Sribati or Sreebati is a village and
gram panchayat
Gram Panchayat () is a basic village-governing institute in Indian villages. It is a democratic structure at the grass-roots level in India. It is a political institute, acting as cabinet of the village. The Gram Sabha work as the general bod ...
in
Katwa II CD block in the
Katwa subdivision of
Purba Bardhaman
Purba Bardhaman district is in West Bengal. Its headquarters is in Bardhaman. It was formed on 7 April 2017 after the division of the previous Bardhaman district. Great revolutionary Rash Behari Bose was born in village Subaldaha in the district ...
district 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 ...
.
Geography
Location
Sribati is located on a slightly raised plateau between the Brahmani River to the north and the Khari River to the south, at an elevation of 18 meters.
Urbanisation
88.44% of the population of Katwa subdivision live in the rural areas. Only 11.56% of the population live in the urban areas. The map alongside presents some of the notable locations in the subdivision. All places marked in the map are linked in the larger full screen map.
Demographics
Sribati has a population of 2,656 of which 1,352 are males while 1,304 are females as per Population Census 2011. The population of children below the age of 6 is 314 which makes up 11.82% of total population of village. Average Sex Ratio of Sribati is 964 which is higher than West Bengal state average of 950. Child Sex Ratio for Sribati is 1026, higher than West Bengal average of 956.
Many villagers are from
Scheduled Castes
The Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) are officially designated groups of people and among the most disadvantaged socio-economic groups in India. The terms are recognized in the Constitution of India and the groups are designa ...
. Schedule Castes constitute 43.15% of the total population, whereas
Scheduled Tribes
The Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) are officially designated groups of people and among the most disadvantaged socio-economic groups in India. The terms are recognized in the Constitution of India and the groups are designa ...
constitute 0.11% of the total population.
In 2011, literacy rate of Sribati was 64.35% compared to 76.26% of West Bengal. In Sribati, male literacy stands at 70.68% while female literacy rate was 57.73%. Sribati has one high school,
Sribati G.K. High School, which provides education up to the tenth standard.
Economy
The majority of the village is engaged in agricultural work. Out of 868 working adults in the village, 114 were cultivators (owner or co-owner) while 427 were agricultural laborers.
Government
Sribati is administered by the Sribati
Gram Panchayat
Gram Panchayat () is a basic village-governing institute in Indian villages. It is a democratic structure at the grass-roots level in India. It is a political institute, acting as cabinet of the village. The Gram Sabha work as the general bod ...
, led by an elected
Sarpanch
A sarpanch ( IAST: ''Sarpañch'' Hindi: ''सरपंच'') or Gram Pradhan or Mukhiya is a decision-maker, elected by the village-level constitutional body of local self-government called the Gram Sabha (village government) in India. The Sarp ...
.
Attractions
Terracotta Temple Complex
Sribati is home to one of the best preserved Bengali
terracotta
Terracotta, terra cotta, or terra-cotta (; ; ), in its material sense as an earthenware substrate, is a clay-based ceramic glaze, unglazed or glazed ceramic where the pottery firing, fired body is porous.
In applied art, craft, construction, a ...
temple complexes from the nineteenth century. The complex consists of three temples housing
Shiva-lingas named: Shri Viswesara (made of black stone), Shri Bholanath (made of white marble), and Shri Chandreswar (made of black stone).
The oldest of the temples, dedicated to Shri Chandreswar, was built in 1802 by Smt. Bhabanicharan Chandra. It was built in the rekh-
deul style of Eastern India with a single spire and a square base, and decorated with terracotta reliefs from Hindu
Puranic
Purana (; sa, , '; literally meaning "ancient, old"Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature (1995 Edition), Article on Puranas, , page 915) is a vast genre of Indian literature about a wide range of topics, particularly about legends an ...
mythology including the
Dashavatara
The Dashavatara ( sa, दशावतार, ) are the ten primary avatars of Vishnu, a principal Hindus, Hindu god. Vishnu is said to descend in the form of an avatar to restore cosmic order. The word ''Dashavatara'' derives from , meaning " ...
s,
Dasha-mahavidyas and
Ramlila.
The middle temple and the third temple, dedicated to Shri Bholanath and Shri Viswesara, were built in 1836, by members of the local
zamindar
A zamindar ( Hindustani: Devanagari: , ; Persian: , ) in the Indian subcontinent was an autonomous or semiautonomous ruler of a province. The term itself came into use during the reign of Mughals and later the British had begun using it as a ...
i Chandra family, Shri Ramkanai Chandra and his wife, Annapurna Devi. The middle temple was built in the
pancharatna style with five spires and decorated with terracotta interweaving
Shaivite,
Vaishnavite
Vaishnavism ( sa, वैष्णवसम्प्रदायः, Vaiṣṇavasampradāyaḥ) is one of the major Hindu denominations along with Shaivism, Shaktism, and Smartism. It is also called Vishnuism since it considers Vishnu as the ...
and
Tantric motifs. The third temple was built in the rekh-deul style with a single spire and an octagonal base, and decorated with terracotta reliefs displaying common socio-cultural scenes of that time.
The Sribati Terracotta Temple Complex (S-WB-38) is a
State Protected Monument under the
Archaeological Survey of India
The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is an Indian government agency that is responsible for archaeological research and the conservation and preservation of cultural historical monuments in the country. It was founded in 1861 by Alexande ...
's Kolkata circle.
Other Attractions
Near the terracotta temple complex are eighteenth and nineteenth-century zamindari mansions, in various states of preservation, displaying exquisite architectural motifs representative of the colonial era in Bengal: open courtyards, hanging balconies, surrounded by up to three floors of living spaces. Many of the houses also contain a very high-ceilinged puja
mandap
A mandapa or mantapa () is a pillared hall or pavilion for public rituals in Indian architecture, especially featured in Hindu temple architecture.
Mandapas are described as "open" or "closed" depending on whether they have walls. In temples, ...
or large hall on one side, with designs etched into the walls. One of the houses still hosts an annual
Durga Puja
Durga Puja ( bn, দুর্গা পূজা), also known as Durgotsava or Sharodotsava, is an annual Hindu festival originating in the Indian subcontinent which reveres and pays homage to the Hindu goddess Durga and is also celebrated ...
, that has been held continuously for over 300 years.
Another attraction is the Shri Shri Raghunath Jiu Mandir, established in 1705. The
mandir
A Hindu temple, or ''mandir'' or ''koil'' in Indian languages, is a house, seat and body of divinity for Hindus. It is a structure designed to bring human beings and gods together through worship, sacrifice, and devotion.; Quote: "The Hind ...
or temple is dedicated to the
kuladevata
A kuladevatā (), also known as a kuladaivaṃ, is an ancestral tutelary deity in Hinduism and Jainism.
Such a deity is often the object of one's devotion (''bhakti''), and is coaxed to watch over one's clan (''kula''), gotra, family, and chil ...
of the local zamindari Chandra family, Shri Raghunath Jiu, a form of
Vishnu
Vishnu ( ; , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism.
Vishnu is known as "The Preserver" within t ...
. The
shaligram
A shaligrama shila ( deva, शालिग्राम शिला, Śāligrāma-śilā), also rendered as shaligram, is a particular variety of stone collected from riverbed or banks of the Kali Gandaki, a tributary of the Gandaki River in N ...
in this temple was one of the treasures looted by Maratha general, Bhaskar Pandit, in 1742 during the
Maratha invasions of Bengal.
[চন্দ্র, মহাদেব (2014). ''চন্দ্র বংশ ও শ্রীবাটি টেরাকোটা''. অজয় আচার্য.]
References
{{Purba Bardhaman topics
Cities and towns in Purba Bardhaman district
Villages in Purba Bardhaman district