Forgotten temples of Bengal: When venerable becomes vulnerable

On the day of Ram Navami, an occasion when one would imagine that all Vishnu temples would be decorated at their best and be filled with devotees, a few shrines in West Bengal are merely shadows of what they once were. No, not because they are under threat of attack by fanatics, but because of a greater evil – lack of interest in preserving historical architecture.

One such shrine lies in Sonamukhi, 32 kilometres north of the iconic temple town of Bishnupur in Bankura district. For a place whose name literally translates into ‘golden face’, Sonamukhi does a great job of hiding its best face deep within its folds. While the Sridhar Temple here does appear on GPS, finding it on ground is a harder task. It is inside a lane no four-wheeler can penetrate and from outside the lane, no temple is visible either.

Explorers to Sonamukhi need to be persistent in their enquiries, and direct them to older folk here, the younger ones being engrossed in their mobile phones. Sonamukhi’s older inhabitants guide travellers to Madani Gully, a short walk through which reveals the top of what looks like an old temple. But there is one more barrier! The temple lies inside private property and is within a locked compound. Which explains why common people are not aware of it. A visitor has to request access.

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The Sridhar Temple at Sonamukhi, though small, can give the terracotta marvels of Bishnupur a run for their money. Built in 1845 when the town was at its peak as a hub of silk and cotton weaving, as well as indigo, its patron was a wealthy weaver called Kanai Rudra. Rudra brought in a master architect called Hari Sutradhar who seemed to have been on mission mode to create a marvel that would match the temples of Bishnupur.

The shrine is one of the very few in the state that is a ‘Panchabingswati Ratna’ - meaning it has twenty-five pinnacles. Its exterior is richly embellished with Bishnupur style terracotta imagery depicting stories from the Ramayana, Mahabharat, Puranas and Krishna Leela in regal style. There are also sages, birds, animals, common people wearing the clothes of the early 19th century as well as floral patterns. A striking feature on the edges is the ‘Mrityulata’ – a vertical depiction of animals and humans alternating, each depicted as if it were attacking the creature below. In the inner sanctum is a Shaligram — the non-anthropomorphic symbol of Lord Vishnu.

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Today, not only does this fine temple remain private property, it finds itself wedged as part of not one but two houses. Of its four sides, only three are visible and the fourth wall finds itself almost touching yet another private residence. A long shot of the temple is well-nigh impossible. The good part is that the shrine is still in worship and is not moth-balled into irrelevance like many monuments managed by the authorities.

Perhaps we should be thankful that the temple at Sonamukhi still has its iconography intact. Kotulpur, 32 kilometres east of Bishnupur, has another Sridhar Temple. While Sonamukhi is a town, Kotulpur is a village and has all the chaos of one. Like in the case of the town, mention of the temple does not ring a bell with anyone in the village either. Asking for the estate of Niranjan Bhadra is a better idea, as the temple lies within.

From the outside, the prospects are rich for a heritage explorer. There is an ornate gateway, albeit in a ruined state. On entering one sees a ‘Rasamancha’ – a structure used to house a Krishna idol in a manner that it is visible from all sides on festive days. The Rasamancha is in its original state and looks close to a century old, if not older. On the right are two more temples, their gleaming exterior advertising their being new. Next to them, behind a high wall, is another temple of indeterminable age.

Like its namesake in Sonamukhi, the Sridhar Temple at Kotulpur was built by a wealthy patron – in this case the Bhadra family who had prospered in trade facilitated by the British. The temple, as well as a larger estate, was their power statement. In reports as recently as 2021, the Sridhar Temple here was depicted as a magnificent terracotta structure covered with carvings on all sides. Photographs reveal it to be a riot of carved iconography even more than Sonamukhi.

Visitors today would be shocked by the contrast between those pictures and what has transpired since. At the time of this author’s visit – in March 2025 – the temple was being ‘restored’. The ornate pinnacles and delicately carved side edges of the shrine had been covered with a greyish plaster which was also being slowly put on the other parts. Some terracotta iconography on the fronts still remained and the workmen at the site were not forthcoming about these parts remaining intact or not.

Not that the Sonamukhi temple is in great condition. The wear & tear of nearly 180 years is visible, as is the lack of trained efforts to conserve the site. But it is in a far better state than the ‘restoration’ one is witnessing at Kotulpur. While private ownership of heritage is not an unwelcome thing, such sites need to be monitored and any efforts to modify them needs to be done by trained hands, by people who are both vetted and supervised by trained conservationists. Else, in a state where several venerable shrines are already vulnerable, it is only a matter of time that they entirely vanish.

The author is a heritage explorer by inclination with a penchant for seeking obscure sites. A brand consultant by profession, he tweets @HiddenHeritage. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstpost’s views.