Samta, India

Samta, India Samta
Village
Website	http://howrah.gov.in/

Samta (Bengali:সামতা) is a small village and a Gram panchayat in Deulti in the Howrah district in the Indian state of West Bengal. which is located between villages like Ghoraghata, Nabasan, Asaria. It is a village situated on the banks of the Rupnarayan River in the Howrah district of West Bengal. It is located between Howrah and Kharagpur on the South Eastern Railway (India). This village is located between between the stations Bagnan and Deulti.

History

Samta is a very reputed village; the village is more than 750 years old and earlier was ruled by the “Roy Zamindars”. The Zamindars were formerly surnamed Banerjee, but they were given the title of Roy, by the British. The Zamindars were then under the Bardhaman Raj Estate. The Zamindari started to collapse as the British introduced the system of Dual Government, then at last at the end of the mid-17th century, it collapsed and it was then taken by the Panchayat Samity, the Zamindars then became the head of the Samity and all the villagers would listen to him and his decisions. Later, the village’s progress and all the public properties were taken by the government but still we have the Panchayat Samity ruled by the political parties. But still now there had not been much progress but the villagers earn a good living and stay in pucca houses and a few works as maids or servants. But, still there are no lampposts lighting on the roads to lit them at night, the main road called Sarat Road is made with pitch but they are derelict, the roads which pass through the village are made with bricks or mud.

Here there are very ancient temples, which have been mentioned further below.

In this village we also have many clubs of which one needs special attention. That club called Mallock Bisalakhi Athletic Club was established in 1905 and is located in the border of Samta and Mallock. The club is a football fan club and still exists in this village.

Present condition and surroundings

The village is surrounded by gardens and trees, there are also numerous ponds and swamps all around, surrounding most of the village. People can find fishes and different types of animals and so on there. There is insufficient supply of electricity but water is available twice a day. There are no lampposts on the roads to light them at night, the main road called Sarat Road is made with pitch but they are derelict, the roads which pass through the village are made with bricks or mud.

Rivers like Damodar and Rupnarayan flow along the village thus, the soil here is very fertile for crops like that of rice, wheat and vegetables. Though earlier the river Rupnarayan was much closer to the village but later it changed its route and moved far away. But, nowadays the river water is again breaking the shore and coming close to the village, thus all the houses, temples and the crop-fields are endangered.

The Rupnarayan River passes through and along the village, so there it was earlier controlled by machines but later the machines rusted and were destroyed, and they are still not repaired so only the remains of the rusted machines can be seen, their the Rupnarayan River now is controlled by a barrage, which is locally known as baandh. The baandh leads to Mallock in the south and to the poet, Sarat Chandra Chatterjee’s house in the north.

There is also a cremation ground on the banks of Rupnarayan River and beside the barrage.

The dry river bed where once the Rupnarayan River once flows is at present a popular picnic spot, countless people come here on holidays, visit poet Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay’s house and spend the whole day here and at the river side some distance away. But there’s no proper drinking water facility and a guest house for overnight stay. There are guest houses like the famous Nirala Resort but it is located far away from the house.

Transport

Located near the South Eastern Railway station, Deulti, it is close to the NH 6, also known as Bombay Road. It is about approx. 60 km by rail and 67 km by road from Kolkata. Thus, proximity to Kolkata with good means of connectivity gives this place and added benefit and room for future growth.

The local transports exists in the form of rickshaws, rickshaw-vans and trekker (a kind of jeep). Recently, new routes have been started using trekkers from Deulti station to neighbouring villages and railway halts such as Bagnan, Mallock, etc. This has resulted in a significant growth in the number of daily commuters from these areas. People of areas such as Mallock would avail the trekker service to reach the Deulti station and then travel by train. These "Daily passengers" (as referred to in the local parlance) is gradually making Deulti a more happening and busy station.

Transport

Located near the South Eastern Railway station, Deulti, it is close to the NH 6, also known as Bombay Road. It is about approx. 60 km by rail and 67 km by road from Kolkata. Thus, proximity to Kolkata with good means of connectivity gives this place and added benefit and room for future growth.

The local transports exists in the form of rickshaws, rickshaw-vans and trekker (a kind of jeep). Recently, new routes have been started using trekkers from Deulti station to neighbouring villages and railway halts such as Bagnan, Mallock, etc. This has resulted in a significant growth in the number of daily commuters from these areas. People of areas such as Mallock would avail the trekker service to reach the Deulti station and then travel by train. These "Daily passengers" (as referred to in the local parlance) is gradually making Deulti a more happening and busy station.

Nearby villages and towns

After Samta comes before the famous census town of Kolaghat, where we have the Kolaghat Thermal Power Plant, and other small villages like Tamultala]] and Naopala, the nearby villages to Samta are Mallock, Birampur, Gobindopur, Baraberia, Kankte, Mashiara, Kalyanpur, Amrajor, Mankur and Dakaberia.

Education

Many schools are found here in the village of Samta which include Panitras Girls' High School, Samta Sarat Chandra Uccha Balika Bidyalay, Samta Primary School which is located near Shibtala, Children's Institution and the newly established Vivekananda Institution. However, no college has been so far established. The education seekers have to travel to Bagnan to have higher educations.

Occupation

The people earn their living by working in the city, Kolkata or in nearby factories or mills. They also work as teachers in schools or in coaching classes, a few works as farmers, domestic help, and fishermen and so on. We can even find a few working as guides in the nearby heritage spots. The women are bound to the house works like cooking, washing and so on. Some are also horticultures or are either professional gardeners or have a deep passion for gardening. Many even work as masons. There are more occupations by which the inhabitants of Samta earn their living.

Temples

There are many temples found in the village, but there are mainly three temples in the village of Samta. They are the Shetola Maa Temple, where the Roys, who still live in the village worship Goddess Shetola and Goddess Singhabahini. The people from the whole village come here and worship the Goddess along with Maa Shashti and Lord Shiva during festivals like Shitala puja, Durga Puja, Itu Puja, and Janmashtami and so on.

The other famous temple is Gopaler Mondir, which literally means the temple of Gopala; the temple is nearly 700 years and was built by a wrestler known as Mukunda Roy or Mukunda Rai. He was very strong and muscular. Then, the road to the temple was connected to the barrage by a small wooden bridge. Mukunda Rai would carry two heavy stones in his arms ands would carry it to the temple crossing the wooden temple. Neither did he used to get tired nor the wooden bridge used to break. One of the stones is still kept in the campus around the temple. The condition of the temple is now derelict and it may fall anytime, however the reconstruction work of the temple has been started at present. The idol which is worshipped in the temple is an idol of Radha-Krishna and it is made of koshtipathor. Festivals like local Dol Yatra, Holi and Janmashtami are celebrated with pomp and show in this temple.

The other famous temples are the temple of Lokenath Baba and the temple of Lord Shiva at Shibtala, a spot in the village of Samta. Local temples are also located in the village but one which needs special attention is the temple of Maa Chandi, which is locally known as Shubho Chandi Tala, which literally means the temple of the lucky Chandi. The idol worshipped ion this temple is very ancient and was found in the fishing net of a fisherman who was fishing in the Rupnarayan River. It is believed that some thieves stole it and were carrying it in a boat when somehow by some means the boat along with its occupants and the idol sank in the Rupnarayan River. It was found while rescuing their bodies from the river.

House of Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay

Sarat Chandra was born into poverty in Debanandapur, Hooghly, West Bengal in India but he spent most of his lifetime here in Samta. He used to live in Samta and stay in his house with the fishermen and washer men. So the villagers separated him from the village, as fishermen and washer men were considered to be of low caste. So he along with the houses where he lived with the fishermen and washer men, used to call as a separate village called "Samtaber".

The Rupnarayan River then used to flow right outside the window of Sarat Chandra’s ground floor study. Now, the river has changed its route and has moved far away. The author would often gaze at the sparkling river while writing Abhagir Swarga, Kamal Lata, Shesh Prashna, Palli Samaj, Ramer Sumati, Pather Dabi and Mahesh. The two storied Burmese style house was also home to Sarat Chandra. His along with his brother Swami Vedananda's samadhi can still be seen there. Swami Vedananda was a disciple in Belur Math. The trees like that of bamboo, galoncho and the guava trees planted by the renowned author are still tourist attractions.

Parts of the house-like the mud-walled kitchen-collapsed and the house was damaged in the 1978 floods, the Zilla Parishad undertook its repair spending ₹77000. Later, after it was declared as a Heritage Site the whole house was renovated and the belongings of Sarat Chandra like his furniture, walking stick, shoes etc. were polished and are restored in showcases. The tress which was almost going to fall down and die was given proper care and support. The house’s boundary has been extended till the Samadhis, surrounding them which earlier used to lie on the road. Except these tress have been planted around the house which add to its beauty.

Opposite to the house there is also a pond, which he mentioned in his novel Palli Samaj; he mentioned about two fishes of the pond,-who lived there-as Kartika and Ganesh, in the novel.

Sarat Mela

Sarat Mela is an annual fair which is held in late January every year for seven days to showcase the different lifetimes of Sarat Chandra. The fair is solely dedicated to Sarat Chandra and his works. Sarat Mela was started in 1972. Complete with countless stalls of handicrafts and local products, giant wheels, merry-go-rounds, stalls of jalebi, papad, toys, utensils, etc. Cultural programmes mostly held by local talents, debate and singing competition is also held. Students display their handicrafts as do amateur and professional gardeners. They also display uniques like oversized vegetables and plants, series of terracotta relief plaques depicting the various phases of Sarat Chandra’s life like his childhood, his marriage, his homeopathic clinic for the poor, his last journey to Kolkata’s Park Nursing Home in a palanquin and so on which catch the eye. Also such clay “illustrations” of Sarat Chandra’s works like Mahesh are installed. The fair ends late at night with Chhau dance and a fireworks display.

The fair is held on the Panitras High School grounds some distance from Sarat Chandra’s house but if it could be shifted to the open space where the Rupnarayan River once flowed right in front of the house people could link the two more easily. The Government of West Bengal does not provide funds, only private and public donations allow the villagers to hold the fair. However, sometime the number of people it draws is reduced due to unpleasant weather conditions like rainfall.

Major disasters

Disaster	Time	Details
Storm	September-October, 1942	A severe storm ragged the village. Trees got uprooted and houses collapsed leading to the death of many people. This disaster took place during Durga Puja, which is the most celebrated and awaited festival in West Bengal. People took shelter in their houses or the temples. That year Durga Puja was not celebrated in the village
Floods	1978	1000 and 1000s of houses were flooded as the banks of the River Damodar broke and the water poured in Samta and the other villages surrounding it. The crop fields were all destroyed. Huge amount of property was destroyed leading to loss of 1000s of life. The water level on the ground of villages was 15 to 20 feet. It took 1and a ½ months to get back to the previous condition and for the water to move into the Rupnarayan River. This was the worst floods in living memory. Much of the crops were ruined and fresh water supplies were contaminated. The government helped a lot during this flood<ref<1978 Floods</ref>
Storm	December, 2004	This storm took place at the time of the 2004 Tsunami. The effects of the storm was same as the 1942 storm but there was no loss of life.
Storm	May, 2009	This storm took place at the time of the Cyclone Aila, the storm also ragged the city of Kolkata and was locally known as Aila storm. A huge storm was accompanied by rain. trees gott uprooted and parts of the mud-walled houses in the vilage collapsed. There was no recorded life loss in the village of Samta.