayee, asking him to select Bishnupur as his capital and built her temple there. Since then, Bishnupur thrived through royal patronage setting up excellent standards in governance, warfare, trade, spirituality, architecture, music, literature and craftsmanship, making it one of the most prominent civilizations in India. The dynasty reached its crescendo under Maharaja Bir Hambir (1587-1619) whose artillery expertise earned him recognition from the Mughal emperor Akhbar. In his later life, Bir Hambir became an astute devotee of the Vaishnavaite religious movement under the tutelage of Srinibas Acharya. His descendants followed his spiritual call and thus built the several temples that are seen all over Bishnupur today.  The Malla dynasty survived in full grandeur till 1806 when during the East India Company rule, much of the kingdom was auctioned off. Sri Sri Kalipada was the last surviving ruler of the dynasty till his demise in 1983.

On reaching Bishnupur, a delectable yet homely Bengali lunch awaited us. The quintessential posto bora (poppy seed fritters) and a variety of sweet water fishes and sweets are the local delicacies here. Post lunch we took a walk along the picturesque dam, Lal Bandh. This water reservoir is the most prominent one among the seven dams and supplies water for drinking and agriculture to adjacent regions being situated at an elevated area. It was constructed by Maharaj Raghunath Singha Deb II in the 18^th century. Controversies exist regarding the naming of the dam. Some believe it was named after the household deity, Laljiu. Others opine that the name is associated with Lalbai who was a nauch girl. Due to the King’s infatuation with her, the queen drowned her along with her infant son at this very place. Today, the dam offers a scenic view. After the previous night’s rain, the foliage was washed clean, the surrounding trees were lush green and the gentle breeze made a pleasant ambience. 

The next destination was the Acharya Jogesh Chandra Purakirti Bhawan (Bishnupur Museum) is the only government art and archaeology museum in the Bankura district. It preserves regional heritage with over 5,000 manuscripts, medieval sculptures, folk art and crafts. Photographs, artifacts, and old musical instruments dedicated to the Bishnupur gharana are preserved here. The inception of the Bishnupur Gharana can be traced back to the 18th century. Under the patronage of Malla King Raghunath Singh Deo II, the Senia maestro Ustad Bahadur Khan arrive in Bengal when musicians were losing their support from the Mughal ruler, Aurangzeb. This is the sole classical music tradition of West Bengal, famous for its pure Dhrupad style, simple alaps, and serene emotional expression, often influenced by the local music flavour of Bengal. The lineage was carried forward by Ramshankar Bhattacharya, Jadunath Bhattacharya, Ramprasad Bandyopadhyay, Gyanendraprasad Goswami and several other maestros. Rabindranath Tagore received his training in this cult of classical music. The Archaeological section of the museum displays tools ranging from the Mesolithic, age, stone sculptures from the 10^th century and old coins. Near to this museum is the Sarbamagala mandir. Sri Sri Ramakrishna Paramhansa is said to have worshipped here.

The evening activities included the observance of arati (ritualistic homage) at the Madan mohan temple followed by shopping for local handicrafts. The pride of Bishnupur lies in its silk (including the exquisite handloom sari baluchori and swarnochori), terracotta (red clay) items, conch shell (shankha) bangles and decorative showpieces carved by skilled local Shankhabaniks, dashabatar tash and dhokra art. With our minds, stomach and bags full, we retired for the day.

Early next morning, we embarked on the temple trail. The terracotta temples of Bishnupur were built by Malla kings in the 17^th and 18^th centuries. They are on the UNESCO World Heritage tentative list since 1998, though final recognition is still pending. The first stop was Raashmancha built by Maharaja Bir Hambir around 1600 AD. Shaped in the form of a pyramid, this grand construction was used to celebrate Raash festival at an opulent scale where Radha-Krishna idols were brought from different areas. The Jor mandir comprises of three stone temples built by Maharaja Gopal Singhadeb in 1726. The Nandalal temple dates back to the second half of the 17^th century. Other significant temples worth visiting include Radhamadhab mandir (1737, Gopal Singhadeb), Kalachand mandir (1656, Maharaja Raghunath Singha), Radhagovinda mandir (1729, Gopal Singhadeb), Krishna-Balaram mandir, Shamray mandir (1643, Raghunath Singha), Radhashyam mandir (1758), Jor bangla mandir (1655, Raghunath Singha), Radhalaljiu mandir  (1658, Bir Singhadab), Radha Laljiu mandir (the most ancient one, now maintained by trustee) and Radhamadan Gopal mandir  (1665, Rani Shiromoni Debi, wife of Bir Singha). The deity which used to be worshipped here was Lord Krishna. The Shiva temples of Malleswar (1622, Dhari Hambir) and Sanreswar are estimated to be prior to Malla dynasty. The Madan mohan temple dates back to 1694 built by Maharaja Durjan Singha. This is one of the few temples where the idol still remains and is worshipped daily. 

Raashmancha

Laljiu temple

Radhamadhab and Kalachand temple

Madan Mohan Temple

Terracotta architechture at Madan Mohan temple

Radhashyam temple

Shyamrai temple

Jor Bangla temple

Apart from the temples, other architectural sites of stone and terracotta include gumgarh (used for crop storage or as prison) and the stone chariot. 

The main gateway and the small gateway stand amidst open fied, but these served as the entrance to the royal palace. Though the palace has succumbed to the forces of nature, the temple of the royal family remains. Goddess Durga is worshipped here, in the Mrinmayee mandir which is said to have been built in 997 AD by Maharaja Jagat Malla upon receiving a divine vision. Durga puja is still observed for 15 days along with symbolistic firing of cannon. 

One of the relatively recent temples is of Goddess Chinnamasta (1973) though the idol is of an earlier period. 

Adjacent to this temple is the massive cannon, Dal Madal Kaman, built under by Raja Gopal Singha in 1742 at the cost of Rs. 1.25 lakh, an enormous sum for the time. A popular local legend claims that it was miraculously fired by Lord Madan Mohan, to protect Bishnupur from the Maratha invader Bhaskar Rao.

Here we stopped over for breakfast comprising of kochuri-torkari, another favorite item of Bengal. Our minds were now satiated with the rich architectural heritage and the royal legacy of Bengal. Post lunch, while leaving the temple town, the road took us through the rain soaked, lush green Joypur forest. Nestled in the Jangalmahal region this forest is a calm sanctuary having dense canopies of Sal, Teak, Mahua, Kusum, Neem and Palash trees. A lucky tourist can get a glimpse of spotted deer, peacock, elephant and rare birds. The forest trail leads to the abandoned Basudevpur Aerodrome or Piardoba Airfield, a historic World War II military air base. Built around 1942, the nearly 2-kilometer concrete runway was used by the Allied forces and the US Army Air Forces (46^th Bombardment Group) before being abandoned in 1945. 

Winding up the whirlwind trip, we were left contemplating, how unassumingly Bishnupur caters to a nature lover, a spiritual seeker, a music aficionado, a history buff, an artist, an aesthetic individual and a casual traveler.