Skip to main content

India village houses 170-year-old castles

Sunday, January 31, 2010
DHANYAKURIA: Palatial mansions and small castles featuring an amalgamation of Gothic and Islamic architecture are features that distinguish Dhanyakuria village in India's eastern state of West Bengal.

The village, in North 24 Parganas district, stands witness to the past glory, which has been a symbol of the development since pre-independence.

Built by merchants who had settled in the place 170 years ago, the castles and mansions are highly influenced by the European lifestyle. Boasting of splendid domes, intricate filigree-work, gothic carvings, huge turrets and towers, the buildings are a visual feast for tourists and locals alike.

The descendents of the merchants' families, despite having moved to India and abroad, have maintained close ties with the villagers.

"I took a prompt action to accumulate all the young generations, along with the past generations to make a communication so that our heritage - not only our heritage but it is the heritage of our village. We know that before independence it was established, and to maintain that heritage we want to do something better," C A Gaine, descendent of one of the merchants' family.

Now the youth of the families have formed a trust to take care of the development issues, as well as the unique cultural heritage of the place.

Most family members make it a point to visit the village at least once each year during a major festival.

One of the castles now houses a girls' orphanage.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

India's swine flu death rate is increasing

Friday, August 14, 2009 MUMBAI: A 26-year-old woman died Thursday of H1N1 swine flu in the southern city of Bangalore, raising India's death toll from the virus to 20, authorities said.The death was the first reported in India's information technology capital, the Press Trust of India reported.Meanwhile in Pune, the worst-affected in India, two more victims of the virus died Thursday, raising the death toll in that western city near Mumbai to 12, the report said. The victims were an 11-month-old boy and a 75-year-old old woman.US media reported movie halls, schools and colleges were ordered closed Thursday for three days to a week in Mumbai, the commercial and financial capital of the country, as fear of the pandemic spread.Prajakata Lavangare, a spokeswoman for the government of Maharashtra state of which Mumbai is the capital, said similar orders were issued in Pune, which is also located in the state.The woman who died in Bangalore was identified only as Roopa, a teacher in
Post a Comment
Read more

Cuba's world-famous cigar festival closes in Havana

Sunday, February 28, 2010 HAVANA: Hundreds of wealthy merchants and cigar aficionados from all parts of the world gathered in Havana this week to bid high stakes for humidors full of premium cigars. Cuba's annual Habanos festival ended on Friday night with an auction of ornate humidors of cedar and mahogany stacked with hand-rolled stogies that raised 800,000 euros ($1.09 million dollars). Habanos S.A. executives this month said cigar sales fell 8 percent to $360 million in 2009, so they have created the Julieta, a smaller, milder version of the Romeo y Julieta cigar, aimed specifically at female smokers. Women now make up only 5 to 10 percent of customers for Habanos. But even with the creation of the Julieta, Garcia said Habanos has only modest hopes for 2010 sales, due largely to a weak economy in Spain, the biggest market for Cuban cigars. The flavor of premium tobacco relies on the soil and climate in which it is grown. The western province of Pinar Del Rio, famous fo
Post a Comment
Read more

Cyprus lace to be declared UNESCO cultural heritage

Tuesday, September 08, 2009 NICOSIA: Traditional hand-made lace produced in the Larnaca district village of Lefkara in Cyprus known as lefkaritiko includeded in UNESCO’s list of Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH). Soseilos said that the relevant UNESCO committee has already decided to include lefkaritiko in its list of the world’s ICH, a more recent addition to UNESCO’s long-standing list of World Heritage sites, and the decision will be formally announced at the UNESCO General Assembly next month. The tradition of needlework and lace embroidery in Lefkara goes back centuries.
Post a Comment
Read more