Gurudwara Nanak Shahi

Chinishpur Kalibari (চিনিষপুর কালীবাড়ি) is one of old temples and a sacred place of worshippers in Hindu religion. So far from locals, it is almost 250 years old temple which was built by Hindu Saint Ram Proshaad (রাম প্রসাদ). He got financial support and land from a person name Ramkrishno Ray (রামকৃষ্ণ রায়) who was a Dewan (দেওয়ান) of G.P. Wize (Last Kuthial of Atkandi Nilkuthi).

He built this temple with stones & bricks. After founding this temple he got married to a local girl who was resident of this region and was daughter of another Hindu Saint named Narayan Chakrabarti. Then he stayed there beside the temple for his lifetime.

Architecture and Layout:

The exterior of this temple is decorated with flower and animal iconic figure. Total layout of this temple is in rectangular shape. In the inside of the temple, the Icon of Mother Goddess Kali is kept in North-side of the brick wall which is probably very ancient, and the Stela is made with stone. In the front side of this ancient temple, there is a another temple of Shiva. A big Banyan tree is standing just beside this temple. May be it is the same years old as this Temple is. In the western side of this temple, there is a large pond.

Festivals in Temple Premises:

This temple becomes so festive in every year at new moon of Bengali month Boishakh (বৈশাখ) and Joistho (জ্যেষ্ঠ), While a local fair is celebrated lasting for 3/4 days at the Temple premises. People from distance come to watch this local fair which is a place of extensive collection of local arts & Crafts. For the people of Hindu religion this fair is very important event and they usually don’t miss it. Another attraction of this temple is every year at the time of fair there are a huge number of billy goats is sacrificed in front of Kali Goddess to make her satisfied with the blood of animals. In course of time this tradition is losing its popularity as many rich people of Hindu Religion had left the country at the time of dividing Indian sub-continent in the year of 1947.

Present Condition:

Very recently a gigantic temple is being constructed outside of the main building of this temple & it is totally covered with the new gorgeousness. Hopefully, it will be one of the most exclusive and gigantic Kali Temples in Bangladesh. Nearly, 80 million BDT will be spent to build this Temple.

Poet Chandrabati (চন্দ্রাবতী) is considered to be the first Female poet in Bengali literature. She was born in 1550. Her father's name was Bangshidas Bhattacharya (বংশীদাস ভট্টাচার্য) who is considered as one of the composers of Monosha mongol (মনসা মঙ্গল). She along with her father composed the Monosha Debir Bhashan (মনসা দেবীর ভাসান) during 1575. Poet Chondraboti (কবি চন্দ্রাবতী) started narrating the Ramayana (রামায়ন) from the Sita's (সীতা) point of view by criticizing Rama (রাম). But unfortunately, she couldn't finish her work.

There are two Shib Mandir (শিব মন্দির) available near the village Chandrabati (চন্দ্রাবতী) that is around 6 kilometer apart from the Kishoreganj (কিশোরগঞ্জ) town. One of those are shorter in size. These temples are related with many stories of Chandrabati (চন্দ্রাবতী) and her life. It is believed that the temples were built during the 16th century, contemporary to the poet's birth.

It was around 3:00 at the afternoon when I have reached there. So I was the only traveler or tourist there that time. There are few sitting places available near the temple. Authority built those for the visitors. Probably during the holidays or at afternoon lot of visitors use to gather here.

কবি চন্দ্রাবতীকে বাংলা সাহিত্যর প্রথম মুসলিম কবি হিসেবে বিবেচনা করা হয়ে থাকে। তিনি জন্মেছিলেন ১৫৫০ সালে। কবি চন্দ্রাবতীর বাবার নাম বংশীদাস ভট্টাচার্য যাকে মনে করা হয়ে থাকে মনসা মঙ্গলের অন্যতম রচয়িতা। ১৫৭৫ সালে কবি চন্দ্রাবতী তাঁর বাবাকে সাথে নিয়ে মনসা দেবীর ভাসান রচনা করেন। কবি চন্দ্রাবতী রামের সমালোচনার মাধ্যমে সীতার দৃষ্টিকোন থেকে রামায়ন বর্ণনা করা শুরু করেছিলেন কিন্তু দুর্ভাগ্যবশত তিনি এই কাজটি শেষ করতে পারেননি।

কিশোরগঞ্জ শহর থেকে ৬ কিলোমিটার দূরে চন্দ্রাবতী গ্রামে দুটি শিবমন্দির রয়েছে। এই দুটি মন্দিরের মধ্যে একটি অপেক্ষাকৃত ছোট। কবি চন্দ্রাবতী এবং তাঁর জীবনের অনেক ঘটনার সাথে এই মন্দিরগুলোর সম্পৃক্ততা রয়েছে। ধারনা করা হয়ে থাকে যে এই মন্দিরগুলো ১৬শ শতকে নির্মাণ করা হয়েছিল যেসময়টিতে কবি জন্ম নিয়েছিলেন। মন্দিরগুলোর কাছে দর্শনার্থীদের জন্য বসার ব্যবস্থা রয়েছে। বিকালবেলা অথবা ছুটির দিনে এখানে অনেক মানুষের সমাগম হয়ে থাকে।

ছবির জন্য ক্লিক করুন: http://www.panoramio.com/photo/92398981 http://www.panoramio.com/photo/92398990 http://www.panoramio.com/photo/92399001

Temple of Motto or Motter Moth (মত্তের মঠ) is located at the village Motto (মত্ত) of Manikganj Sadar Upazila. It is situated at the eastern side of Manikganj (মানিকগঞ্জ) town.

This Moth is about 50-60 feet tall, looks like a Shiva temple. Currently this Moth is abandoned, located beside a pond. A new temple is built near the old one. It is not sure who built that moth or its actual time period.

People says that a prominent Zamindar Ram Krishna Sen (জমিদার রামকৃষ্ণ সেন) lived at Motto Village. Possibly he could built this temple. From the close observation, it is assumed that this Moth could be around 100 years of old, or may be less.

Kal Bhairab Temple is a Hindu temple which is dedicated to the God Shiva. The temple is famous for the giant Shivalinga. Shivalinga is a 28-feet tall Shiva statue. No other statue in the world is assumed to be as big as it. Hindu Lord Shiva known as Kal Bhairab is the main attraction here, but Goddess Kali is also been worshiped. The location of statue of Kali is on the right side of the Kal Bhairab and the statue of the Goddess Saraswati on the left. The temple is a major pilgrimage place for Shaivites in Bangladesh.

The temple dates back to the 19th century. It is said that approximately 200 years ago a sculptor named Durgacharan Acharjee saw a dream which motivated and influenced him to make preparations to build the statue from soil. Noor Muhammad, the famous landlord of Sarail donated the land to build this temple.

Before the Brahmanbaria city was established, Medda was the market located beside the famous Titas river. This market is almost 300 years old. Durgacharan first built this statue by the bank of the river with soil. Regular prayers were held by the local fans until 1971.

During the Bangladesh Liberation War the Pakistani soldiers damaged and looted a lot of Hindu temples in Bangladesh. This temple was one of the damaged temples. The soldiers damaged the parts of this statue using dynamite. Later the statue was made again. It took four years to build this statue again but it reached the height of 24 feet. The current statue is made of stone.

Both regular and annual prayers are held here. People from different regions come to visit this temple. This place is also referred as one of the tourist attractions of the Brahmanbaria district. There are management committees to look after the temple. The giant statue of the Shiva is mostly locked for maintenance issues. The Government of Bangladesh looks after the charges for maintenance.