Koch Pukur Archaeological Site

When I was a small kid, my grandmother would often tell stories of Bengal when Calcutta experienced load shedding (power cuts) in the 1980s. One thing that she used to keep saying is how close the Bidyadhari River used to flow from Ballygunge. Which, honestly, back then, I never gave a second thought, and when I grew up, I assumed that those were her imaginary stories just to keep us entertained. How wrong I was. Before I jump into Koch Pukur Archaeological Site, I want you all to understand the context, and then it will be easy to piece together the puzzle.

Bidyadhari River

The people of Kolkata are used to the river to the west of the city, which is the Hooghly, but around 150 years ago, there was another river that was part of the city, which is the Bidyadhari. This river flowed on the eastern side of the city.

Topographically, the city of Kolkata sits higher on the western side and a little lower on the eastern side, and this is a very important factor when it comes to natural rainwater drainage. Back in those days, during heavy monsoon, it was the Bidyadhari that took the onus of channelling out the excess rainwater and dumping it in the Bay of Bengal.

This river played another important role, which was to act as a river passage for small boats carrying both goods and humans, especially from the villages of Bengal stretching as far as villages in present-day Bangladesh. Back in those days, the rivers were all interconnected.

The most interesting aspect of this river is that it connects the Salt Water Lakes located on the eastern side of Calcutta. This connected the Salt Water Lakes all the way to the Bay of Bengal, passing through the swamps and marshes of Sundarbans. Of course, throughout the route, there were several small canals and rivulets, which again interconnected with other rivers of Bengal. This route was so important that a detailed river map of Bengal noted this route, which was known as “Baliagot”. Those who are familiar with the localities of Kolkata can easily identify this place as the present-day Beleghata.

Baliagot or Beleghata was one of the main ports on the Salt Water Lakes and would connect central Calcutta.

Unfortunately, the river dried up on its original route due to manmade constructions, land reclamation and redirections. In 1927, the river was officially declared dead.

Salt Water Lake

Today, what we popularly know as the Salt Lake area, as the name suggests, was a large Lake; it was so large that it was almost the size of present-day Kolkata.

As a common practice, many villages had sprung up next to this large saltwater lake, and if we place old maps on the present satellite image of the city, then you would be surprised by the number of key localities that once surrounded this lake. And yes, Ballygunge was also one of them.

With the city growing dramatically, it was decided to expand the city eastward, and for the British East India Company, it was the Salt Water Lakes that they decided to drain out along with realigning the Circular Canal (Maratha Ditch). Silt from the Hooghly River, along with silt from the bay, was used to fill up the lake.

Only portions of the lake were not filled up, which is what we now know as Dhapa. The numerous water bodies that we see in Dhapa are the East Kolkata Wetlands.

New canals were dug, which were initially used for interconnected water navigation but later converted into stormwater drainage along with the dumping of city waste and sewage water. These were channelised to the large water bodies of the East Kolkata Wetlands, where they were treated and used for fisheries.

The excess water was further sent all the way to Kulti eastwards through canals connecting to the Bidya and Kalindi rivers.

Legend Of Pir Madar Saheb

According to the locals, the pir was a holy man who came from the Middle East and travelled all the way to India to preach. Pir Madar is what people out here refer to Hazrat Sayed Badiuddin Zinda Shah Qutbul Madar, the famous Sufi Saint, whose Dargah can be found at Makanpur, UP. He was born in present day (Halab) Aleppo, Syria, around 856 – 857 A.D. When he had come to this part of Bengal, he had stayed here for some time in Koch Pukur.

His followers are known as “Madaris”, and some historians link him to one of the Panch Pir of Bengal. These Pir’s were especially revered by the Muslim boatmen who used to seek their blessings for a safe passage. Considering the location of this place when the Salt Water Lake existed, I won’t be surprised that this was considered holy by the boatmen traversing the lakes and Bidyadhari.

The legend about this particular site is that centuries back, the mound was located on the shores of the Salt Water Lake, and one would be able to see ships passing by from a vantage point. One day, the Pir saw a merchant passing by, accompanied by seven ships, and in one of the ships, there was a red bird (mynah/starling). On seeing this bird, the Pir requested the merchant to give him this bird, which was denied, and this had angered the Pir, who at once made the ships of the merchant sink to the bottom of the river. The merchant asked for forgiveness and requested the Pir to return the ships, which he did and took the red bird, which had by then died, and buried it in the mound where the Mazar now stands.

This Mazar does not have the body of the Pir; instead, it’s just the body of the bird that was buried. This is also the reason why you would see a small mound made inside the Mazar, almost square in shape. The Pir blessed and anointed this place, ensuring that people who would truly believe in him would be granted wishes. This is the reason why people of different faiths flock here to seek his blessings.

Koch Pukur Archaeological Site

North and South 24 Parganas in West Bengal are no strangers to archaeological sites. We have Chandraketugarh, which I had blogged in detail about, which had ancient records that proved that the Greeks used to come by large boats to trade. Then we have Tilpi and Dosha, which were excavated, and many ancient artefacts belonging to Buddha were found, and all these places had one thing in common: they were all located next to a river in and around the delta region of Bengal.

If you place Koch Pukur on this ancient map, then you can clearly see that this place was once located on the banks of the original Salt Water Lakes. This revelation sits very well with the narrative that the locals have for the Pir Madar Saheb Mazar (Shrine of Madar Saint).

Koch Pukur Pir Madar Saheb Mazar is located on top of a small mound, with the actual structure being constructed of bamboo with a corrugated roof and floors made of layered mud. The size of this building is relatively small, and it’s surrounded by heavy vegetation consisting of large trees and smaller shrubs. All around the mound are unmarked graves, which are used by the local Muslim population to bury their dead.

This Mazar is looked after by two individuals, one being a man and the other a woman. They take monthly turns to open the main gates and to clean and maintain the tomb of the pir located inside the building.

It’s a common practice that a Mazar, especially in Bengal, is frequented by both the faiths of Hindus and Muslims and that applies to this place also. People from all faiths are welcome, and the only requirement is that people walk barefoot once inside the gates. It’s also a practice for women to cover their heads while visiting a Mazar.

There are two major festivals that are observed here, with one being the annual milad (gathering), and around March, Hindu devotees come to perform Jhaap, something like a leap of faith from a height, usually on sharp objects, etc. This is done to show their belief in protection by the blessing of the Pir. This is also done to ask the Pir to fulfill some wish.

Previously, three villages consisting of Hatgachha, Thakdari and Jodthbhim used to participate in this Jhaap, but nowadays only villagers from Jodthbhim come to participate. This now takes place in an open ground located near the Mazar. This festival takes place on the 28^th day of Chaitra (Bengali calendar) if that month (Georgian calendar) has 30 days or on the 29^th day if the month has 31 days.

The archaeological site is this whole mound, which rises to around four meters, and one does not need to dig deep into the mound to look for ancient artefacts. This place is almost littered with broken pottery and earthenware.

I had asked the caretaker, Abdul Latif Dewan, whom I had met in 2022, about the historic connection, considering the broken artefacts lying all around the house, but they had no answer. All that he could convey was the history of this place in relation to Pir Madar Saheb. According to him, even a decade back, all the surrounding places were fields meant for the cultivation of rice and mustard. There were many ponds and large water bodies around this locality.

Recently, when I visited this place, I came to know that Abdul Latif Dewan had passed away, and in his place, his nephew now looks after this place.

Archaeological Findings At Koch Pukur

During my visit, I could see scattered shards of pottery lying all around the mound. The designs and patterns do not look like something new and clearly show that these are centuries old. Researchers have done a recent study of the area around Koch Pukur by sampling the pieces of earthenware, and they have clearly dated these to around the 4^th century AD. Some indications are that these are nearly two thousand years old. Historians also draw a parallel to the excavations of Chandraketugarh, which had similar patterns.

Since till now there has not been any official in-depth excavation, it is not known how old the Mazar is in relation to the date of the excavated objects. It is very difficult to determine the exact age of the Mazar in this respect.

Considering its close vicinity to Kolkata, this is a big archaeological find, completely overshadowing the arrival of the Portuguese, Dutch, and English in Bengal. This very much proves that Bengal (delta) was a major trading hub and ships would come from all over the world, as we had seen in Chandraketugarh.

The terracotta pottery pieces have different design patterns and have construction materials and styles from different eras. This solidifies the theory of historians that this place was active for centuries.

Hopefully, in the near future, some detailed study of the scattered artefacts will be carried out so that we can get more information as to where these materials come from and exactly from which dynasty.

How To Visit Kotch Pukur Archaeological Site

This place is located right next to Aquatica Water Park, and the best way to reach this place would be by car or motorcycle. I have seen app taxis come this way, so those can also be an option. The Mazar remains open throughout the day for visitors, and the best time would be 10 AM to 4 PM. I would avoid late evenings, as this location is a bit isolated with many construction sites and open fields. The people of Koch Pukur are very friendly, and to date, I have not encountered any issues.

This is a holy site and also a burial ground, so please maintain the dignity of this place. Use the path laid out from the gate to reach the top of the mound and avoid walking around, as there are unmarked graves all around covered in vegetation.

Location Of Koch Pukur Archaeological Site On The Map

Vlog On Koch Pukur Archaeological Site

Similar Blogs

Tilpi and Dhosa Archaeological Site
Chandraketugarh – The Forgotten Bengal Empire

Reference

The Times of India
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and the University of Wisconsin
British Library, London
National Archives of India

A special thanks to Shaikh Sohail for tagging along with me in my random adventures like this