Shantiniketan is a small town near Bolpur in the Birbhum District of West Bengal. It is famous due to Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore, whose vision became what is now a University town - Visva-Bharati University. Shantiniketan was earlier called Bhubandanga (named after Bhuban Dakat, a local Dacoit), and was owned by the Tagore family. In 1862, Maharshi Devendranath Tagore, the poet’s father, while on a boat journey to Raipur, came across a landscape with red soil and lush green paddy fields. He decided to plant more saplings and built a small house. He called his home Shantiniketan. He founded an ashram here in 1863 and became the initiator of the Brahmo Samaj. Kala Bhavana, the art college of Shantiniketan, is still considered one of the best art colleges in the world.Santiniketan is also famous for its fairs and festivals like Poush Mela (December), Joydev Mela (January), Basanta Utsav (March) and the famous Mystic Baul Singers.
How to reach here:
By Air: The nearest airport is Calcutta approx. 212 km.
By Rail: The nearest railhead is Bolpur, 2 km away.
Best time to visit: February to November.
Places you must visit:
Visva Bharati University is the world's first every open-air university founded by Nobel Laureate
Rabindranath Tagore. It consists of several buildings such as Udayana, Konark, Shyamali, Punscha and Udichi where each displays a distinctive feature in Indian art and culture.Some places not to be missed are Chhatimtala (a tree under which the idea of having such a place blossomed), Shantiniketan Griha (where Tagore spent his childhood), Upasana griha (an eye catching prayer hall), Amro Kunjo (open -air classrooms with students dressed in canary yellow garbs) and the Chaiti ( an incredible mud house structure that attracts tourists in hordes), apart from many others.
Kankalitala is a sacred Hindu Shrine, located on the banks of the Kopai river, is one of the Shakti Peethas where the waist (kankal in Bengali) of Parvati had fallen.
Amar Kutir, once a place of refuge for independence movement activists has been turned into a cooperative society for the promotion of arts and crafts. It is located on the banks of the Kopai River, about 15 kilometres from Santiniketan in Birbhum district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It produces leather goods, kantha stitched saris, bamboo crafts and batik at a reasonable price. Its leather-craft unit employs mostly women. It has one batik, a needlecraft unit and shola and lac crafts units
Chhatimtala was the place where Maharshi Debendranath Tagore, father of famous poet and Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore, meditated daily and devoted himself to world peace. This is famous tourist spot situated at Shantiniketan. Chhatimtala is closely related to Vishva Bharati University as the students who are graduated from here are honored with a branch of Saptaparni tree seen in Chhatimtala. There is a prayer hall of Maharshi Devendranath Tagore.
Uttarayan Complex is the prestigious place in Santiniketan blessed by the life of Rabindranath Tagore, It is here the great poet lived for his lifetime. This complex contains several buildings in distinct architectural styles. There is a Prayer Hall, built in 1863 by Maharshi Debendranath Tagore where Brahmo prayers used to be held. The art gallery and museum in this complex is credited with the Nobel Prize medal, a bangle and a watch of the poet. Murals are displayed exceptionally in the gallery of the complex. The Uttarayan Complex consists of five houses of the Tagore- Udayana, Shamali, Konarka, Udichi and Punassha.
