West Bengal: Terracotta gems in 250-year-old temple

KOLKATA: Hundreds of terracotta tiles and architectures showing European influence were found in a 250-year-old temple in Panskura, which is being restored by experts from Gurusaday Museum, Musee India and a few more agencies. The vicinity of Vaishnavite and Shakta temples on the premises of the temple appears more interesting to the restorers. The restoration work started little before the lockdown when the team of restorers was invited by the Maiti family, owners of the temple area.
“As the work progressed, we were surprised by the rare terracotta art work on the temple. There were distinct influences of European style of architecture fused with the terracotta tiles,” said Anirban Banerjee, technical assistant of Gurusaday Museum. The European influence is more visible in the arches and pillars of the temple. “There is no written record on the temple’s history but a plaque, found during the restoration, mentions that a rasmancha or platform near the temple had been built in 1859. Maiti family had built the temple,” said Rupesh Samanta, an official with the Kashijora Parampara Heritage Organisation that has been active in restoring temples in the Panskura-Kashijora area.
Locals guided the team to another local temple having 17 peaks, of which a few were damaged before the restoration. When the team spoke with the locals, they could not say much about deities inside the temple. What startled the restorers was the presence of Vaishnavite temple and Shakta (worshippers of Shakti) temple on the same premises.
“Inside the temple, we found the head of a deity that seems to be of Lord Rama from the iconographic suggestions. Archeological Society of India can corroborate that. We do not have much evidence of Lord Rama being worshipped in Bengal,” said Banerjee.
Hiranmoy Pattanayak, designer with the National Museum, New Delhi, who is also involved with the restoration, said that there are several such temples in Panskura that need to be restored.