গড়বেতা ও তাঁরপার্শ্ববর্তী এলাকার ইতিহাস

How to Reach

From Santragachi Station, you can board the Rupasi Bangla Express in the morning or From HWH Station you can board the Puruia Express in the afternoon to reach Garbeta station.or You can board the Aranyak S.F. Express in the morning from Shalimar Station or Santragachi Station in the Morning to reach Garbeta Station.and you can also board the Shalimar Adra Rajya Rani Express in the morning from Shalimar Station to reach Garbeta Station.

From there, hire an auto/rickshaw/tootoo/Maruti Taxi to reach Gangani field. Buses are also available from Howrah, Kharagpur or and Midnapore.

Beginning of the 15th century. The territory of the King of Odisha, Purusottam Gajapati was extended to Medinipore and Hoogly. One of his sons, Pratap Rudra Gajapati got the right to rule the area of Garhbeta. He was known as Gajapati Sing. His two chief courtiers were Upendra Bhatta who was saintly and Rajadhar Roy who was very skill in his office. The then Emperor of Delhi was Mamud Shah.

He conferred the title of 'king' on Gajapati. Gajapati Sing died in 1420 A.D. Before his death Gajapati divided his kingdom between his two sons. The eldest son Dhanapati resided in the capital of Garhbeta. The youngest son Ganapati founded separate kingdom in Goaltore. Dhanapati suddenly died in 1440 A.D. Hambir Sing, the only son of Dhanapati succeeded the throne. He was drunken and disorderly.

He reigned for five years. He built a fort named Hambir Garh. Now it is Hoomgarh. When Hambir died in 1445 A.D. his son Raghunath was minor. Ganapati Sing of Goaltore built a fort at Nayabasat. Ganapati died without any issue. Hambir's son Ragunath Sing succeeded the entire kingdom of Bagri. The King's mother,Kalyan Kumari kept a check on the kingdom on behalf of minor Raghunath. In 1470 A.D. Raghunath became adult and took over the charge of the Kingdom.

He was an ideal and wise king. He built a recreation hall,a hall for prayer in the mouza of Malibagicha,a temple named Raghunath Bari.He introduced Dole festival of Sri Krishna Rai Jew. He divided land into three categories and collected, of production as revenue. To the north in the border of Malla Kingdom he installed military camp in Agragram (at present Agra). He extended his territory to Chnadrakona.

He had confrontation with the king of Maina. Bagri year started from 1481 A.D. Raghunath Sing was deeply shocked at the pre-mature death of his eldest son and this shock led him to death in 1540 A.D. After the death of Raghunath Sing his second son Chitra Sing became the king of Bagri. He was arrogant, proud, worthless and fond of luxury. He eloped a woman Tulshi by name and installed her in a palace built by him in a place to the South of Garhbeta. He used to go there every now and then. Gradually the place became populated.

The present name of the place is Tulsi Chati. Oppression of Chitra Sing became unbearable to the subjects and they began to flee to the kingdom of the Malla King of Bishnupur. In 1548 A.D. the Malla King availabled himself of the chance and suddenly attacked the capital of Bogri. Chitra Sing was engaged in hilarity. Unprotected helpless king Chitra Sing committed suicide with his family jumping in the pond of the pleasure garden. Original king dynasty of Garhbeta ends here.

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Gangani (The Grand Canyon of Bengal), Garhbeta - One of the most famous spot of Garhbeta is "Gangani". Its a Natural Hill spot in the river bank, and also a very popular picnic spot,In bygone days Garbeta was prosperous settlement and town. Once it was under Bagri Pargana, Bagri is derived from Bakdihi.

In ancient texts, Bakdihi is mentioned as ‘Bakdweep’. Garbeta or Bagri has a keen relationship with the episode of Bak-rakshas (Bak, the demon) which is narrated in the Mahabharata.

Gangani Gallery

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See the high-Height Drone Video_Segment

Either it’s nothing or it’s something more than extraordinary. That’s what I was thinking as I stood mesmerised on the field overlooking the colossal ruins of Gangani. It’s nature’s creation at its best. If you haven’t been to the US ever and want to see The Grand Canyon in miniature form, visit this place, at Garbeta in West Midnapore.

See the Video Segment-1

With the Shilabati river flowing through a 70ft-deep gorge and the adjoining places taking the form of different shapes and figures because of erosion, it’s a treat to the eye. The formations on the wall of the gorge spreading from east to west are something similar to the archaeological sculptures of Ajanta and Ellora but the only difference is that the ones at Gangani were not created by human hand.
There was a pagoda-shaped formation that caught my attention even from a distance. Unless known beforehand one would never be able to identify that it was an effect of erosion on rocks, not a manmade shrine! It’s really astonishing how effortlessly nature can make such creations.

See the Video Segment-2

After taking a bird’s-eye view of the area for some time, I decided to get a closer look. The steps carved into the side of the hill made of red laterite soil took me down.As I moved slowly on the grassy field,various structures and sights came into view.
All the structures, namely fort, lion, ship, pillar and more, appeared very much alive.

When I stood below the fort, I got the feeling that the guards from the pillars were shouting at me, forbidding me to move ahead. The lion sitting on the top of the wall seemed to be guarding the main gate of a palace.
As I was walking through the ruins, I felt as if I was transported to a historic age in a time machine.

I went in front of the pagoda-like structure seen from the top and even a critical look up close could not disperse my feelings that it was not a real pagoda but a natural lookalike.

See the Video Segment-3

After wandering for some time we sat on the bank of Shilabati, which was running almost dry. We saw some local people catching fish in the knee-deep water.
Afternoon had already passed and evening was approaching fast. The red colour of the walls of the gorge was further deepened by the rays of the setting sun. The whole place seemed to be on fire.

Slowly the light died and soon an absolute darkness engulfed the place. We sat there wondering whether any modern laser show could match the lighting effect of nature we just witnessed.

Besides the field of Gangani, there are some other places like the Sarbamangala Mandir and Radhaballav Mandir,Krishna Rai Jiu at Bagri Krisnanagar that you can visit in Garbeta. History and myths are attached with all of them.

Silabati River

The Silabati River (also known as Silai) originates in the terrain of the Chhota Nagpur Plateau in the Purulia district of the state of West Bengal in eastern India. It flows in an almost southeasterly direction through the districts of Bankura and West Midnapore.

The Silabati joins the Dwarakeswar near Ghatal and afterwards is known as Rupnarayan.
It finally joins the Hooghly River, which empties into the Bay of Bengal.
Almost every year the Silabati causes flooding, particularly in Banka, Khirpai and Ghatal area. There is a small reservoir on the Silabati near Khatra known as kadam dewli dam where a canal from Mukutmanipur Kangsabati dam meets.

Gangani Grand Canyon of Bengal

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অনুমান করা হয় যে বগড়ী বিরাজিত 'শ্রীশ্রী ঁকৃষ্ণ রায় জিউ ঠাকুর' এই বিগ্রহটিকে শ্রী ধাম পুরী থেকেই আনা হয়েছিল সময়টাও আনুমানিক খ্রীষ্টিয় চতুর্দশ শতাব্দীর শেষ দশকে,

তারপর প্রায় ৭০ বছর পরে শ্রী রাধিকার মূর্তি প্রতিষ্ঠা হন, সেই সময় থেকেই বগড়ির রথযাত্রার সূত্রপাত।

রথটি কাঠের মিস্ত্রিগনতা তৈরি করতেন,রথটি কাঠের নয়চূড় বিশিষ্ট বিশালাকার ছিল, স্থানীয় সূত্রধর ছেতার মিস্ত্রীগন তা তৈরি করতেন ।

আগে শীলাবতী নদীর উত্তর পার্শে বর্তমান নিজ মন্দির থেকে ১কিমি পূর্বে ঠাকুরের মাসির বাড়ী ছিল,
এখানে যুগল মূর্তি রথের সময় ৮দিন অবস্থান করে নবম দিনে শুক্লা একাদশী তিথিতে পুর্নযাত্রা সম্পন্ন করে কৃষ্ণনগরে নিজ মন্দিরে অবস্থান করতেন,কিন্তু সেই মাসির বাড়ীর মন্দির শীলাবতী নদীর গর্ভে বিলীন হওয়ায় ১৯৩৮ সালে কেওটড়া গ্রামে বিখ্যাত অধিকারী পরিবার ঠাকুরকে মায়তা মৌজায় ১৩.১৭ একর পরিমান জমি দান করেন,(Deed No-111,Dated-28.1.1938),

See the Video Segment- 1 -

তারপর ঐ স্থানে তেলিবনি গ্রাম নিবাসী সরকারি কর্মচারী কৃষ্ণপ্রসাদ গোস্বামী মহাশয়ের অর্থানুকূল্যে একটি মাসির বাড়ীর মন্দির তৈরি হয়,

See the Video Segment- 2 -
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2U_n5VyLToc[/embedyt]

তদবধি বগড়ীর রথযাত্রার নিজ বাড়ীতেই অনুষ্ঠিত হয়ে আসছে,বর্তমানে রথটি লোহার তৈরি প্রায় ২৫ফুট উচ্চতা বিশিষ্ট’১৯৭৮সালে প্রবল বন্যার পূর্বে ঠাকুর রথের সময় মাসির বাড়ীতে ৮দিন অবস্থান করে নবম দিনে নিজ মন্দিরে ফিরে যেতেন,[show_more more= show_more less= show_less color=#E3423E align=right list=» size=120]কিন্তু বন্যায় কৃষ্ণনগর মন্দিরের প্রভূত ক্ষতি হওয়ায় রথের পর অগ্রহায়ন রাশযাত্রা পর্যন্ত মায়তায় মাসির বাড়ীতে অবস্থান করেন।

See the Video Segment- 3 -

** Bagri's Krishnarai Jiu Temple - The temple is situated at the left bunk of river Silaboti. The first king of Bagri Gajapati Singha's minister Rajyadhar roy built this temple.

See the Video Segment- 4 -