Bankim Sangrahashala at Naihati

Bankim Sangrahashala is the library museum of Rishi Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, the great novelist and poet of India. It is located at Kanthalpara, Naihati in the north 24 Paraganas. Established in 1954, the museum occupies only a portion of the big ancestral house, located alongside.

Notably, Bankim Sangrahashala (museum) has become one of the most sought after places nearby Kolkata over the years. The spot is significant because Rishi Bankim Chandra wrote and composed the national song of India, Vande Mataram over here. The heritage museum is a living testimony of the fact that the other gat personalities of preindipendent India like Rishi Aurobindo Ghosh, Chittaranjan Das, Dinabandhu Mitra, Keshab Chandra Sen, etc., used to come here for spending some quality time in this peaceful ambiance along with the great poet and author.

There is a Lord Shiva Temple on the right side of this protected museum and there is a narrow pathway for pedestrians running beside it. Inside the museum, there are letters, photographs, momentos, scripts, books that relate closely to the life of the great poet. Besides, it showcases shawls, turban, chess pieces of chessboard, tables and chairs of the poet as well.

Photographs of Yadav Chandra (father), Syamacharan and Sanjib Chandra (brothers), Rajlakshmi Devi (wife) and Sarat Kumari, Neelanja kumari, Utpala Kumari (three daughters) are well-preserved in the museum.

A story related with Rishi Bankim Chandra’s elder brother Shyama Charan is very popular in the region. Shyama Charan was the deputy magistrate of Tamluk. He along with his father, Yadav Chandra initiated the Rath Puja festival in Naihati in the name of his mother, Durga Sundari Devi. For the event, he brought the Rath (chariot) in a boat from Tamluk to Naihati. The Rath Yatra ceremony began after Durgasundari Devi touched the holy ropes of the Rath. The museum has the image of this Rath Yatra event.

Rishi Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay was a great writer, poet and journalist. Although he was a magistrate by occupation he had great contribution in the field of literature. Some of his well-known literary works include Anandamath, Kapalkundala, Devi Chaudhurani, Durgestnondini and Mrinali. Besides, he was the publisher of monthly magazine, Bangadarshan as well. He was born on 27th of June, 1838 in Naihati and died on 8th of April, 1844 in Kolkata.

The museum is open from 11am to 5pm for the visitors. However, it remains closed on Saturday, Monday and on government holidays. The entry fee is RS 2 per head.

Local trains like the Naihati local, Shantipur local, Kalyani Simanto local, Krishnanagar local available from the Sealdah Station for the Naihati Junction Station. The distance is around 38 kilometres away from the Sealdah Station and the journey takes around one hour. The museum is at ten minutes walking distance from the Naihati Junction. There is a walkway, and a foot bridge that leads the visitors to the spot.

While on your way from the Naihati Junction to the Sangrahashala you would also come across the goddess Kali Temple popular in the region for the Pous Kali Puja and the Naihati Community Hall as well. The images of these two places are given below: