City in West Bengal, India
Photo: Biswarup Ganguly, CC BY 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Chinsurah (চুঁচুড়া Chunchuṛā) is the headquarters of the Hooghly district of West Bengal, India. Lying on the Hooghly River close to Chandannagar, 35 km north of Kolkata, Chinsurah has a strong significance in the history of Bengal.
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Founded in 1695 the Armenian church in Chinsurah is the second oldest Christian Church in West Bengal (the oldest is in Bandel). The church comes in with a clock tower and is surrounded by a beautiful landscaped garden. Sadly, the church remains closed and is out of bounds to visitors. It is opened once a year on the Sunday after Armenian Christmas (6 January). On this day, the Kolkata makes an annual pilgrimage to the church.
Bankim Bhawan
One of the residences of Bengali novelist Bankim Chandra Chatterjee. He lived in this house during 1877–1881. It is said that he composed the patriotic song Vande Mataram ("praise to the mother") at the Hooghly Riverbank. It was later converted into a museum describing the history of Chinsurah.
Ghorir More
A clock tower built in 1914 to commemorate the life of the British King Edward VII. He was the eldest son of Queen Victoria. The statue in front of the tower is of freedom fighter Bhupati Majumdar.
The district court of Hooghly. The courthouse was originally a British military barracks built after the demolition of Fort Gustavus in 1829, which became the seat of the district court since 1871.
One of the few extant non-British colonial legacies in Chinsurah. It is one of the oldest Christian cemeteries of India dating from 1743 to the end of the 19th century. It is maintained by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).
The monument is a blend of neoclassical and baroque architectures. It is dedicated to Susanna Anna Maria (died 1809). She had married twice: once to the Dutch Director of Bengal and later to an English businessman. However, according to popular legend, she had seven husbands, which became the basis of Ruskin Bond's novel Susanna's Seven Husbands and the Hindi movie Saat Khoon Maaf ("seven murders (are) pardoned"). However, there's no evidence to support this legend. Incidentally there is a similar tomb in the Dutch Cemetery of Cossimbazar, near Baharampur.
ময়ূরপঙ্খী ঘাট Maẏūrpaṅkhī Ghāṭ, literally "peacock ghat"
A riverside platform with benches where you can relax and watch the flow of the wide Hooghly River. Many people engage in an āḍḍā at the ghat. Enjoy the vibrant colours at night, with the city lights of Naihati from the opposite side. Ganga Aarti is performed every Sunday night.
By train
By car
Chinsurah is connected with Kolkata by the Grand Trunk Road and Old Delhi Road.
By ferry
Auto-rickshaws, minibuses and cycle rickshaws are available from the stations to the landmarks.
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