Chetla Baro Ras Bari, 78, Tollygunge Road

One of the four temple complexes in the Chetla area of South Calcutta (Kolkata), the Baro Ras Bari (also spelt Bado Rash Bari, Bado Rashbari or Bado Rashbadi) on Tollygunge Road is probably the most neglected, in spite of being declared a Grade A Heritage Building. The story of Baro Ras Bari begins in the village of Bawali, 30 kilometers to the South West of the city of Calcutta, where the Mondals had reigned since the Mughal era. Raja Ram Mondal had been granted full control of 15 villages by the Mughal Emperor. His descendants, Ramnath and Manick Mondal settled in Chetla on the invitation of Robert Clive. Their name is associated with three of the four temples in the Chetla area.

The ruined temples of Chetla Baro Ras Bari

Chetla Chhoto Rashbari, 93 Tollygunge Road

Chetla Chhoto Rashbari - interior

Hiding behind the busy market on Tollygunge Road, at number 93 is the elaborate temple complex known to locals as the Chhoto Rashbari (also spelt Rasbari, Ras Bari, Rashbadi or Rash Badi) or minor house for the Rash festival. What was once the Govindpore Creek, became Surman’s Nullah after John Surman of the East India Company started living there. It would then come to be known as Tolly’s Nullah after Major William Tolly conducted dredging and excavating operations there between 1774 and 1777, making it navigable upto Garia. Indeed the entire area of Tollygunge gets its name from him. But for locals, this is the Adi Ganga or the original Ganges, since it was through here that the Ganges or Hooghly flowed before it changed its course. The Ganges being a holy river, all along the two roads on its East and West, Tollygunge Road and Chetla Road, ghats and temples may still be found. Like many other heritage structures in the Chetla area of South Calcutta, the Chhoto Rashbari is also neglected, overgrown, and other than local residents, few are aware of its existence.

Radhanath Temple, Mondal Temple Lane

The temple as seen from a neighbour's rooftop

A little less than 30 kilometers to the South West of the city of Calcutta, is the village of Bawali. During the Mughal era, Raja Ram Mondal received from the emperor a royal charter granting him full control over fifteen villages (the East India company, in contrast, began with three). Thus began the story of the Bawali Raj family. Sometime in the eighteenth century, Robert Clive invited the Mondals to come and settle in Calcutta. In response, Ramnath and Manick Mondal moved into the area known today as Chetla, and settled by the banks of what was then the Adi Ganga; today’s Tolly Canal.

The family deity of the Mondals was Lord Krishna, and the temples that they constructed in the area, are to his various manifestations. The largest and most spectacular of them still exists, on the road named after it. Approaching the Radhanath Temple of Mondal Temple Lane can be somewhat tricky. If you’re coming from Tollygunge Phari, once you cross the bridge over the Tolly Canal, the second turn on your right is Chetla Road, but right turns into the lane are prohibited before 1pm, and therefore it is simpler to take the next right turn, a serpentine lane that connects with Mondal Temple Lane. Turn right at the T Junction, and keep a lookout to your left. The huge temple, located near the crossing of Mondal Temple Lane and Chetla Road, is easily visible even through the jigsaw of modern buildings.