Khardaha
Encyclopedia
Khardaha is a city, a municipality
and police station of Barrackpore subdivision
in North 24 Parganas district
in the India
n state
of West Bengal
. It is a part of the area covered by Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority
.
Local stories date it back to the time of Sri Nityananda Prabhu. It is said that he once arrive to this place in a boat of hay ('Khar' in Bengali) and hence the name Khardaha. "Daha" means water bodies. It was full of water bodies at that time as it was for the entire southern part of Bengal.
Unlike the warren of tiny airless brick boxes where the workforce survives, most of the houses of upper caste Bengalis are well constructed. They have seen better days, but are still distinguished by columns, thakurdalans and ornamental grilles. Rabindranath had sojourned in Khardah in a house swallowed by the river.
The Vaishnavite cult has left its mark on Khardah. Nityananda Prabhu, a disciple of Sri Krishna Chaitanya, had settled in a thatched hut here. It is now a humble brick structure known as Kunjabati. His son Bir Bhadra Goswami had started the worship of Shyamsundar that subsequently became the presiding deity of Khardah.
It is said that about 250 years ago, a woman named Pateswari Ma Goswami had raised the famous Shyamsundar temple that dominates Raskhola, after her husband, who had been imprisoned by Nawab Alibardi Khan, was released.
The temple compound has a large kitchen and natmancha, and close to the Hooghly banks are the ratha-shaped Rasmancha and Dolmancha. The sanctity of the Dolmancha has been violated by blocking the archway. Recent attempts at decorating the main temple with white panels depicting Krishnalila are quite appalling. Adjacent to the Shyamsundar temple is a smaller one dedicated to Madanmohan. Khardah is famous for its Ras and Dol celebrations.
A short walk from Shyamsundar leads to another fascinating complex of 26 dochala Shiva temples. These are mostly dilapidated but are being restored by the Archaeological Survey of India. They were constructed in the early 19th century by Ramhari Biswas and his son Prankrishna, whose ambition it was to establish a Ratnabedi like the one in Puri with one lakh Shiva lingas. He managed to gather about 80,000 before his death. The ornamented door frames of the 26 temples are from the Gaur ruins. The navaratna Mahaprabhu temple with nine spires is on the way to the temple complex.
A large chunk of the mill labour force in Khardah is Muslim. In 1907 these poor workers had built a magnificent mosque on MG Road (formerly Trever Road). Its portal and minarets and walls of the inner sanctum are richly embellished with tiny ceramic tiles in bright hues that create the effect of minakari. Calcutta once had several mosques decorated with crazy China mosaic. The glazed surfaces of most are chipped. But the Khardah mosque is in mint condition.
on the Sealdah
-Ranaghat
section, sandwiched between Sodepur
(to the south) and Titagarh
(to the north). Usually, the western side of the rail-station is called Khardaha and the eastern side is called Rahara. Khardaha is only 20 km away from Calcutta city center.
The western part of Khardaha is a much older settlement. The eastern part Rahara is a much newer settlement. It used to be dense forest even 200 years back. The place was named after famous Portuguese dacoit "Rada" (pronunciation - Raw-ra) of late 17th Century.
Khardaha is 19 km from Sealdah Station, on the Sealdah-Naihati
section of Eastern Railway
.
The culture of Khardah is very rich, Administration is very strong.
The majority of population work in service sector in nearby Calcutta. Some grow vegetables in the nearby fields. There are also some manufacturing units located on the main arterial road BT road. Rest are traders and there are many small trades in the area.
, Khardaha had a population of 116,252. Males constitute 53% of the population and females 47%. Khardaha has an average literacy rate of 81%, higher than the national average of 75%: male literacy is 83%, and female literacy is 79%. In Khardaha, 8% of the population is under 6 years of age.
An overwhelming majority of the population is Hindu Bengali having fled from what is now Bangladesh following religious persecution in the hands of Muslims majority of that area.
Bengali is the most widely spoken language, though Hindi and English is also understood.
.
There is one state run Hospital named Balaram hospital located at Khardah.There is a local municipality run clinic at Kalyannagar locality having dialysis facility.There are also a few private nursing homes.
Municipality
A municipality is essentially an urban administrative division having corporate status and usually powers of self-government. It can also be used to mean the governing body of a municipality. A municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district...
and police station of Barrackpore subdivision
Barrackpore subdivision
Barrackpore subdivision , is a subdivision of the North 24 Parganas district in the state of West Bengal, India. It consists of sixteen municipalities , one Cantonment Board ,...
in North 24 Parganas district
North 24 Parganas district
North 24 Parganas district is a district in southern West Bengal, of eastern India. North 24 Parganas extends in the [tropical zone] from latitude 22º11'6" north to 23º15'2" north and from longitude 88º20' east to 89º5' east...
in the India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n state
States and territories of India
India is a federal union of states comprising twenty-eight states and seven union territories. The states and territories are further subdivided into districts and so on.-List of states and territories:...
of West Bengal
West Bengal
West Bengal is a state in the eastern region of India and is the nation's fourth-most populous. It is also the seventh-most populous sub-national entity in the world, with over 91 million inhabitants. A major agricultural producer, West Bengal is the sixth-largest contributor to India's GDP...
. It is a part of the area covered by Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority
Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority
Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority is the statutory planning and development authority for the Kolkata Metropolitan Area in the state of West Bengal, India. The organisation was previously known as Calcutta Metropolitan Development Authority and still retains the previous logo...
.
Local stories date it back to the time of Sri Nityananda Prabhu. It is said that he once arrive to this place in a boat of hay ('Khar' in Bengali) and hence the name Khardaha. "Daha" means water bodies. It was full of water bodies at that time as it was for the entire southern part of Bengal.
Overview
Khardah is five railway stations away from Sealdah. Along with Belgharia and Agarpara, this township falls in what used to be the industrial belt of Bengal. The thousands of workers who had migrated here about a century ago from Bihar and Orissa form a large part of the populace and give it a distinctive colour. Close by, what used to be known as the coolie lines are several paras where caste Hindus live.Unlike the warren of tiny airless brick boxes where the workforce survives, most of the houses of upper caste Bengalis are well constructed. They have seen better days, but are still distinguished by columns, thakurdalans and ornamental grilles. Rabindranath had sojourned in Khardah in a house swallowed by the river.
The Vaishnavite cult has left its mark on Khardah. Nityananda Prabhu, a disciple of Sri Krishna Chaitanya, had settled in a thatched hut here. It is now a humble brick structure known as Kunjabati. His son Bir Bhadra Goswami had started the worship of Shyamsundar that subsequently became the presiding deity of Khardah.
It is said that about 250 years ago, a woman named Pateswari Ma Goswami had raised the famous Shyamsundar temple that dominates Raskhola, after her husband, who had been imprisoned by Nawab Alibardi Khan, was released.
The temple compound has a large kitchen and natmancha, and close to the Hooghly banks are the ratha-shaped Rasmancha and Dolmancha. The sanctity of the Dolmancha has been violated by blocking the archway. Recent attempts at decorating the main temple with white panels depicting Krishnalila are quite appalling. Adjacent to the Shyamsundar temple is a smaller one dedicated to Madanmohan. Khardah is famous for its Ras and Dol celebrations.
A short walk from Shyamsundar leads to another fascinating complex of 26 dochala Shiva temples. These are mostly dilapidated but are being restored by the Archaeological Survey of India. They were constructed in the early 19th century by Ramhari Biswas and his son Prankrishna, whose ambition it was to establish a Ratnabedi like the one in Puri with one lakh Shiva lingas. He managed to gather about 80,000 before his death. The ornamented door frames of the 26 temples are from the Gaur ruins. The navaratna Mahaprabhu temple with nine spires is on the way to the temple complex.
A large chunk of the mill labour force in Khardah is Muslim. In 1907 these poor workers had built a magnificent mosque on MG Road (formerly Trever Road). Its portal and minarets and walls of the inner sanctum are richly embellished with tiny ceramic tiles in bright hues that create the effect of minakari. Calcutta once had several mosques decorated with crazy China mosaic. The glazed surfaces of most are chipped. But the Khardah mosque is in mint condition.
Geography
Khardaha is located at 22.72°N 88.38°E. It has an average elevation of 15 m (49.2 ft). It is a rail-stationTrain station
A train station, also called a railroad station or railway station and often shortened to just station,"Station" is commonly understood to mean "train station" unless otherwise qualified. This is evident from dictionary entries e.g...
on the Sealdah
Sealdah
Sealdah is one of the major train stations serving Kolkata in India, the others being Howrah Station, Shalimar Station and Kolkata Railway Station. Sealdah is one of the busiest rail stations in India and an important suburban rail terminal...
-Ranaghat
Ranaghat
Ranaghat is a city in the district of Nadia, West Bengal, India. It is situated 74 kilometres north of Calcutta. It is known for its handloom industry, various types of flowers and sweet dishes. The town has spread up along its borders in all corners recently. People from the nearby places do come...
section, sandwiched between Sodepur
Sodepur
Sodepur is a small town yet very fast growing upmarket residencial suburb located about 15 km from Kolkata, which is one of the major Indian cities. Sodepur is a part of the Panihati Municipality under Barrackpore sub-division and North 24 Parganas district of the state of West Bengal...
(to the south) and Titagarh
Titagarh
Titagarh is a city and a municipality in North 24 Parganas district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is a part of the area covered by Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority.-Geography:...
(to the north). Usually, the western side of the rail-station is called Khardaha and the eastern side is called Rahara. Khardaha is only 20 km away from Calcutta city center.
The western part of Khardaha is a much older settlement. The eastern part Rahara is a much newer settlement. It used to be dense forest even 200 years back. The place was named after famous Portuguese dacoit "Rada" (pronunciation - Raw-ra) of late 17th Century.
Khardaha is 19 km from Sealdah Station, on the Sealdah-Naihati
Naihati
Naihati is a town and an important railway junction station on the Indian Railways network, in the district of North 24 Parganas, West Bengal, India.-Geography:Naihati is located at...
section of Eastern Railway
Eastern Railway (India)
The Eastern Railway is one of the 17 zones of the Indian Railways. Its headquarters is at Fairley Place, Kolkata, and comprises four divisions: Howrah, Malda, Sealdah, and Asansol. These are the financial departments and each has an assistant divisional financial manager , divisional railway...
.
The culture of Khardah is very rich, Administration is very strong.
Economy
Over time it became prosperous because of its proximity to Calcutta. One jamindar (landlord of a vast area) built 26 Shiv Temples here similar to Benaras so that people didn't have to go to Benaras.The majority of population work in service sector in nearby Calcutta. Some grow vegetables in the nearby fields. There are also some manufacturing units located on the main arterial road BT road. Rest are traders and there are many small trades in the area.
Demographics
India censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
, Khardaha had a population of 116,252. Males constitute 53% of the population and females 47%. Khardaha has an average literacy rate of 81%, higher than the national average of 75%: male literacy is 83%, and female literacy is 79%. In Khardaha, 8% of the population is under 6 years of age.
An overwhelming majority of the population is Hindu Bengali having fled from what is now Bangladesh following religious persecution in the hands of Muslims majority of that area.
Bengali is the most widely spoken language, though Hindi and English is also understood.
Healthcare
North 24 Parganas district has been identified as one of the areas where ground water is affected by arsenic contaminationArsenic contamination of groundwater
Arsenic contamination of groundwater is a natural occurring high concentration of arsenic in deeper levels of groundwater, which became a high-profile problem in recent years due to the use of deep tubewells for water supply in the Ganges Delta, causing serious arsenic poisoning to large numbers of...
.
There is one state run Hospital named Balaram hospital located at Khardah.There is a local municipality run clinic at Kalyannagar locality having dialysis facility.There are also a few private nursing homes.
Places of interest
- Kardaha Shyamsundar Temple (Take AutoRishkaw From Khardah Railway station)
- Ramakrishna Mission, Rahara: An educational (and humanitarian) institution
- Radha-Krishna Mandir: A nice Vaishnav temple at the bank of the Ganges
- Vivekananda Stadium (Near Dangapara—Take riksaw from Khardah Railway Station)
- 26 Shiv Temple (A great place to visit: make sure to visit there)
- Hari Sava Rahara
- Khardah Gosto Mandir
- Khardaha Kunja Bati Yatri Nibas newly open(auto from station)
- Vasha Sahid Uddyan - A great place to visit: make sure to visit there- Near Feri Ghat--- Take Auto or Riksaw from Khardah Railway Station)
- Balaram Hospital,Khardah,(Take Auto or Riksaw from Khardah Railway Station)
- Goodwill Hospital, Rahara ( Near Uttarpara---- take Riksaw from Khardah Railway Station)
- Famous Bengali Singer Parnava Banerjee lives here at Madhyapara,Rahara.