Char Bangla Terracotta Temples, Baranagar (Azimganj)

The Char Bangla temples at Baranagar, near Azimganj on the west bank of the Bhagirathi, are among the finest terracotta temples of Bengal — often called an open-air museum of 18th-century Bengali temple art. They were built around 1755 by Rani Bhabani of Natore (1716–1795), the saintly and immensely capable zamindar queen whose estates spread across Bengal and who was renowned as 'Ardha-Banga-Eshwari' — mistress of half of Bengal — and one of history's great female philanthropists. After the death of her husband Raja Ramakanta, Rani Bhabani administered her vast zamindari with legendary skill and spent her wealth on temples, guest houses, roads, ponds and charity across Bengal and Varanasi. Baranagar was her chosen retreat, which she sought to make a second Varanasi on the Bhagirathi. The Char Bangla complex consists of four 'bangla'-style (curved thatched-hut roofed) Shiva temples facing each other around a courtyard, every inch of their facades covered in exquisite terracotta panels — scenes from the Ramayana and Mahabharata, Krishna-lila, Durga, social life, boats, hunters and floral designs of astonishing detail. Nearby stand her other gems: the Bhavanishvara temple with its distinctive octagonal form, and the small but superbly carved Gangeshwar (Jor Bangla) temple. Protected by the Archaeological Survey of India, Baranagar is quieter than Lalbagh's Nawabi monuments — reached through mango orchards and village lanes — and rewards visitors with the finest terracotta craftsmanship in Murshidabad district. It combines easily with a Murshidabad day trip via the Azimganj crossing.