Labhpur

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  ?Labhpur
West Bengal • India
Map indicating the location of Labhpur
Thumbnail map of India with West Bengal highlighted
Location of Labhpur
Coordinates: 23°40′N 87°43′E / 23.67, 87.72
Time zone IST (UTC+5:30)
District(s) Birbhum
Population
• Sex ratio		 176,803 (2001)
• 944
Codes
• Pincode
• Telephone
• 731303
• +91 3463
CD Block

Coordinates: 23°40′N 87°43′E / 23.67, 87.72 Labhpur (also spelt Labpur) (Bengali: লাভপুর), is a town with a police station, community development block and an assembly constituency in Bolpur subdivision of Birbhum district in the Indian state of West Bengal. Known to the outside world as the native place of Tarashankar Bandopadhyay, and located on the archaic narrow gauge railway, it is an extensive rural area subject to droughts in summer followed by occasional floods.

Contents

[edit] Geography

It is located on the Suri – Kirnahar road and is about 12 km from Ahmedpur on the Ahmedpur-Katwa light railway of Eastern Railway.[1]

Four pairs of trains run daily along the 52 km Ahmedpur – Katwa narrow gauge (2' 6") line. It has remained a single line since its inception. Indian Railways took over the narrow gauge tracks between Katwa and Ahmedpur, and Katwa and Bardhaman from McLoyd and Company in 1966. The railways have identified poor turnout of passengers and their unwillingness to buy tickets as the reasons behind the losses incurred by the narrow gauge section.[2]

It lies in the flood plains of Mayurakshi River and when water is released from Massanjore dam and Tilpara barrage in large quantities, flood waters wreak havoc in the area. In 2006, nearly 50,000 people were marooned in Labhpur and surrounding blocks of Birbhum district.[3]

[edit] Demographics

The charm of the narrow gauge train at Labhpur
The train at times rattled through the golden paddy fields, with the ducks floating in the ponds and the birds flying around. The cow boy returns with his herd along the muddy path. It's Bengal at its best all through! The curves on the track and the rattles of the moving rail bus made up for an extra ordinary recipe all through. And once the curves were passed by, the track seemed to move straight into the horizon.

Picturesque stations crossed our way through. A station like Labhpur, which has been declared as a model station, has been a dream for me to visit once in my life time. And today my dream came true.

Labhpur is the home town to the famous Bengali writer, Tarashankar Bandopadhyay. Another station that caught my attention particularly was Kirnahar. It is an old station, and has a lot of history behind it. The stations in this narrow gauge line have a similarity. Almost all of them have an existence of a banyan tree. It's wonderful to see them, truly![4]
Saurabh Basu

In the 2001 census, Labhpur community development block had a population of 176,803 out of which 90,948 were males and 86,855 were females.[5]

[edit] Economics

Traditionally, there used to be a weekly market, locally called hat. Apart from vegetables, such needs as pottery, wooden materials, iron materials, baskets, seeds etc. were available. With the passage of time the periodicity gradually increased till it became a daily market.[6]

[edit] Politics

Nabanita Mukherjee of CPI(M) won the Labhpur assembly seat defeating Debasish Ojha of AITC in 2006 and Arup Kumar Mishra of AITC in 2001. Manik Chandra Mondal of CPI(M) defeated Deb Ranjan Mukhopadhyay of INC in 1996 and Eunus Mallick of INC in 1991. Sunil Kumar Mazumdar of CPI (M) defeated Eunus Mallick of INC in 1987, Sisir Dutta of INC in 1982, and Eunus Mallick of INC in 1977.[7]

Nirmal Kumar Sinha of CPI won in 1972.[8] Sunil Kumar Mazumdar of CPI won in 1971.[9] Radhanath Chattoraj of CPI(M) won in 1969.[10] S. Bandopadhyay of INC won in 1967.[11] Radhanath Chattoraj representing CPI won in 1962 and 1957.[12][13]

Labhpur is part of Bolpur (Lok Sabha constituency).[14]

[edit] Culture

[edit] Tarashankar country

Tarashankar Bandopadhyay, the Bengali writer, was born at Labhpur on 23 July 1898. He passed matriculation from Labhpur in 1916.[15]Many of his novels and stories carry vivid descriptions of the area.

In the novel Hansulibanker Upkatha, he writes, “The Hansulibank countryside is somewhat rough land. Here, man’s fight is more with land, than that with rivers. When drought comes, in extreme summer, the river becomes a desert, it is a land of sand – only deep water somehow manages to weave a narrow way through it. The land then is transformed into rock. The grass dries up. The land heats up as if it is a piece of heated-up iron.”[16]

In his novel Ganadevata, he quotes a rural rhyme

Poush-Poush, golden Poush,
Come Poush but don’t go away, don’t ever leave,
Don’t leave Poush, Don’t,
The husband and son will eat a full bowl of rice.[16]

[edit] Nearby places

[edit] Fullara

According to mythology, when Mahadeva danced around with Sati’s dead body cutting it to pieces, the lip fell at Fullara. A temple was built in 1895 but there is no idol inside it – only a piece of stone. There is a big pond beside the temple. According to hearsay, Hanuman collected 108 blue lotuses from the pond when Sri Ramachandra required them for the worship of goddess Durga.[17]It is considered to be one of the fifty-two shakti peethas in India.[1]

[edit] Bele

There is a pond whose waters are popularly believed to have the powers to heal arthritis.[17]

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Labhpur. Birbhum District administration. Retrieved on 2007-08-24.
  2. ^ Narrow gauge gets a new lease of life. The Statesman, 14 October 2004. Retrieved on 2007-09-12.
  3. ^ Rising flood waters claim 4. The Telegraph, 12 July 2006. Retrieved on 2007-08-24.
  4. ^ Basu, Saurabh. Ahmadpur-Katwa NG Trip. The Indian Railways Fan Club. Retrieved on 2007-09-12.
  5. ^ Census of India 2001. Provisional population totals, West Bengal, Table 4. Census Commission of India. Retrieved on 2007-08-24.
  6. ^ Mukhopadhyay Aditya, Birbhumer Mela, Paschim Banga , Birbhum Special Issue, February 2006, (Bengali), pp. 204-05, Information & Cultural Department, Government of West Bengal.
  7. ^ Partywise comparison since 1977. 285 - Labhpur Assembly Constitiuency. Election Commission of India. Retrieved on 2007-08-24.
  8. ^ 271 Labhpur. 1972 State Elections. Election Commission of India. Retrieved on 2007-08-16.
  9. ^ 271 Labhpur. 1971 State Elections. Election Commission of India. Retrieved on 2007-08-16.
  10. ^ 271 Labhpur. 1969 State Elections. Election Commission of India. Retrieved on 2007-08-16.
  11. ^ 271 Labhpur. 1967 State Elections. Election Commission of India. Retrieved on 2007-08-16.
  12. ^ 243 Labhpur. 1962 State Elections. Election Commission of India. Retrieved on 2007-08-16.
  13. ^ 49 Labhpur. 1957 State Elections. Election Commission of India. Retrieved on 2007-08-16.
  14. ^ General election to the Legislative Assembly, 2001 – List of Parliamentary and Assembly Constituencies. West Bengal. Election Commission of India. Retrieved on 2007-09-19.
  15. ^ Bandyopadhyay, Tarashankar. Bangaledia. Asiatic Society of Bangladesh. Retrieved on 2007-08-16.
  16. ^ a b Mukhopadhyay, Manabendra, Tarashankar’s Birbhum , Paschim Banga , Birbhum Special Issue, February 2006, (Bengali), pp. 259-68, Information & Cultural Department, Government of West Bengal.
  17. ^ a b Fullara. seemyindia. Retrieved on 2007-08-16.

[edit] See also