Diary of North Bengal 5/ Kanchenjunga from Jalpesh

"Stop, Stop the car now.”

Hearing my loud voice the driver immediately applied breaks. I simply rushed out of it. 

“What’s the matter? What happened?” enquired my family members, who were simply bewildered. 

“Just look at that side,” I was unable to hide my excitement. 

It’s the Kanchenjunga. 

Our first sighting of Kanchenjunga in this trip. 

We were heading towards the Jalpesh Temple from Lataguri. Though we were moving southwards, but I was constantly keeping my eye on the northern side as well. Himalayas are on that side. I heard that, on a clear day the Kanchenjunga can be seen from the plains of North Bengal. Monsoon has totally retreated from North Bengal. Though the sky was partially cloudy for the past few days, but on that particular day, it was absolutely clear. So I believed that we could finally get a glimpse of the peak. 

Just on the outskirts of Maynaguri town, I sighted the White Mountain top. Kunchenjunga, the life of North Bengal, the pearl of North Bengal.

Anyways, we stopped on the road side for five minutes or so, clicked photos, and again started our journey towards Jalpesh. 

Finally, we reached Jalpesh Temple. Located at a distance of 8 kms from Maynaguri town, it’s actually known as Jalpeshwar Temple. It is one of the most famous abodes of Lord Shiva in North Bengal.

The Temple compound is very peaceful and there is no commotion what so ever. I was attracted by this peaceful environment. There is no ‘pandas’ in the temple and we can worship Lord Shiva in our own way. But to enter the sanctum sanctorum of the temple, we have to buy a ticket.  

The structures of temples are different in different regions of the country. For example, Odisha has a unique style so as the temples of South, North and West India as well. The structure of temples varies in our state as well. Bankura has a unique style, South 24 Parganas has another. 

Jalpesh Temple is totally different from the other temples in India. On observing the structure of the temple, one gets a feeling that it doesn’t resemble a temple but a mosque.  This temple also has a gumbaz like a mosque. Why is it so? Our curiosity was answered by the priest. But before that, let’s have a look the history of this temple.  

This temple was first built by Jalpeshwar Burman, the king of Kamrup in 9^th century AD. Three hundred years later, it was destroyed by Bakhtiyar Khalji, during his Kamrup invasion. Years later it was rebuilt by Bhutan king, but it was buried under the thick forest afterwards. 

After almost four hundred years, the temple was once again discovered by the Raja Prananarayana, the King of Coochbehar. In 1665, he started the reconstruction of the temple. The construction was completed by his son Raja Madannarayan. 

The temple was once again destroyed by the massive earthquake in 1897, which occurred in Shillong and had a magnitude of 8 in richter scale. The concerned authorities did not provide any fund to rebuilt the temple. So the people associated with this temple collected funds on their own and started building it. In 1940, the temple was finally built. 

Coming to the point of the temple being looked like a mosque. The priest told us, during the time of construction, all the architects belong to Muslim community. Hence this structure represents a mosque. The Shivalinga here is ‘swayambhu’, meaning it came into existence on its own. 

After offering puja, we took a walk around the premises of the temple. Once again we got the glimpse of Kanchenjunga. It was peeping out of the clouds. Seriously, I was not expecting this. 

Actually, this is the beauty of North Bengal. If the sky remains clear, the peak can be seen from very far away, even from Jalpaiguri town as well.

After observing the peak for a few moments, we left the temple and started our journey for the next destination. 

Read More  Diary of North Bengal 4/ Safari at Garumara

How to reach?

The nearest railway station to Jalpesh is New Maynaguri. Avail the New Alipurduar bound Teesta Torsha Express from Sealdah and get down at New Maynaguri, the next morning. The temple is at a distance of 8kms from New Maynaguri. The distance from Jalpaiguri to Jalpesh is 20 kms. Jalpesh is located at a distance of 57 kms from New Jalpaiguri and 73 kms from Bagdogra Airport. 

Where to stay?

There is no need to stay in Jalpesh. The tourists generally visit this temple on a day trip from Lataguri, Jalpaiguri and even Siliguri. There are one or two private hotels in Maynaguri. In Jalpaiguri, there are loads of hotels. West Bengal Tourism runs Teesta Parjatak Abash in Jalpaiguri. It can be booked online through the portal of WBTDC (www.wbtdcl.com)