Malda Tourist Places list
Site Name: Malda.
Site Type: Temples.
Location: "Mango City", is a city and a
municipality in Malda district in the Indian state of West Bengal. English
Bazar is located at 25.00°N 88.15°E.
Nearest Railway
Station: Malda Town.
Nearest
Airport: Kolkata.
How to Reach: Malda
Town lies on National Highway 34, and all buses plying from Kolkata to Siliguri
in the North will give a halt at Malda. By road it is 300 kms away from
Kolkata, the main city of the state of West Bengal. Malda is well connected by
Railways. There are some direct trains from the local main station, i.e. Malda
Town; connecting Bangalore, Chennai, Bhubaneswar, Kolkata, Dibrugarh, New Delhi
etc. Again all trains travelling from Kolkata to North Bengal and North East,
gives a halt at Malda Town. There is a night service train till Malda Town
(Gour Express) is a good train. At present, there is no airport, but land has
been identified for setting up a new airport.Since July 2012 a Shatabdi Express
train (12041/12042)which has statrted running between Howrah and New Jalpaiguri
also stops at Malda Town station.This train takes thte shortest time to reach
Malda from Kolkata.
Around in Malda:
By auto rickshaw. Cars are also available for hire.
Hotel in Malda:
Malda
Tourist Lodge (West Bengal Tourism), Telephone +91 3512 220 123, +91 3512 220
991, Rooms Rs. 150-600, Dormitory Rs 80.
Purbachal,
Telephone +91 3512 220 183, Rooms Rs. 250-650
Continental,
Telephone +91 3512 220 388, Rooms Rs. 200-500
Hotel
Purbanchal, Telephone +91 3512 266 183, +91 3512 267 187
Hotel
Landmark, Telephone +91 3512 221 184
Hotel
New Heaven, Telephone +91 3512 252 735
Hotel
Chanakya, Telephone +91 3512 266 694
Hotel
Meghdoot, Telephone +91 3512 266 216
Hotel
Kalinga, Telephone +91 3512 283 567
New
Circuit House, for booking write or fax to: District Magistrate, Malda –
732101, Telephone +91 3512 252 330, Fax +91 3512 253 092, +91 3512 253 049
_____________________________________________________________________________________
English
Bazar or Ingrāj Bäzär (Bengali: ইংরেজবাজার),
better known as Malda, called the "Mango City", is a city and a
municipality in Malda district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It serves as
the district headquarters. Malda is located on the banks of the river Mahananda.
It is the sixth largest city in West Bengal[3] and second largest city (after
Siliguri) in North Bengal. Malda is nominated for becoming a municipal
corporation (both English Bazar municipality and Old Malda municipality).
History: English
Bazar is situated in between the ancient historical cities of Gaur and Pandua.
The city, however, came to be much later, around mid 18th century. It was once
known as Engelzavad established by the British rulers. In 1813 a joint
magistrate and deputy collector were appointed, and in 1832 a treasury was
opened.
Firoj
Minar at Gour
The
gateway of North Bengal, Malda was once the capital of Gour-Banga, with 3456
km² of land classified as Tal, Diara, and Barind. Malda awaits the advent of
tourists and people of archaeological interest with its wealth to be enjoyed
and its huge potential to be explored.
This
portion of the earth is washed by the waves of the rivers Ganges, Mahananda,
Fulahar, and Kalindri. It has witnessed different empires which were raised,
flourished, and then cast down near oblivion by a successor kingdom built up on
the relics of its predecessor. Panini mentioned a city named Gourpura, which by
strong reason may be identified as the city of Gouda, ruins of which are
situated in this district. Examples are legion of the relic of a predecessor
kingdom being used in the monuments of the successor kingdoms.
It
had been within the limits of ancient ‘Gaur’ and ‘Pandua’ (Pundrabardhana).
These two cities had been the capital of Bengal in ancient and medieval ages
and are equidistant, north and south, from the town of English Bazar (once
known as Engelzavad, established by the British rulers).
The
boundary of Gour was changed in different ages since 5th century BC. Its name
can be found in Puranic texts. Pundranagar was the provincial capital of Maurya
Empire.
Gour
and Pundrabardhana formed parts of the Mourya empire as is evinced from the
inscriptions, Brahmilipi on a seal discovered from the ruins of Mahasthangarh
in the Bogura District of Bangladesh. Hiuen Tsang saw many Ashokan stupas at
Pundrabardhana.
The
inscriptions discovered in the district of undivided Dinajpur and other parts
of North Bengal along with the Allahabad pillar inscriptions of Samudragupta
clearly indicate that the whole of North Bengal as far east as Kamrup formed a
part of the Gupta empire.
After
the Guptas in the early 7th century AD, king Sasanka of Karnasubarna as well as
the king of Gaur ruled independently for more than three decades. From the
middle of 8th century to the end of 11th century, the Pala Empire ruled Bengal
and the kings were devoted to Buddhism. It was during their reign that the
Jagadalla Vihara (monastery) in Barindri flourished paralleling with Nalanda,
Vikramshila, and Devikot.
The
Pala Dynasty yielded to the emergence of Sena Empire. The Sen rulers were
Hindus and in the habit of moving from place to place within their kingdom. At
the time of Lakshman Sen Goud was known as Lakshmanabati. The Sen kings ruled
Bengal till Bakhtiyar Khilji conquered Bengal in 1204 AD.
Thereafter
the Muslim rule lasted for about five hundred years. Sirajuddaulah was defeated
by Lord Clive at the battle of Plassey in 1757, which marked the beginning of
British rule. From ancient times, rulers of various origins, religions, and
dynasties left imprints of their times on the earth in this district. Those who
left ruins and relics speak of past pomp and grandeur, and hold interest for
archaeologists and tourists.
This
district formed in 1813 out of the outlying areas of Purnia, Dinajpur, and
Rajshahi districts. At the time of Dr. B. Hamilton (1808–09), the presents
thanas of Gazole, Malda, Bamongola, and part of Habibpur were included in the
district of Dinajpur and the thanas of Harischandrapur, Kharba, Ratua,
Manikchak, and Kaliachak were included in the district of Purnia. In 1813, in
consequence of the prevalence of serious crimes in the Kaliachak and Sahebganj
thanas and also on the rivers, a joint magistrate and deputy collector were appointed
at English Bazar with jurisdiction over a number of police stations centered
around that place and taken from the two district. Thus the district of Malda
was born. The year 1832 saw the establishment of a separate treasury, and in
1859 a full-fledged magistrate and collector was posted.
Up
to 1876 this district formed part of Rajshahi Division, and from 1876 to 1905
it formed part of Bhagalpur Division. In 1905, it was again transferred to
Rajshahi Division, and until 1947 Malda remained in this division. In August of
1947 this district was affected by the Partition of India. Between August 12th
to 15th, 1947 whether the district would become part of India or Pakistan was
unknown, as the announcement of the Radcliffe Line did not make this point clear.
During these few days the district was under a magistrate of East Pakistan
until the details of the Radcliffe award were published and the district became
part of West Bengal on the 17th of August 1947. Five thanas were given to
Pakistan by mistake.
Place of Interest:
Surroundings of Malda Town is of
immense importance to the Archiological Dept. of India. All the sites are
mainatined by Archiological Survey of India. Some famous spots are :-
Gour - Once the capital of Bengal, and
there are in total 5 different spots which can be seen. The original foot
prints of Lord Mohammad is preserved here. The entire area is well preserved by
ASI, but the road leading to Gour from Malda Town is in a pathetic state.
Adina (Pandua) - A large mosque of the
16th century is build here and Tombs of various Muslim saints are visible here.
Jagjivanpur - A Buddhist heritage site.
Farakka Barrage - Down south of Malda
Town is the famous Farakka Barrage, a famous picnic spot, but the view from the
other side of the entire Dam will surely give you goosebums. NTPC factory can
be viwed from here and one of the NTPC colonies is well managed. A open air
restaurant is also available here. On Sundays a lot of employees of NTPC does
fishing in the large lake situated here.
Deer Park - Just accross the National
Highway from Pandua is a well preserved Deer Park. This is controlled by the
Forest Dept, and one can witness migratory birds during winter.
Indo-Bangla Border - Malda Town is
situated just 10 kms away from the international Border. Tourists can visit the
area during day time, but with prior permission of the Border Security Force. A
identity proof should be carried with you at this point.
Jouhra Kali Bari - A century old temple
dedicated to Ma Kali. It is advisable to visit this temple with some time in
hand, as the line to offer Puja gets pretty long.
Shop: ‘Himsagar’
is a type of Bengal mango that is considered to be one of the most lip-smacking
varieties of mangoes available in the market today. However, unlike the market
ruler ‘Alphonso’, ‘Himsagar’ is yet to gain popularity abroad. And other
types/varieties of mangoes that are available in Malda , which can be bought
and gifted
Langra
Gopalbhog Khirsapat Phojli Assina Amrapali Lokhonbhog
Food: Malda
is famous fo special varieties of mango that are available in summer.Also,there
are two special variety of sweets available only in Malda viz. Kansat Chamcham
and Rosokadamba.One can try Aamsatwa made from mango,the most famous being that
made from Gopalbhog mango.
Drink:
Almost all brands of drinks are easily available. Quite a few Liquour shops are
available selling varities of drinks. All Hotels serve drinks.
Directions kolkata to Malda 341km in Google Satellite
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