monuments of heritage. But those are under dilapidation due to lack
of proper care and conservation.
Nandadulal Jeu's temple is one of them. It was established by
Indranarayan Chowdhury - the Izaradar of the then French Government
under the regime of French Governor Duplé of Chandannagar in the year
1740. The roof is of 'do-chala' like a bow and there are only 2
temples of this style in West Bengal - one, this of Chandannagar and
the other, 'Jor Banglo' temple of Bishnupur. Unfortunately, there are
no idols in this Nandadulal temple. In the year 1756, English Admiral
Watson through rivers and Robert Clive by road, attacked the French in a joint
venture. The war is famous in history as War of Chandannagar. A 'gola'
was fell on the temple and the sign is still there. Clive approached
towards the basement (Paatal Ghar) of the temple in search of
treasure. And he had to approach laid aside the idol. The idol was
made of 'Kashtipathar' and one part of it was threw away on the nearby
pond and it says, the other part was threw away on river Ganga in
Kashi (Benaras). Later, the part of the idol was recovered from the
pond and preserved at the archive of Institute of the Chandannagar. By
dint of booty looted by Clive from Chandannagar, they fought
next year the war of Plassey.
The people of Chandannagar want the Government may take the steps to
conserve the heritage and historical monuments. --
A. B.
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