Hetampur is a large village in

Suri Sadar subdivision Suri Sadar subdivision is an administrative subdivision of Birbhum district in the state of West Bengal, India. Overview Starting in its northern parts with the Brahmani-Mayurakshi Basin, a sub-micro physiographic region occupying the area betw ...

Birbhum District Birbhum district () is an administrative unit in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the northernmost district of Burdwan division—one of the five administrative divisions of West Bengal. The district headquarters is in Suri. Other impo ...

in the

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

West Bengal West Bengal (; Bengali language, Bengali: , , abbr. WB) is a States and union territories of India, state in the East India, eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabi ...

. It is situated near

Dubrajpur Dubrajpur is a town and a municipality in Suri Sadar subdivision of Birbhum district in the Indian state of West Bengal. History The town of Dubrajpur, was administered by the by Mallabhum kingdom during the medieval Indian period in the 13th ...

. The village is famous for the Royal and historical palace.

Geography

Location

Hetampur is located at .

Demographics

As of the 2011 Census, Hetampur had a population of 2,388; 1,188 males and 1,200 females, giving a ratio of 1010 compared to the West Bengal state average of 950. There were 282 children aged 0–6 and a child sex ratio of 1104, compared to the West Bengal state average of 956. Hetampur village had a literacy rate of 76.21%, compared to 76.26% of West Bengal- male literacy was 84.82% and female was 67.59%

Education

At Hetampur

Krishna Chandra College Krishna Chandra College, commonly known as Hetampur College, established in 1897, is a government-affiliated college located at Hetampur in the Birbhum district of West Bengal, India. It claims to be the oldest college in the Birbhum district ...

, popularly known as Hetampur Mahavidyalaya is one of the reputed and oldest college of the West Bengal. There are also few schools and training institutes such as Hetampur Raj High School, Hetampur Girls’ High School, St. Andrus, Hetampur Model School, DAV Public School, Rabindra Najrul Smrit B. Ed College, Hetampur Rajbati Primary Teachers Training Institute etc.

Culture

Rajbari

The Rajbari was built in the shape of a castle with 999 doors which has given it the name ''Hetampur HajarDuari''. (''hajar'' is one thousand in Bengali, ''duari'' means doored). Hetampur Rajbari has been used by film directors such as

Satyajit Ray Satyajit Ray (; 2 May 1921 – 23 April 1992) was an Indian film director, screenwriter, author, lyricist, magazine editor, illustrator, calligraphy, calligrapher, and composer. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest and most influ ...

Mrinal Sen Mrinal Sen ( ; 14 May 1923 – 30 December 2018) was a Bengali film director and screenwriter known for his work primarily in Cinema of West Bengal, Bengali, and a few Hindi cinema, Hindi and Telugu cinema, Telugu language films. Regarded as on ...

Tarun Majumdar Tarun Majumdar (or Mazumdar, 8 January 1931 – 4 July 2022) was an Indian film director, documentary filmmaker, author, illustrator and screenwriter who is known for his work in Bengali cinema. He received five National Awards, seven BFJA Aw ...

, Raja Sen, Dilip Roy,

Sandip Ray Sandip Ray (born 8 September 1953) is an Indian film director and music director who mainly works in Cinema of West Bengal, Bengali cinema. He is the only child of the famous Indian director Satyajit Ray and Bijoya Ray. Life and education San ...

and others in many Bengali films –

Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne ''Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne'' () is a 1969 Indian fantasy adventure comedy film written and directed by Satyajit Ray and based on a story by his grandfather Upendrakishore Ray Chowdhury. It is a fantasy musical, with music and lyrics composed and ...

, Abhijan, Mrigaya, and Ganadebata.

Temples

Hetampur has many interesting terracotta temples in various styles of architecture. During the late 1940s till about 1952 Indian artist

Mukul Dey Mukul Chandra Dey (23 July 1895 – 1 March 1989) was one of five children of Purnashashi Devi and Kula Chandra Dey.''The International Who's Who 1943–44''. George Allen & Unwin, 8th edition, London, 1943, p. 197. He was a student of Rabindra ...

conducted detailed photographic survey of Birbhum-Barddhaman group of terracotta temples. He visited Hetampur and photo recorded the Gol-Mandir, the Chandranath Shiva temple and the Dewanji temples here. Chandranatha Siva Mandir in Hetampur of Dubrajpur, Birbhum built in 1847 is Octagonal pinnacled - Naba Ratna type with terracotta on three sides. Dewanji Mandir nearby is tightly ridged Rekha type with small terracotta facade of 19th century Birbhum-Barddhaman style having rich terracotta on two sides. Out of these three temples, the Gol-Mandir temple is no longer in existence at Hetampur. Its memory survives only in the photographs by

. A portrait of

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

, European nuns and priests form the theme of decoration on a 19th-century temple in Hetampur.

Temple picture gallery

File:Temple of Dewanji Hetampur.JPG, Dewanji temple File:Dewanji temple of Hetampur in Birbhum district 16.jpg, Terracotta carvings in Dewanji temple File:Chandranath Shiva temple of Hetampur in Birbhum district 44.jpg, Chandranath Shiva temple File:Chandranath Shiva temple of Hetampur in Birbhum district 27.jpg, Terracotta carvings at Chandranath Shiva temple

Fair

Bipracharan Chakravarty of the Hetampur Raj family started a

Saraswati Puja Vasant Panchami , also rendered Vasanta Panchami and Saraswati Puja in honour of the Hindu goddess Saraswati, is a festival that marks the preparation for the arrival of spring. The festival is celebrated in Indian religions in different ways ...

at Hetampur. His grandson, Ramranjan, started a 3-days fair on the occasion. The fair continues on the grounds of the Hetampur Rajbari.

Gurusaday Dutt Gurusaday Dutt (10 May 1882 – 25 June 1941) was a civil servant, folklorist, and writer. He was the founder of the ''Bratachari'' Movement in the 1930s. Early life and education Gurusaday was the son of the Ramkrishna Dutta Chaudhuri and A ...

had once presented raibeshe bratachari during the fair. Many renowned personalities were invited to attend the fair and some of them came. Hetampur Royal Theatre and Ranjan Opera had their inaugural shows at the fair.Mukhopadhyay Aditya, ''Birbhumer Mela'', ''Paschim Banga '', Birbhum Special Issue, February 2006, , pp. 203-214, Information & Cultural Department, Government of West Bengal.

References

{{Temple towns in West Bengal Villages in Birbhum district