Ramrajatala

Ramrajatala is a neighbourhood in Howrah city of Howrah district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is a part of the area covered by Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA). The name of the area comes from the presence of a temple dedicated to Lord Rama and three months long worship is undertaken by the people of the locality every year at the temple. This tradition of worship of Lord Rama has been continuing for about 3 centuries here.[2]

Ramrajatala

Ramtala
Neighbourhood in Howrah
Ram Puja in Ramrajatala
Ramrajatala
Location in West Bengal, India
Ramrajatala
Ramrajatala (India)
Coordinates: 22°35′18″N 88°17′46″E
Country India
StateWest Bengal
DistrictHowrah
RegionGreater Kolkata
CityHowrah
Metro StationHowrah Maidan(under construction) and Howrah(under construction)
Government
  TypeMunicipal Corporation
  BodyHowrah Municipal Corporation
Languages
  OfficialBengali, English
Time zoneUTC+5:30 (IST)
PIN
711104[1]
Telephone code+91 33
Vehicle registrationWB
HMC wards44, 47, 48, 49
Lok Sabha constituencyHowrah
Vidhan Sabha constituencyHowrah Dakshin and Shibpur
ClimateNormal (Köppen)
Avg. summer temperature35 °C (95 °F)
Avg. winter temperature15 °C (59 °F)

Ramrajatala is under the jurisdiction of Chatterjeehat Police Station, Dasnagar Police Station and Jagacha Police Station of Howrah City Police.

History

Ayodhyaram Choudhury, the zamindar started Rama puja first time in this area. According to him, he got some divine instructions to worship Lord Rama. After that he started a huge Barowari Puja of Lord Rama. That Puja got a massive popularly in the passage of time and the locality was named after it Ramrajatala.

But during that time, Saraswati Puja was very famous in that area and the villagers used to enjoy the same a lot from previous 300 years. So some villagers those were the fond of the Saraswati Puja opposed the Ram Puja. The two groups came to a conclusion after numerous discussions that Ram Puja would be done and the Goddess of Wisdom Saraswati would be placed on the top of Lord Ram & Sita. From that day the customary started to cut the bamboo from the bamboo groove of Sasthitala and perform the very first Puja of those bamboos at Choudhury Para Shiv Mandir on the day of Saraswati Puja. During the initial days the Puja the fair firstly held for three days. After that it continued for a fortnight and then up to a month. Now Ram Puja starts on Ramnavami in Chaitra-Baisakh month and continues up to the last Sunday of Shravan month. It is longest running fair in West Bengal.[2]

The idols of Ram and Sita in Ramrajatala

Locality

Ramrajatala is one of the oldest parts of the city of Howrah. This is a densely populated area in the southern part of Howrah city. Situated in the centre of this area, Ramrajatala Bazar is the most populated place.

The area is in need of development in domains like road improvements and drainage system because waterlogging is a major problem in this part of Howrah. For this water stands here even after a slight rain in the monsoon. That creates huge problem for the people of the locality.

Transport

Ramrajatala railway station is a small but very important railway station on the South Eastern line. A large number of people travel from nearby villages and towns through this station. Santragachi railway station is the nearest railway junction-cum-terminus.

An important road, Kona Expressway, passes nearby connecting Mumbai Road (NH 16) with Second Hooghly Bridge to Kolkata. This is an important connection for transportation to Kolkata as well as to different suburban areas like Bally, Domjur, Amta, Uluberia, Bagnan, Digha etc.

52 no. Private Bus starts running from here (along Ramcharan Sett Road/Mahendra Bhattacharya Road), between Ramrajatala (Rama Mandir) and Esplanade via Howrah Station in every ten minutes.

Places of interest

  • Rama Mandir (Rama Temple)
A fair is held during the four month long puja. This is popular, particularly during the bisarjan (immersion ceremony) that is the last journey on the last Sunday in Shraavana.
  • Shankar Math[3]
A Shankaracharya Temple with a Gurukul styled school having a residential ashram for the poor and homeless students. There is a huge playground in front of here.
  • Lake Land Country Club
Situated on Kona Expressway, it is a place for shooting Tollywood movies, auditions for many national talent hunt contests are held here. It was previously known as Rashid Park.
It attracts many migratory Siberian birds such as lesser whistling duck from December to February every year.
A few distance away on Dr. Bholanath Chakraborty Sarani (Formerly Drainage Canal Road), it is an indoor stadium with plays host to several prominent talent hunt contests and sports activities.
  • Bani Niketan Public Library[5]
A big public library in Ramrajatala, containing long range of books, hosts many competitions also.

Nearby Localities

Some of the populer localities in or near Ramrajatala which are:

  • Chaudhurypara, small locality in Ramrajatala, in past times zamindar Ayodhyaram Chaudhury lived here
  • Bhattacharjeepara, small locality beside Ramrajatala, in past times the Bhattacharjee family lived here
  • Kamardanga, neighborhood beside Ramrajatala
  • Ichapur, neighborhood beside Ramrajatala
  • Nandipara, small locality in Ramrajatala
  • Sasthitala, small locality in Ramrajatala
  • Doser Pallee, small locality in Ramrajatala
  • Jagacha, neighborhood beside Ramrajatala
  • Hatpukur, small locality near Ramrajatala
  • Satashi, neighborhood beside Ramrajatala

Educational Institutions

References

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