Surul

Surul
সুরুল
village
Surul

Location in West Bengal, India

Coordinates: 23°40′13″N 87°39′25″E / 23.6702900°N 87.6569520°E / 23.6702900; 87.6569520Coordinates: 23°40′13″N 87°39′25″E / 23.6702900°N 87.6569520°E / 23.6702900; 87.6569520
Country  India
State West Bengal
District Birbhum
Languages
 • Official Bengali, English
Time zone IST (UTC+5:30)
Lok Sabha constituency Bolpur
Vidhan Sabha constituency Bolpur
Website birbhum.gov.in

Surul is a village in Bolpur subdivision of Birbhum district in the Indian state of West Bengal.

Geography

Sriniketan now adjoins a part of Surul. It is 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) from Santiniketan.[1]

History

Surul is a village adjacent to Visva-Bharati University, Santiniketan/Sriniketan, founded by Rabindranath Tagore. A major part of the university stands within Surul mouja.

Surul consists of a large population of Bagdis, Bauris, Haris and Doms, as well as weavers. The Sarkars who were zamindars of the village brought in Brahmins and other upper castes.[2] The Sarkar family had contributed a vital role towards development of the overall area and establishment of Visva-Bharati.

The village was economically sound, being the centre of business and was the site of a commercial residency under John Cheap. After East India Company gave up its mercantile dealings in 1835, the residency was allowed to fall into decay.[3]

Culture

The temples at Surul are well-protected and terra cotta carvings are distinct. The older temples were built in 1830, within a few years of John Cheap’s death. Most of the temples are dedicated to Shiva, one to Manasa and one pancharatna (five towered) temple to Lakshmi-Janardan. Most of the carvings are traditional depictions such as the Ramayana war but the depictions of Europeans need special mention.[2](See the picture alongside). During the late 1940s Indian artist Mukul Dey extensively photo-documented the terracotta temples of Surul, which were subsequently published in an album titled Birbhum Terracottas, Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi, 1959.

References

  1. ↑ "Santiniketan-Bolpur". Retrieved 2009-03-05.
  2. 1 2 Ghosh, Binoy, Paschim Banger Sanskriti, (in Bengali), part I, 1976 edition, pp. 304-308, Prakash Bhaban
  3. ↑ O’Malley, L.S.S., ICS, Birbhum, Bengal District Gazetteers, p. 145, first published 1910, 1996 reprint, Government of West Bengal

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Saturday, January 03, 2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.