| Santosh Roy
Choudhurys started building the famous temple of Kali the presiding deity of Shakti at
Kalighat. He, however, could not complete the construction work. After the death of
Santosh his son Ram Lal and nephew Rajib Lochan completed the construction of Kalighat
temple in 1809. But it has to be mentioned that long before the construction of the
temple, there must have been an image near about the place, which had attracted thousands
of worshippers. Several legends suggest this. By the
middle of the 18th century Kalighat was a very well known place. Mansur Bhasan by Bipradas
composed near about 1495 A.D. refers to the popular and widely known story of the merchant
Chand Saudagar who used to take out his cargo- laden boats from Bhagalpur to various
places in Bengal including Nadia, Tribeni, Saptagram, Hooghly, Bhatpara, Mahesh, Chitpur,
Calcutta and Kalighat. Mansur Bliasan mentions Kalighat separately from Calcutta. That
will mean Kalighat had already come to be known on its own rights. Kavi Kankan Chandi
composed in the last quarter of the 16th century has also reference to Kalighat. |
