The Kopai River (also called Sal River) is a tributary of the
Bakreshwar River
The Bakreshwar River is a tributary of the Mayurakshi River. It originates in Santhal Parganas division of Jharkhand.Selim, Mohammad, ''Irrigation Projects in Birbhum District'',''Paschim Banga'', February 2006, (in Bengali), Birbhum special iss ...
. It flows past such towns as
Santiniketan
Santiniketan is a neighbourhood of Bolpur town in the Bolpur subdivision of Birbhum district in West Bengal, India, approximately 152 km north of Kolkata. It was established by Maharshi Devendranath Tagore, and later expanded by his son ...
,
Bolpur
Bolpur is a city and a municipality in Birbhum district in the state of West Bengal, India. It is the headquarters of the Bolpur subdivision. Bolpur municipal area includes Santiniketan, Sriniketan and Prantik. The city is known as a Cultural a ...
,
Kankalitala
Kankalitala is a temple town in Bolpur Sriniketan CD block in Bolpur subdivision of Birbhum district in the Indian state of West Bengal.
Geography
Location
It is located about from Bolpur on the Bolpur–Labhpur road. It is situated o ...
,
Kirnahar
Kirnahar is a village in Nanoor CD block in Bolpur subdivision of Birbhum district in the Indian state of West Bengal.
Geography
Location
Kirnahar is located at . It has an average elevation of .
Kirnahar is located in the south-eastern cor ...
and
Labhpur
Labhpur is a census town in Labpur CD block in Bolpur subdivision of Birbhum district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is known to the outside world as the native place of Tarashankar Bandopadhyay and one of the 51 Shakti Peethas.
Geogr ...
in
Birbhum district
Birbhum district () is an District#India, administrative unit in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the northernmost district of Burdwan division—one of the five Divisions of West Bengal, administrative divisions of West Bengal. The distr ...
in the
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
n
state
State may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Literature
* ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State
* ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States
* ''Our S ...
of
West Bengal
West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fourt ...
. It is a small river in dry season but overflows its banks during the monsoon.
There is a village name Chhora (ছোড়া) beside this river. Also Nichinta (নিচিন্তা), Rupuspur (রুপুসপুর), Perua, (পেরুয়া) etc are depend on this river.
Literary association
The area around the river quite often has purple soil, which forms ravines on the river bank with weathering and is popular as the
khoai
Khoai in Bengali refers to a geological formation specifically in Birbhum, Bardhaman, and Bankura districts of West Bengal, India and some parts of Jharkhand, India that is made up of laterite soil rich in iron oxide, often in the shapes of tiny ...
. It has inspired literary figures in the area.
[ It is described by ]Rabindranath Tagore
Rabindranath Tagore (; bn, রবীন্দ্রনাথ ঠাকুর; 7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941) was a Bengali polymath who worked as a poet, writer, playwright, composer, philosopher, social reformer and painter. He resh ...
as follows –
: ''amader chhoto nadi chale banke banke
baisakh mase taar hantu jal thake''
::Our small stream moves forward in bends and curves
In the month of Baisakh
Vaisakha; hi, बैसाख, Baisākh; pa, ਵਿਸਾਖ/وساکھ , te, వైశాఖ, kn, ವೈಶಾಖ, Vaiśākha; ml, വൈശാഖം, Vaiśākham; mr, वैशाख, Vaiśākh; ta, வைகாசி, Vaikāci; ne, ...
it only has knee deep waters
The local name of a sickle-shaped, channel like curve in the river inspired the title of the novel '' Hansuli Banker Upakatha'' (Story of the Sickle-shaped Curve) by Tarasankar Bandyopadhyay
Tarasankar Bandyopadhyay (23 July 1898 – 14 September 1971) was an Indian novelist who wrote in the Bengali language. He wrote 65 novels, 53-story-books, 12 plays, 4 essay-books, 4 autobiographies, 2 travel stories and composed several songs. ...
, made into a film by Tapan Sinha
Tapan Sinha (2 October 1924 – 15 January 2009) was one of the most prominent Indian film directors of his time forming a legendary quartet with Satyajit Ray, Ritwik Ghatak and Mrinal Sen. He was primarily a Bengali filmmaker who worked both ...
.
Archaeology
Microlith
A microlith is a small Rock (geology), stone tool usually made of flint or chert and typically a centimetre or so in length and half a centimetre wide. They were made by humans from around 35,000 to 3,000 years ago, across Europe, Africa, Asia an ...
s of crystalline stone and petrified wood from about 1250–1000 BC are found in many places in the Ajay- Kunur-Kopai river system.
See also
*List of rivers of India
This is a list of rivers of India, starting in the west and moving along the Indian coast southward, then northward. Tributary rivers are listed hierarchically in upstream order: the lower in the list, the more upstream.
The overall discharge of r ...
*Rivers of India
The rivers in India play an important role in the lives of its people. They provide potable water, cheap transportation, electricity, and the livelihood for many people nationwide. This easily explains why nearly all the major cities of India are l ...
References
External links
Map of Birbhum
Rivers of West Bengal
Rivers of India
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