Santiniketan

Santiniketan (Bengali: শান্তিনিকেতন Śāntiniketan, SHAHN-tih-nih-keh-tawn), also spelt Shantiniketan, is a university town in the Birbhum district of West Bengal. It was established by Debendranath Tagore in the second half of the 19th century, and then developed by his son, Rabindranath Tagore, the leading figure of the Bengali Renaissance, whose vision became what is now a university town with the ancient gurukula method of learning. It has produced such diverse personalities as Indira Gandhi (once a Prime Minister of India), Satyajit Ray (an Oscar-winning filmmaker) and Amartya Sen (a Nobel laureate) and has been home to great artists and musicians. Santiniketan is also famous for the baul culture. Around 1.2 million visitors visit Santiniketan annually. It has been designated as a in September 2023.

Understand
In 1863, Debendranath Tagore took on permanent lease of land, along with two chātim (ছাতিম) trees from zamindar Bhuban Mohan Sinha. The leased area was a small village and the den of a gang of notorious dacoits. After the leader of the gang surrendered to Debendranath, they started helping him in developing the area. Debendranath built a guest house there and named it Santiniketan (literally the "abode of peace"). Gradually, the whole area came to be known as Santiniketan.

In 1901, Rabindranath Tagore established a school in Santiniketan, called Brahmacaryāśram (ব্রহ্মচর্যাশ্রম), which became the Visva-Bharati University in 1921. A brainchild of Rabindranath, the Visva-Bharati University is a unique learning centre in the sense that the education takes place under a tree, instead of in a classroom. It got the status of a central university by 1951.

Several artists are also closely associated with Santiniketan other than Rabindranath Tagore and his father, including Nandalal Bose, Ramkinkar Baij and Benode Behari Mukherjee. Their works can be found throughout the town.

Climate
The climate of Santiniketan is moderately warm, with summer temperatures at around 35–42 °C (maximum) and winter at 10–15 °C (minimum). Summer is felt for three months, March, April and May. December, January and February are the winter months. June, July, August and September see heavy rainfall. The annual average temperature is 26.2 °C. About 1480 mm of rain falls per year, with 76 days seeing the rain.

Read

 * Rabindranath, Santiniketan, Sriniketan by Tapan Kumar Basak. Available locally.

By plane
The nearest airport is Kazi Nazrul Islam Airport at Durgapur, but flights are infrequent. Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport in Kolkata is the nearest major airport that is close to Santiniketan.

By train
Santiniketan is two to three hours by train from Kolkata. Vande Bharat Express and Shatabdi Express offer the fastest service. For schedules check with Indian Railways.

There are two railway stations in Santiniketan, namely (BHP) and. Most express trains stop at Bolpur Shantiniketan.

If you are travelling with a lot of baggage, you may struggle for space even in reserved cars, and hiring a car may be a better alternative to reach Santiniketan.

Express trains that stop at Bolpur Shantiniketan:
 * From Howrah, Kolkata (HWH): Ganadevta Express, Jamalpur Express, Kavi Guru Express, Malda Intercity Express, NJP Shatabdi Express, NJP Vande Bharat Express (fastest, non-stop), Saraighat Express and Shantiniketan Express (the only train that originates and/or terminates at HWH and BHP, so you a better chance of finding seats on this train if you buy unreserved tickets).
 * From Sealdah (SDAH), Kolkata: Darjeeling Mail and Kanchenjunga Express.
 * From New Jalpaiguri (NJP), Siliguri: Darjeeling Mail, Howhrah Shatabdi Express, Howrah Vande Bharat Express and Kanchenjunga Express.

By bus
From Kolkata, there are two options: The Asansol bus (alight near Panagarh) and the Suri bus (alight near Ilambazar). From both places, local buses are available for Santiniketan.



By car
Santiniketan is from Kolkata by road. Good drivers can cover the distance in about 3 hours.

Santiniketan is connected with Kolkata by an excellent 4-lane expressway. From Kolkata, travel to Dankuni and take the Durgapur Expressway (NH 19). It will bypass Saktigarh, Bardhaman and Panagarh. At Panagarh (Darjeeling More), turn right. After crossing the Ajay River, take the road to the right at Ilambazar and proceed towards Bolpur. At the Santiniketan–Sriniketan junction (also called Surul More) take the road to the left. Coming from the direction of Kolkata, one can also take the NH 114 route via Talit, Guskara, Bhedia and Surul More by taking a right turn from the Durgapur Expressway just after crossing Bardhaman on the right (where the Renaissance Township is on the left) and taking this route via Nababhat More. It saves time and the distance is less from the above route by about 50 km.

Get around
You can also look at the map of the Visva-Bharati campus in Santiniketan.

By rickshaw
Electric rickshaws (locally known as totos) are the most convenient and cheap means of transportation these days. The older cycle rickshaws are still available and can be availed, though it would cost more. If you are a tourist, don't get on the cycle rickshaws in front of the museum that are manned by persistent teenagers as they will take you on a farcical circulatory route to make you spend more. Choose the older guys. Or just walk round the town.

By car
Hired cars and taxis are not always readily available.

By bicycle
If you are planning an extended stay, it may be worth your while to purchase a bicycle from one of the many local cycle shops. A brand new bicycle costs ₹3,200-3,600.

See
Santiniketan has several buildings associated with the Tagore family—Santiniketan Griha, Nutan Bari, Dehali etc. School classes and major functions are held in the Amra Kunja (mango grove). Some distance away on the eastern side is a small hillock with a large banyan tree. It was a favourite of Maharishi Debendranath Tagore. Visitors are not allowed to loiter around educational centres during working hours as these disturb the classes being held.



Do
In Santiniketan, seasonal changes bring their own colours and beauties with various festivals. The festivals are organised on traditional Indian forms and rituals.

Buy
A favourable time for shopping is during the Poush Mela. The unique style of embroidery associated with Santiniketan is known as the 'Kantha stitch'. 'Sudha Karu Shilpa' in Andrews Palli, 'Amar Kutir' at the Kopai River, and 'Basundhara' in Sonajhuri offer quality Kantha stitchwork in the form of sarees, and dupattas throughout the year. Other handicrafts like dhokra (artistic brassware from nearby Ausgram), leather bags, bamboo toys and locally handwoven cotton are also worth a look.

Drink
Santiniketan and the surrounding areas offer a few bottle shops for wine and liquor purchases. A few restaurants have permits to serve beer (Kharimati restaurant, Park Hotel restaurant) and one local bar with a liquor licence is the Moon Bar at the new Kharimati Hotel. During tribal festivals, the Santals enjoy rice beer which is served warm, is quite tasty and has a low alcohol content.

Go next

 * Bakreshwar — 58 km, Shaktipitha, also famous for the Bakranath Shiva temple and hot springs.
 * Durgapur — 60 km, the steel city. You can travel on to Bishnupur another 70 km in the same direction or on to Asansol, another 30 km, along NH 19.
 * Kendubillo — 30 km, on the bank of the river Ajay, believed by many to be the birthplace of 12th century Sanskrit poet Jayadeva, author of the masterpiece Geeta Govinda. A fair is held here on Makar Sankranti (mid-January). Baul songs are the principal attraction of this meal. There is a temple with terracotta decorations.
 * Labhpur — 30 km, the birthplace of Tarashankar Bandyopadhyay and home to the Fullara Temple, a Shakti Pitha.
 * Massanjore — 75 km (in Jharkhand), a dam across the river Mayurakshi with a picturesque reservoir. You can travel on to Deoghar another 98 km in the same direction.
 * Nalhati — 100 km, another Shakti Pitha
 * Nanoor — 20 km, birthplace of Chandidas, 14th century Sanskrit poet, famous for his Vaishnava Padavalis. There is a temple dedicated to Devi Basuli.
 * Sainthia — 44 km, another Shakti Pitha
 * Tarapith — 88 km, another Shakti Pitha, famous temple of Tara Devi
 * Dubrajpur — 44 km, Rajbari (Palace), terracotta temples and natural rock formation