ANDUL – A LEGACY OF CUTURAL HERITAGE/ প্রাচীন গ্রাম আন্দুলের সংস্কৃতি ও ঐতিহ্যের সমাহার

Abstract

Andul is one of the oldest villages in Howrah district, a place that still bears the testimony of ancient history and tradition. Three hundred years ago, trade was carried out between various countries, places on the Saraswati River route through Saptagram Port. At that time, Andulgram was located in the middle of that trade route and a few noble landlord families started living in this area; the Roy Family (also known as Raj Parivar) followed by Mallick Family and Kundu Chowdury Family.

           The importance of the Datta Chowdhury dynasty in the history of Andul is immense. During the time of Krishnananda, the fourth-generation male of this family, Nityananda Mahaprabhu. Once many Vaishnavas groups were meeting in the Kirtan Mandap in a religious gathering. It is said that the dance songs of Nityananda Mahaprabhu's Vaishnav group caused a dust of joy to rise on the ground of that place. This lead toward naming of the place as Anandodhuli. Later, this word got corrupted and became Andul, a name by which it known today.

           The ancient Durga festival, which began during the reign of Krishnananda's grandson Ram Sharan Dutta Chowdhury, is still being celebrated in the same vein. Bhubaneswar Kar was the founder of the Kar dynasty. Later, the Andul dynasty emerged from this Kar dynasty, and the birth of two Pandits Vidyasagar and Mahendranath Bhattacharya further added to the greatness of this village. The name of Purushottam is known as the ancestor of the Kundu Chowdhury clan of this village, Mahiari, adjacent to Andul. This Kundu Chowdhury family established a hospital, thirty schools, and a library for the general public for the welfare of the village, which truly deserves praise.

            During the Muslim rule, Andul was under the control of Muzaffarpura and Boro Pargana and was called as 'Muzaffara' at that time. During the rule of Lord Cornwallis, at the settlement of the revenue of Bengal, this place came under the Twenty-four Parganas, later during the delimitation of the Hooghly district, it came under the then Hooghly district, and later when the Howrah district was established, the village of Andul was included in the Howrah district.

            My aim in analyzing this issue is to present the history, culture and heritage of Andulgram to the future generations so that they can be informed about the various unknown historical places, culture and heritage of their state and they can take this heritage culture forward somewhere. In this way, the message of the history, culture and heritage of the villages of Bengal will gradually spread in Bengal and India.