Southern Suburbs

BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Kolkata

The Southern Suburbs of Kolkata are the peri-urban area southwest of the city. It consists of neighbourhoods like Santoshpur, Maheshtala, Budge Budge, Bawali, Baruipur, Bishnupur and Pailan.

Get in

By train

1 Komagata Maru Budge Budge  Sealdah South 

See and do

Bawali Rajbari

• 1 BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Kolkata, Bhasa no. 14, Diamond Harbour Rd. A temple built by Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS). It has ben said that Shri Swaminarayan (1781–1820) once visited the Kapil Muni Temple in Sagar Island. (updated Nov 2022)
• 2 Bawali Rajbari, ☏ +91 33 4180 0305. A historic zamindar palace of the Mondal family. The family originally carried the title of Roy. Shovaram Roy was awarded the title of Mondal. Shovaram’s grandson, Rajaram Mondal, received the zamindari rights of 50 villages (including Budge Budge and Bawali), as a reward for his bravery, from the Raja of Hijli. They settled at Bawali around 1710. Rajaram Mondal’s grandson Haradhan Mondal, who enjoyed the patronage of British East India Company, and his sons built many temples in Bawali. The 300-year old Bawali Rajbari, with corinthian pillars, has been renovated for use as a hotel. (updated Jan 2023)
• Gopinath Jiu Temple, Bawali. A navaratna (nine-pinnacled) temple. Built-in 1794, the temple is rich in stucco works. (updated Jan 2023)
• 3 Komagata Maru Shaheed Ganj (Punjabi Monument), Budge Budge. A memorial dedicated to the people who were killed in the Japanese steamship Komagata Maru in 1914. A group of Indians attempted to migrate to Canada in the steamship in April 1914, but most were denied entry and forced to return to Budge Budge in 27 September. There, the Indian Imperial Police attempted to arrest the group leaders. A riot ensued, and they were fired upon by the police, resulting in some deaths. The Komagata Maru incident was widely cited at the time to highlight discrepancies in Canadian immigration laws, and the Canadian government apologised for this incident about a century later. (updated Nov 2024)

Sleep

• 1 Hotel East Palace, Diamond Harbour Rd, ☏ +91 6450 4025, +91 33 2497 9007, +91 9230613727. 
• 2 Ibiza (The Fern Resort & Spa), Diamond Harbour Rd, ☏ +91 33 24809009, +91 33 24709929, +91 33 24809000, +91 33 24709928, info.tf.ibiza@fernhotels.com. 110 rooms, halls, conference rooms, swimming pool and many other indoor facilities. Arrangements for weddings, anniversaries, birthday parties, conferences, corporate award shows and dinner, dealer’s meet, training sessions etc. Lunch also available for non-boarders. Price starts from ₹4,720. (updated Jul 2018)