Antpur

Antpur
আঁটপুর
village
Antpur
Antpur

Location in West Bengal, India

Coordinates: 22°45′58″N 88°22′59″E / 22.766°N 88.383°E / 22.766; 88.383Coordinates: 22°45′58″N 88°22′59″E / 22.766°N 88.383°E / 22.766; 88.383
Country  India
State West Bengal
District Hooghly
Government
 • Body Gram panchayat
Languages
 • Official Bengali, English
Time zone IST (UTC+5:30)
PIN 712424
Telephone code 91 3212 25

Antpur is a village in Jangipara community development bloc of the Srirampore subdivision in the Hooghly District in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is around 20 km from Tarakeswar, the famous temple town and railhead for the Sheoraphuli–Tarakeswar section.

History

The most famous temple in Antpur is that of Radhagovindjiu with exquisite terracotta carvings depicting stories from all the 18 puranas. This 100 feet high temple was constructed by Krishna Ram Mitra, the Diwan of Bardhaman Raj in 1786 (1708 Shakabda). Its Chandi Mandap and Dol Mancha have beautifully crafted wood carvings.[1]

Antpur Radhagovindjiu Temple

The period when the temple was built was curious. Muslim rule was ebbing out and the Europeans were making forays into the country. It is said that Krishna Ram Mitra built the temple to enthuse the Hindus. Terracota work which was earlier an exclusive preserve of Bishnupur artisans was no more so. While Radha and Krishna are predominant in the carvings, there also is the goddess Durga, whose worship had been revived in a big way by Nabakrishna Deb of Shovabazar Rajbari in 1757.[2]

Besides the main temple of Radhagovindjiu are the temples of Gangadhara, Fuleswara, Rameswara, Jaleswara and Baneswara.

Antpur was the village home of Baburam Ghosh (later Swami Premananda). It was at Antpur that Swami Vivekananda and eight other disciples of Sri Ramakrishna took their vow of ‘sannyasa’ on 24 December 1886. The Ramakrishna-Premananda Ashram of Antpur has built a temple on the birthplace of Swami Pramananda.[3]

Geography

Villages in Antpur panchayat are as follows: Atpur, Rajhati, Bilara, Lohagachhi, Ranibazar, Anarbati, Arabindapur, Tarajol, Raipur, Bamnagar, Tara, Palgachha, Kumarbazar, Ichhabati, Gopalpur, and Mirpur [4]

Demographics

As per 2011 Census of India Atpur had a total population of 2,623 of which 1,363 (52%) were males and 1,260 (48%) were females. Population below 6 years was 211. The total number of literates in Atpur was 1,957 (81.14% of the population over 6 years).[5]

Antpur had a population of 2,548 out of which 944 belonged to scheduled castes and 17 belonged to scheduled tribes.[4]

Economy

Antpur Radhagovindjiu Temple Terracotta details

Antpur's rural economy has developed due to the presence of the famous temples listed above. There is a constant stream of middle-class devotees who visit Antpur. The villagers are accustomed to vehicular traffic and other exposure to the life-styles of well-off Indians and foreigners.

Rajbalhat, 20 minutes by bus from Antpur, is famous for handloom saris.[2]

Transport

Now, one has to go to Antpur by road either directly from Kolkata or from Tarakeswar or Haripal. From Kolkata via Ahilyabai road up to Gazarmore Bus Stop22°47′58″N 88°04′52″E / 22.7995778°N 88.081004°E / 22.7995778; 88.081004, then from Gazarmore left turn, towards Antpure approx 6 km Or From Howrah, Tarekeswar / Arambag local, to Haripal, from haripal bus is available to antpur. Earlier Antpur was a station on the Howrah-Amta-Shiakhala-Champadanga narrow-gauge route of the Martin's Light Railways, a private rail service established in 1892. The rail company was shut down in 1971, and the tourist flow to the village declined gradually after that.[2][6]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Antpur.

References

  1. ↑ "HugeDomains.com - SeeMyIndia.com is for sale (See My India)". seemyindia.com.
  2. 1 2 3 "The Telegraph - Calcutta : Metro". telegraphindia.com.
  3. ↑ West Bengal tourism
  4. 1 2 "Census Data District Name: Hugli(12) Block Name: Jangipara (0016)". West Bengal Govt. Retrieved 2009-02-04.
  5. ↑ "C.D. Block Wise Primary Census Abstract Data(PCA)". 2011 census: West Bengal – District-wise CD Blocks. Registrar General and Census Commissioner, India. Retrieved 13 June 2016.
  6. ↑ The Hindu Business Line 24 July 2000

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 10/17/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.