After a month on my way to another opportunity to travel with my camera on a lazy Sunday I do not know why I chose Chandraketugarh. If you ask me, how nice it is when someone wants to take pictures? It is ok enough to make you frustrated when you can press just one click.
Initially I also found myself in a similar way once I hit the place. Usually I only get the Sundays to be with my camera after a hectic week in work place, so do not want to spare the last breath out of it.
But at the end of the day, I realized that I would have missed to get the flavour of an ancient port city of almost the 3rd century BC( during the pre-Mauryan era), also I would have missed the experience of watching a truly brilliant collections of ancient artefacts recovered from the buried history of Chandraketu garh by Mr Dilip Kumar Maite who has done this yet unfinished job by his own interest & will power and surely I would have missed the pain while knowing the fact that still a huge part of that ancient city is buried under the ground and is in the process of degradation due to the negligence of our government.
The easiest way of chandraketugarh is to take a local train from sealda (Hasnabad local) to Haroa Road or one can take a bus for berachampa from Barasat or Ultodanga.
The seven mile long and one mile wide stretch south of Berachampa is archeologically most important though the things are still buried. Occasionally you will be able to find high end places (Dhipi in local language). Local people say whenever any land has been dug(for any reason building houses or road) artefacts found.
We went through train, took Hasnabad Local at 7.45 AM from sealda and get down at Haroa Road. It took almost 1 and ½ hour.
From Haroa Road you will get the motor Riksha van for Berachampa.
Just a minute walk from Berachampa main road one can reach the excavation site (called Khana Mihirer Dhipi).
This is the only portion where excavation has been finished.
At the town I heard about Mr Dilip Kumar maite .By his own interest he collected some precious artefacts from the place and preserved it in his own resident by the name of Chandraketu garh Pratna Sangrahalaya .
He made it open for visitors. You can hear like “Dilip Maite’s Museum” from the local people. He is quite famous in the berachampa by his unique endeavour. Never miss to experience his collections if you will ever plan for Berachampa.
From Berachampa we took a Motor Riksha Van again and landed to the Chandraketugarh( it is named as Garh by local people). The place is in between Berachampa and Haroa Road station. From the main road where we have landed, we walked half a kilometre interior to reach the place which is called Garh by locals. If you thought of to see a ruined fort, as the name suggest, then you might get frustrated.
What you will be able to see there is a ½ Km long high end place (called Diphi by local people). But once you walk through the place you can easily notice the part of red bricks buried under your shoe.
You can feel them while step ahead your path .Imagine you are walking over the 2000 years old city.
We failed to understand due to why some mystical reason ASI has stopped the excavation in the place.
We saw the local people are cutting up the trees from the restricted area by digging the place and when I tried to click them I was refused strongly. These immensely important historical significance is now depends upon the whim and fancies of our Government and getting more vulnerable every day.
Leaving the pain behind we thought of to get some fresh air on the coast.
Approximate 7 KM from the Garh we reached at Bidyadhari river at Haroa, a small town.
You always love the experience to roam in villages of Bengal when autumn is at your door step.
Occasionally you can able to find unknown flowers in your path with squirrel playing on trees.
We are thrilled to see the bright sky for a long time, don’t know why I found the sky is more blue than in Kolkata. :-)
We went back by the 2.45PM Local from Haroa Road station with the bunch of memories and desire of revisit to experience it with a little different way.
Courtesy: Atish .. ( who has planned our weekend trip with his great enthusiasm always) :-)
