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                                                             Siddhanath Temple Author - Biswarup Chatterjee .            CoochBehar, the land steeped in the fragrance of temple as well as one of the most culturally which district of West Bengal. Across this region there are new model Shines dedicated to Lord Krishna/Madan Mohan, Lord Shiva and Goddess Kali. mean of which a steel carrying the legacy of the royal era. After the dissolution of the monarchy the responsibility of the daily worshipping and maintenance of the temple as well as the deity shifted under the Debottar trust board of Coochbehar under the West Bengal Tourism Department. Among these shrines the renowned Siddhanath Temple of Dhaluabari stands a remarkable example of the famous terracotta artistry.  Location and Access ...

  Author - Biswarup Chatterjee.                  Cooch Behar constitutes one of the principal riverine and agrarian districts of West Bengal, where men and women engage in a wide range of rituals, ceremonies, and forms of worship throughout the year. Each festival observed in this district is marked by prescribed customs and rituals, performed on fixed dates and times. Significantly, the majority of participants in these vows (vratas), festivals (parvans), and related observances are women, among whom unmarried girls often play a particularly prominent role.         As in many other districts of West Bengal, the practice of drawing alpana (ritual floor designs) is an integral feature of festivals and religious occasions in Cooch Behar. A notable example is the Pusuna ritual among the Rajbanshi community, which parallels the Poush Parvan observed in East Bengal. Many such rituals retain elements of magical orientation ...

            (Courtesy: https://share.google/images/kRudVtaFMLQJuWAve) Author - Biswarup Chatterjee  . Introduction         In the rural hinterlands of Bengal, the worship and ritual observances of numerous folk deities are often represented in peculiar and fearsome forms which continue to persist to the present day. In the remotest villages of Bangladesh today, one can witness the worship and festivals dedicated to this type of terrifying folk deities. Among them, the ‘Pāñcu’ or ‘Pẽcho Ṭhākur’ holds a distinctive place. The name Pẽcho is more commonly used among villagers. Local belief identifies him as both a protector and destroyer of children, a deity of fierceness and temper in a terrifying form, and wholly primitive imagination. His idols, as they survive today, retain almost unaltered features of archaic religious conception and primordial sculptural design. Iconography of Pāñcu Ṭhākur         Pāñcu Ṭhāku...

         Courtesy: https://images.app.goo.gl/PwtGtQVvTjaftdrB9 Author: Biswarup Chatterjee          In the village of Patharshon (~26.12 to 26.14 °N ~89.45 to 89.48 °E), located in the Bamanhat region of Dinhata subdivision, lies a significant idol of goddess Kali of the district, popularly known as the “Mādhāikhāler Kālīṭhākurāni” (Goddess Kali of Madhai Khal, Figure - 00),” The deity is worshipped by the people of all communities. Every year, the worship begins on the Saturday or Tuesday following the Aṣṭamī Tithi (অষ্টমী তিথি) refers to the eighth lunar day in the Hindu lunar calendar. Each lunar month is divided into two halves — the waxing phase (Śukla Pakṣa) and the waning phase (Kṛiṣňa Pakṣa). Aṣṭamī occurs twice in every lunar month: ) of the month of Chaitra (twelfth month in the Bengali calendar and the first month in the Hindu lunar calendar. It usually falls between mid-March and mid-April in the Gregorian calendar.) and co...