The ancient kingdom of Vanga gave birth to the name of bengal. The region came under the ambitious Mauryan Empire overpowered by Samudra Gupta of Gupta Empire and then by the Pala Dynasty.
Bengal was under Muslim rule of the Delhi Sultante. In 1757 British forces under commander Robert Clive defeated Nawab Siraj al Dawla in the Battle of Plassey.
In 1765 the Shah Alam ii Mughal Emperor granted right to East India Company to collect and administer taxes and revenue of Bengal, Bihar and Odisha.
Regulating Act of 1773, gave Warren Hastings the power of British governor-general of Bengal and the chief executive of British India with capital at Calcutta (Kolkata)
The Bengal Presidency, as the province was known, had powers of superintendence over the other British presidencies, those of Madras) and Bombay.
The town of Hugli, north of Calcutta, a Portuguese factory came up until 1632; Dutch post in Chunchura, next town southwards until 1825 followed by Serampore, where the Danish post flourished until 1845 and Chandan nagar saw rise of French in India until 1949.
Post Independence from the 300 plus long years of British colonial rule, partition of Bengal resulted to West Bengal in India and East Pakistan now Bangladesh.
West Bengal's architecture is blend and harmony of ancient urban architecture, religious architecture, rural vernacular architecture, colonial townhouses and country houses, and modern urban styles.
Bungalow style concept is renowned in Bengal. The houses in Bengal villages are built by brick, mud, bamboo, timber wood and thatched roof of clay tiles. These houses are single-room type built.
Bengali architecture is influenced by Southeast Asian lands, modern Myanmar and Java Island in Indonesia.
An unique form of temple architecture became popular in Bengal region. These temples had a cruciform plan at the center of the monastery.
The architectural features of the temples of Bengal were:
There are elaborate decoration that covers the wall called the terracotta temples.
The Bengal temples had double roofed structure called Dochala on the thatched huts.
The temples were built of square platforms.
A complex-four roofed structures called chauchala where four triangular roofs were placed on four walls up to a curved line or a point.
Demographic Location
The state of West Bengal is located on the offshore near Bay of Bengal. Several commercial ports with trading flourished in this region.
It is on the eastern part of India surrounded by 5 Indian states and 2 neighboring countries.
In the north of West Bengal lies the state of Sikkim and in the northeast is the state of Assam. Southwest of West Bengal is the state of Odisha.
In the western frontier lies the states of Jharkhand and Bihar. In the North comes Bhutan with high peaks.
Bangladesh and Nepal also share boundaries with the state of West Bengal. Northern Bengal is the corridor to the high plateaus and adventurous sudden rise to places like Darjeeling and Kalimpong.
The Terrai region is filled several species of herbs, trees and animals. A tea plantation in Western Duars, northern West Bengal, India. The foothills are well known for tea plantation that are world renowned for its taste and flavor.
The world's largest delta region engulfed by Mangrove forest and water bodies Brahmaputra, Ganges, Meghna rivers along with some low lying islands.
The land of West Bengal is made of Alluvial soil due to long time flowing of The Great Ganges that brings silt, debris and organic fertile matter.
The state is embraced with many long and small beaches along the Bay of Bengal.
The land is very fertile and known for many species of plants and flowers. The land of the state is filled with shallow lakes and several soft sand marshes.
Season and Climate
The climate of West Bengal is diverse, ranging from tropical Savannah type in the southern parts of the state to humid subtropical areas in the north.
There are 4 basic natural vegetation types of West Bengal
Mountain Temperate Forest
Tropical Mixed Evergreen Forests of the Foothills
The Deciduous Forests of the Plateau
The Tidal Forests of Sundarbans
Rainfall is diverse in different parts of West Bengal.
Climate in West Bengal can be divided into three Seasons—
The Hot and Dry Season with dry sultry days and frequent thunderstorms
The Hot and Wet Season when rain-bearing winds blow from the southwest over the Bay of Bengal
The Cold Season when days are dry and clear with stable atmospheric conditions.
The Tropic of Cancer passes through the state over Nabadwip making the northern part of the state part of the temperature belt and the southern part as the tropical belt.
The delta zone is prone to long spells of heavy rainfall, monsoons, and cyclones. The region receives good rainfall and temperature do not rise too much due to proximity to sea.
Drought is a common phenomenon in the central districts of the state. Rainfall in summer months often brings heavy storms popularly called "Kalbaishakhi".
In the autumn season, the southwest monsoon wind returns, and the northeast monsoon wind enters West Bengal blowing over the Bay of Bengal.
During this part of the year the southwest monsoon returns clearing the sky thereby bringing long sunshine making the days warm while release lot of heat at night. Sometimes, cold waves blow over the state in this season.
Due to their collision in sea, some cyclones are severe and destructive and bring lot of cyclonic rainfall in the state.
The land losses temperature due to increased cloud cover in the sky. In the Mountains and the Terai Dooars plains temperature gradually increases when the sky gets clear, the temperature rises suddenly. This is known as a monsoon break.
Winter is generally dry and sunny with unpredictable and low rainfall due weather system created in the northwest India. These are known as western disturbances.
In winter, climate is mild prevailing over the plains. Higher reaches of Darjeeling Himalayas get heavy snowfall during winter with cold waves dropping temperature below freezing point.
Spring is the most pleasant season over the plains of West Bengal with scattered rain and showers witnessed due to Western disturbances in sourced in North India.
Rainfall in the plains and the humid climate of the state is conducive to increase production of Rice and Jute.
Higher rainfall in the northern mountainous region is favorable for tea production popular all over the world.
Culture and Education
The literacy rate of the state s higher than the average literacy rate of the country.
Education, Art and Culture is in the heart of the people of West Bengal with exhibition grounds like Nandan in the heart of capital city of Kolkata. The state is embraced with a Central library along with a number of district, area, and rural libraries spread all over the state .
Kolkata is the education hub of the East of the country with The University of Calcutta, Jadavpur University and Rabindra Bharati universities.
West Bengal has engineering and medical colleges and many technical institutes along with degree colleges.
There is a great appetite for science encouraged with construction of science laboratories like Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science, and the Bose Institute.
Several world famous organization like The Asiatic Society of Bengal is the backbone of education in West Bengal.
Shanti Niketan also known as Vishwa Bharati University is a recognized center for international cultural relations and arts located in Bolpur a runaway from crowded city of Kolkata.
Bengalis culture is enriched with generations of literature, music, art and drama. Visual Arts are depicted on clay modeling, terra-cotta work, and decorative painting.
The history of Literature dates to The Chaitanya Movement, an intense emotional form of Hinduism promoted by the Saint Chaitanya.
The Movement gave structure to Bengali poetry with the influence of the Western education sparked a vigorous creative culture. Rabindra Nath Tagore is the Noble prize winner and poet is known for his immense contribution to the Indian and Bengali Literature.
Traditional music relate to devotional and cultural songs. Rabindra Sangeet, songs written and composed by Tagore, are classical mastery of traditional folk-music like Boul singing. They exert a powerful influence in Bengali cultural life.
Theatre in Bengal is a popular amateur and professional form of expression popular in urban cities with mythological and historical topics performed under open air is popularly called Yatra.
The kavi is a duel in musical verse between village poets. The kathakata, a religious recital and traditional form of rural entertainment based on folklore.
The film industry is a well-established in Bengal. Bengali films and delicate handling of sensitive themes have earned national and international fame for the state. The works of the directors Satyajit Ray, Tapan Sinha, Mrinal Sen, and Aparna Sen are remembered through generations.
The people prefer to wear loose and thin cotton clothes because of the climate.
Men wear Punjabi or Genji and dhoti. Some men wear lungi for comfort. Women wear Sari and blouse. Young females like to wear skirts and tops.
Some of the festivals in Bengal are Durga Puja, Saraswati Puja, Eid and Christmas.
Famous Spots
Kolkata - Victoria Memorial, Park Street, New Market, Nandan Cultural Center, Eden Garden, Howrah Bridge, etc.
Darjeeling and kalimpong
Dihga - sea beach city
Sundarbans - Mangrove forest, Royal Bengal Tiger reserve
Shanti Niketan
Siliguri and Bagdogra
Murshidabad
Cooch Bihar
AquaLife, Flora and fauna
Forests occupy more than one-tenth of the total land area of the state, and the region as a whole has a rich and varied plant life.
In the sub-Himalayan plains the principal forest trees include sal and shisham, or Indian rosewood.
The forests are interspersed with reeds and tall grasses. On the Himalayan vegetation is coniferous in nature at higher altitudes.
The delta of the Hugli covers the western end of the dense coastal Mangrove forest called The Sundarbans.
A large part of this region that is sparsely populated bordering Bangladesh and the Bay of Bengal has been identified as a National Park.
Jaldapara Wildlife is an elephant safari paradise and a tiger reserve in West Bengal, India.
Sundarbans are famous for the natural homeland of Royal Bengal Tiger
Gorumara Wildlife Sanctuary, West Bengal
Buxa Tiger Reserve, West Bengal
The forests are roaming lands of tigers, leopards, gaurs, rhinoceros, sloth and Himalayan black bears, chital, sambar, Indian boars, pygmy hogs, Indian peafowl, great Indian hornbills, Eurasian spoonbills and brahminy ducks.
Reptiles like king and Indian cobras and white-lipped pit viper are found in these wildlife sanctuaries.
Most of the people follow Hinduism and Islam. Some minorities are Buddhists, Christians, Jains and Sikhs.
Bengali language is the main language of the state. Other languages include Hindi, Santhali, Urdu and Nepali.
A small number of people speak Kurukh, the language of the Oraon community.
Agriculture dominates both the economy of West Bengal. Rice is the staple crop of the state. Other major crops are sugarcane, oilseeds and Jute grwon in the south of the Ganges river.
Mangoes, jackfruit, and bananas are widely produced in the state. Wheat and potatoes are produced as winter crops in the southern parts of the state.
High quality Tea is the main crop in the hilly region. The Darjeeling region produces oranges, apples, pineapples, ginger and cardamom.
Rice and fish are the most liked food of the Bengalis as they are easy to digest in this climate and available in abundance.
