Gar Mandaran Garh Mandaron | |
|---|---|
Village | |
 Historic Gar Mandaran mound | |
  Gar Mandaran Location in West Bengal, India Show map of West Bengal Gar Mandaran Gar Mandaran (India) Show map of India | |
| Coordinates:22°52′29″N87°39′57″E / 22.874799°N 87.665972°E /22.874799; 87.665972 | |
| Country |  India |
| State | West Bengal |
| District | Hooghly |
| Elevation | 42 m (138 ft) |
| Population (2011) | |
• Total | 6,264 |
| Languages | |
| • Official | Bengali,English |
| Time zone | UTC+5:30 (IST) |
| PIN | 712612 (Mandaran) |
| Telephone/STD code | 03221 |
| Lok Sabha constituency | Arambagh |
| Vidhan Sabha constituency | Goghat |
| Website | hooghly |
Gar Mandaran is avillage and agram panchayat in theGoghat IICD block in theArambag subdivision of theHooghly district in the state ofWest Bengal,India.
The ruins of a fort at Gar Mandaran provided the setting forBankim Chandra Chatterjee’s 1865 novelDurgeshnandini.[1]
Durgeshnandini is a romantic novel, based partly on history and partly on hearsay. The story centres around the attack and occupation of Gar Mandaran stronghold of Raja Birendra Singh, linked to theBishnupur Raj, by the Pathans who were then entrenched in Odisha. The Mughal generalMan Singh's son, Jagat Singh, was despatched to keep the Pathans at bay. Jagat Singh fell in love with Tilottama, the beautiful daughter of Raja Birendra Singh. The Pathans captured the fort, killed Raja Birendra Singh and held Jagat Singh and Tilottama, but a fatal attack on the Pathan general Kotlu Khan, turned things around.[2]
Durgeshnandini, published in 1865, took the literary world by storm and was considered an epoch-making novel. It went through 13 editions during Bankim Chandra's life-time.[2]
The Arambagh subdivision, presented in the map alongside, is divided into two physiographic parts – the Dwarakeswar River being the dividing line. The western part is upland and rocky – it is extension of the terrain of neighbouring Bankura district. The eastern part is flat alluvial plain area. The railways, the roads and flood-control measures have had an impact on the area.[3] The area is overwhelmingly rural with 94.77% of the population living in rural areas and 5.23% of the population living in urban areas.[4]
Note: The map alongside presents some of the notable locations in the subdivision. All places marked in the map are linked in the larger full screen map.
Gar Manadaran is located at22°52′29″N87°39′57″E / 22.874799°N 87.665972°E /22.874799; 87.665972.
The area housed a fortress (Garh in Bengali) inmedieval times, that was under the control ofBengali Hindu cheiftains bearing the surname Sura who exercised considerable influence on theRarh region. The Thirumurai inscription of Rajendra Chola, describinghis Bengal campaigns lists one Ranasura as the ruler of the region. A few decades later, theRamacharita mentions a Lakshmisura of Aparamandara in the list ofvassals ofRamapala. Popular tradition in Bengal has it thatVijaya Sena had entered into a matrimonial alliance with the Sura chieftains. TheGanga king of Utkala,Narasimhadeva I captured the fort from theBengal Sultanate following his victory in the Battle of Umurdan in 1256. . The fort remained under the control of Utkala kings till the reign ofGajapati rulerKapilendradeva but his sonPrataparudradeva lost it to Bengali SultanAlauddin Hussain Shah.Mukundadeva had briefly regained control of the fort but he was chased out by a largeinvasion force led byKalapahad.[citation needed] When the frontiers of Bengal were expanded duringMughal rule, there were three prominent administrative zones in the Saptagram area – SirkarSatgaon, Sirkar Selimabad and Sirkar Mandaran.[5][6] The tomb of warriorShah Ismail Ghazi is situated in the mound of Gar Mandaran.[7]
According to the2011 Census of India, Gar Mandaran had a total population of 6,264 of which 3,242 (52%) were males and 3,022 (48%) were females. Population in the age range 0–6 years was 734. The total number of literate persons in Gar Mandaran was 4,100 (74.14% of the population over 6 years).[8]
Gar Mandaran is on Kamarpukur-Gar Mandaran-Kajla road.[9] It is 2 km fromKamarpukur.
Gar Mandaran High School is a Bengali-medium co-educational institution. It was established in 1944.[10]
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Media related toGarh Mandaran at Wikimedia Commons
