Originally published December 2022. Chandraketugarh – and Ambarish link
But the links were hidden and embedded inside the article, where you will see his multi-faced talent, along with remarkable photography.
Click below:
https://jagatjorajaal.com/
http://www.ambarish.com/
During one of the conversations with our email group, I learned about a place, Chandraketugarh. The name itself had given me some interest in the place. One related email had an excellent description of the place. Allow me to note down the part of it.
Has anyone been to Chandraketugarh, an ancient town dating from 400 BC, pre-Mauryan times, extensive remains of which, still exist in 24 Paraganas, hardly 25 miles from Calcutta?
Also, the images of gods from the Hindu Pantheon, and even some Greco-Roman sculptures suggest the existence of a Capital city of some pre-Mauryan kingdom, which later was ruled by the Aryans.
There is another similar township, known as Mahasthana, which too existed from the pre-Mauryan to the Pala periods.
Mahasthana was discovered by Alexander Cunningham in 1879, who thought this was the capital of the old Paundra kingdom in Bengal, which is mentioned in old texts and the Mahabharata. Excavations had started at both places during 1928/29.
So close to Kolkata! I have decided on my next visit to Kolkata this place must be at the top of the list. I took a special interest in finding out about the place, I found an email from Ambarish who is one of the recipients of our email group. Incidentally, inspired by Ambarish others have visited this place from Sealdah station taking the local train and local Toto walla who took them to the place.
Ambarish’s description of this place goes as follows:
If you go there (Berachampa-r More), you will see that there is the base of a brick temple (made of very thin large bricks), called the Khana-Mihirer Dhipi, and also several other unexcavated dhipis. One of the conjectures is that other structures can be found underneath. So, to enjoy the site, we need some imagination. One thing is remarkable in that area… as you walk on the village trails, you will see potsherds and other old fragments under your feet. Rakhaldas Bandopadhyay visited this site and wrote about it many years ago. It was excavated for several years in the 1960s and, again in the 1990s. Ashutosh Museum in College Street contains much of the excavated artifacts. I am very thrilled about his website about this historical Chandraketugarh: http://www.historyofbengal.com. Besides learning about Chandraketugar, I found other related websites sent by Ambarish Goswami which is a photographic library http://www.jagatjorajaal.com/;
After exploring his site, I am pretty sure that he had a keen interest in history, travel, and photography. I learned his father Prabir Kumar Goswami was a renowned Bengali Novelist. Ambarish has articulated his life’s work from childhood, his deep interest in so many areas amazed me. His interest in collecting autographs from writers and other celebrities is fascinating. The collection of his autograph is mindboggling. He had been quite successful in education and a professional career as a scientist and engineer in the field of robotics. He has numerous outstanding prize-winning patents. In other words, Ambarish is a talented person. To know him well, please go to his site http://www.ambarish.com
Autograph of Prabir Kumar Goswami and son Ambarish
WOW!
Comment by dchaudhuri — July 22, 2024 @ 10:16 pm