The Durga Puja celebration of Sabarna Roy Choudhury family at Barisha was launched in 1610 by Laksmikanta Majumdar, making it the second oldest family Durga Puja in western Bengal.[11] Today Durga Puja at Behala is marked by exotic theme-based sarbojanin pujas. Barisha Chandi Mela is a 10-day fair held every year in November–December since 1792.[12][13]
Etymology
Behula's (top, left) journey, as depicted in the folk art of West Bengal. The word Behala is commonly believed to have its root in Behula's name.
The word Behala is commonly believed to have its root in Behula, the name of the female protagonist of Manasamangalkavya.[14] Alternatively, the name may have been derived from the Bengali term Bahulapur ("land of many rivers" or "dark city").[14] "Bahula" is also an epithet of the goddesses Chandi and Kali.[14] Rev. James Long, who used to live in this parts, described Behala as Byala in one of his early writings.[14] It is also known that Behala comprised many small villages before the whole place was urbanised and each village here had a suffix -behala with its name i.e. Bazarbehala, Tamtelbehala, Bnorshebehala (Barisha), Sorshunnobehala (Sarsuna) etc.[14] Names like Rajarbaganbehala, Sahapurbehala, Naskarpurbehala and Santoshbatibehala are also found in the old proceedings of South Suburban Municipality.[14]
History
Modern day
Behala encompasses one of the largest suburban agglomerations of the city of Kolkata. It consists of many small localities like Sahapur, New Alipore (partially), Parnasree Pally, Behala Bazaar, Manton, Behala Chowrasta (Barisha), Muchipara, Sakherbazaar, Silpara, Bakultala, Shakuntala Park, Kadamtala, Thakurpukur, Haridevpur, Dakshin Behala, Sarsuna and Joka. Huge growth of population especially since the early eighties resulted in the area being on the radar of both the daily wage earners, common populace and educated classes. Due to this enormous and unplanned growth, the traffic is by and large dependent on the arterial Diamond Harbour Road, in spite of the availability of the parallel James Long Sarani (Commonly known as Rail Line since the old and now defunct Kalighat Falta Railway ran here) as an option. During the construction the Taratala flyover, a large portion of traffic flowed through James Long Sarani to avoid construction activity, causing development of other areas of Behala.[15]
Encroachments by street-hawkers of the sidewalks on both sides of the busy Diamond Harbour Road is a major problem. Areas like Behala Bazar, Behala Chowrasta and Behala Sakherbazaar have been added to the 'Calcutta Green Zone' and traffic moves at a snail's pace during the peak office hours.[16][17]
Previously there were tram lines along the middle of Diamond Harbour Road from Joka to Mominpur and often people used the trams to go to Esplanade. The service on this stretch has been withdrawn now. Mominpur to Behala Bazaar service was closed in 2006 due to the Taratala flyover.[18] Behala Bazaar to Joka service was also closed in 2011 due to the elevated metro railway construction on the Diamond Harbour road, which will run from Joka to Esplanade (Kolkata Metro Line 3).[19]
SL Dhanuka Girls' hostel that has come up at Behala on Diamond Harbour Road, inaugurated on 24 March 2017 by the Chief minister of Bengal Mamata Banerjee.[20]
Geography
Police district
The localities of behala area are served by South West Division (Behala Division) of Kolkata Police. It includes Taratala Police station, Behala Police station, Thakurpukur Police Station, Parnashree Police station, Sarsuna Police station and Haridevpur Police station.
[21]
Behala Women police station, located at the same address as Behala Police station, covers all police districts under the jurisdiction of the South West division i.e. Sarsuna, Taratala, Behala, Parnasree, Thakurpukur and Haridevpur.[21]
Education
There are many educational institutions situated in Behala.
Children Academy Co-ed High School (Bengali Medium)
D. A. V. Public School
G.B. Memorial Institution, Sarsuna
K. E. Carmel School, Sarsuna
K.E Carmel school, Behala
Kamala Vidyamandir
Kisor Bharati School
Kolkata Model School
Mothers Mission School
National Gems H.S. School
Navadiganta High School, Sarsuna
Nivedita Mission School
Orient Day School
Oxford Academy, Behala
Sarsuna Girls' High School
Sarsuna High School
Shaw Public School
Shibrampur Nanilal Vidyapith
Shyama Sundari Girls High School
Sourindra Government English Medium School
St. James School, Behala
St.Elizabeth Girls' School
Thakurpukur Brahmachari P.K. Vidyamandir for Girls
The Good Shepherd Mission School
Transport
Various buses are available to move around Kolkata. Majerhat Bridge is one of the major roads connecting Behala to the rest of Calcutta has led to massive traffic snarls in the area. Now, a new bridge has been made which successfully connects Behala with other areas.[22]
Some notable buses connecting Behala with central and north Kolkata are:
12C: Connecting Behala With central Kolkata and Howrah[23]
SD4: Connecting Behala with other parts of South Kolkata[24]
21/1: Connecting Behala with Exide More area
18b: Connecting inner regions of Behala with central Kolkata and Howrah
75: Connecting the outer fringes of Behala with Babughat and Prinsep Ghat
235: Connecting Behala with Salt Lake in Kolkata
Tram
Trams used to be popular vehicles connecting Behala with Esplanade (Route 35). After the construction of Taratala flyover, the route was truncated and trams would ply only along Behala-Joka stretch. In 2011, the route finally closed as a result of the Esplanade-Joka Metro Project.[19]
Behala was also served by Gholesapur, Sakherbazar and Thakurpukur railway station of Kalighat Falta Railway (KFR), which has been closed in 1957.[25]
Kolkata falta railway old photo
Airport
Behala Airport more commonly referred as Behala Flying Training Institute (BFTI) or Behala Flying Club (BFC) is the second of the two airports in the Kolkata Metropolitan Area and other being the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport. There are plans to upgrade the airport. Previously there was helicopter service from behala airport to digha and durgapur, but it was later suspended by the authority. Currently, there is no commercial helicopter service available from behala flying club.[26]
The metro has partially started from Joka to Taratala, and has been inaugurated by Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi on 30 December 2022.
Currently six stations are active that are Joka Metro Station, Thakurpukur Metro Station, Sakherbazar Metro Station, Behala Chowrasta Metro Station, Behala Bazaar Metro Station and Taratala Metro Station.
Thakurpukur Metro station
The construction of Majherhat Metro Station is expected to be completed by 2024.
Hospitals and medical centres
The whole Behala region is surrounded by numerous hospitals and medical centres.
The State General Hospital for region Behala is Vidyasagar State General Hospital, which is beside the Behala bazar metro station and Kolkata Municipal Corporation Behala.
Nearby Behala, at Thakurpukur M.G Road, another famous hospital and medical research centre situated named as "Saroj Gupta Cancer Research Institute" locally knows as "Thakurpukur cancer hospital". It is one of the oldest cancer treatment centres in Kolkata.
Some other hospitals in Behala are:-
Behala Balananda Brahmachari Hospital And Research Centre, Pathakpara
South Suburban Clinic, Taratala
Disha Eye Hospital, Chowrasta
UMRI Hospital,James Long Sarani
Narayan Memorial Hospital, Manton
James Long Clinic,James Long Sarani
Drishti Eye Care Centre, Barisha Sakherbazar Sabarna Para
Kasturi Medical Research Centre, 3A bus stand
Kolkata Eye
Vivekananda Hospital & Research Institute, Parnasree
BMRI Hospital, 3A bus stand
ESIC Hospital and Medical College, Joka Metro Station/Diamond Park
Maa Chandi Idol,During Maa Chandi Puja & Mela at Barisha
Barisha Chandi Mela, a 10-day fair held every year in November–December since 1792, attracts people from all over the city. There are various stalls, rides and plenty of shops for people of all age groups. On some days during the fair, the crowd count crosses One Lakh as well. Many popular artists also perform during this festival.[28]
Sacred Heart ChurchChristmas Crib
During Christmas, all Behala roads lead to St. Peter's Church, CNI located inside the Oxford Mission compound ,Infant Jesus Church located next to Ellora Cinema hall, Sacred Heart Church and many other churches located near Behala and Thakurpukur.[29]
Thakurpukur at Night During Rath Yatra Mela,2023Steel Rath at Thakurpukur,2023
A big Rath Yatra festival and mela also occur every year on Diamond harbour road, Thakurpukur. The festival and mela starts from day of Ratha Yatra and the mela ends at the day of Ulta Ratha Thakurpukur rath Mela is the biggest Rath Yatra Mela of Behala area.
Apart from Thakurpukur rath yatra mela, Barisha rath yatra mela(Sakherbazar), Sarsuna(Badamtala) Rath Yatra Mela and Sonamukhi Rath Yatra Mela(Sarsuna and Maheshtala Border) also occurs every year.
Brass Chariot (Rath) of Sonar Durga Bari, Behala, Kolkata, India
Rath made of brass of sonar Durga Bari made in 1871, is bring outside every year during Rath Yatra Celebration.
Jagatdhatri Puja is also celebrated in many Localities of Behala.[30]
Maa Durga Idol in Behala during Durga PujaMaa Durga Idol Barisha Club
Just Like rest of Kolkata, Behala is also famous for Durga Puja, some of the popular Durga Puja pandals are
Behala Nutan Sangha
Behala Notun Dal
Behala Adarshapally
Behala KFR Math Durga Puja
Behala Shree Sangha
Behala Trishakti Club
Behala Nafar Chandra Das Road
Behala Jadu and Mitra Colony
Behala Friends.
Barisha Club
Behala 11 pally
Haridevpur 41 pally
Royde Park Welfare Association
Thakurpukur State Bank Park
The most Traditional puja is held at Roy House, at Roy Bahadur Road. SABORNO ROY CHOWDHURY HOUSE and Behala Sonar Durga Bari.
At kalipuja, Chamunda Kali Puja and a big Mela also happen every year at Bahadur Math in Dakshin Behala Road,Sasthir More.
Other famous Kali Puja of Behala is
Behala Parnashree
Behala Chatapark
The biggest celebration of the festival of Eid is held at Behala 18 Bigha Masjid.
The Diamond Harbour Road is dotted on both sides with shops and eateries. Clothes, jewellery, electronic items, sports goods, books and footwear can be found in a multitude of stores all along the stretch from Taratala to Manton. Recent additions to the shopping scene include shopping malls and factory outlets.
Apart from the standard stores, the pavements of Behala are crowded with hawkers selling everything from toothpicks to bedsheets. Some popular shops of Behala are Panna Sweets, Panna Restaurant, Haji Saheb, Bhaskar Sriniketan, Mayukhardo, New Ladies Own (Behala Tramdepot), Ramkrishna Sarighar, Debnath Electric, Shilpalay, Tanishq, P.C. Chandra Jewellers, Titan, Aminiah, Arsalan, Zeeshan, Feardeal, Great Eastern, Frankfros, Bata, Khadims, Elite, Raipur Electronics, Dhannwentari, Adidas Showroom (Silpara), Thakurpukur Reliance Complex and many more. Tarsons Products has two of its major manufacturing units located in Behala.
Some popular commercial offices in Behala are BSNL, CESE, Behala Industrial Area, Patton Tank, East India Pharmaceuticals, Union drugs, BG Press, Taratala Mint, Brand Factory, Alankrita Careers and many more.[32]
^Nair, P.Thankappan, The Growth and Development of Old Calcutta, in Calcutta, the Living City, Vol I, p. 11, edited by Sukanta Chaudhuri, Oxford University Press, ISBN0-19-563696-1
^ abcdefBanerjee, Sudhindranath. "Janapad Rupe Name" [Name and Characteristics of the Township]. Behala Janapader Itihas [History of Behala Township] (in Bengali). Kolkata: Progressive Writers' Guild. pp. 45–49.
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