Santiniketan

Santiniketan (Bengali: শান্তিনিকেতন Śāntiniketan, SHAHN-tih-nih-keh-tawn), also spelt Shantiniketan, is a university town in the Birbhum district of West Bengal. It was established by Debendranath Tagore in the second half of the 19th century, and then developed by his son, Rabindranath Tagore, the leading figure of the Bengali Renaissance, whose vision became what is now a university town with the ancient gurukula method of learning. It has produced such diverse personalities as Indira Gandhi (once a Prime Minister of India), Satyajit Ray (an Oscar-winning filmmaker) and Amartya Sen (a Nobel laureate) and has been home to great artists and musicians. Santiniketan is also famous for the baul culture. Around 1.2 million visitors visit Santiniketan annually. It has been designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in September 2023.

Understand

In 1863, Debendranath Tagore took on permanent lease 20 acres (8.1 hectares) of land, along with two chātim (ছাতিম) trees from zamindar Bhuban Mohan Sinha. The leased area was a small village and the den of a gang of notorious dacoits. After the leader of the gang surrendered to Debendranath, they started helping him in developing the area. Debendranath built a guest house there and named it Santiniketan (literally the "abode of peace"). Gradually, the whole area came to be known as Santiniketan.

In 1901, Rabindranath Tagore established a school in Santiniketan, called Brahmacaryāśram (ব্রহ্মচর্যাশ্রম), which became the Visva-Bharati University in 1921. A brainchild of Rabindranath, the Visva-Bharati University is a unique learning centre in the sense that the education takes place under a tree, instead of in a classroom. It got the status of a central university by 1951.

Several artists are also closely associated with Santiniketan other than Rabindranath Tagore and his father, including Nandalal Bose, Ramkinkar Baij and Benode Behari Mukherjee. Their works can be found throughout the town.

Climate
Santiniketan
Climate chart (explanation)
JFMAMJJASOND
 
 
 
12
 
 
25
12
 
 
 
25
 
 
28
15
 
 
 
33
 
 
33
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52
 
 
37
23
 
 
 
114
 
 
37
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35
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343
 
 
33
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33
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268
 
 
32
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88
 
 
32
23
 
 
 
11
 
 
30
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9
 
 
26
13
Average max. and min. temperatures in °C
Precipitation+Snow totals in mm
Source: IMD
Imperial conversion
JFMAMJJASOND
 
 
 
0.5
 
 
76
53
 
 
 
1
 
 
83
58
 
 
 
1.3
 
 
92
67
 
 
 
2
 
 
98
74
 
 
 
4.5
 
 
98
77
 
 
 
9
 
 
95
79
 
 
 
14
 
 
91
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12
 
 
91
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11
 
 
90
78
 
 
 
3.5
 
 
89
73
 
 
 
0.4
 
 
85
63
 
 
 
0.4
 
 
79
55
Average max. and min. temperatures in °F
Precipitation+Snow totals in inches

The climate of Santiniketan is moderately warm, with summer temperatures at around 35–42 °C (maximum) and winter at 10–15 °C (minimum). Summer is felt for three months, March, April and May. December, January and February are the winter months. June, July, August and September see heavy rainfall. The annual average temperature is 26.2 °C. About 1480 mm of rain falls per year, with 76 days seeing the rain.

Read
  • Rabindranath, Santiniketan, Sriniketan by Tapan Kumar Basak. Available locally.

Get in

By plane

The nearest airport is Kazi Nazrul Islam Airport (RDP IATA) at Durgapur, but flights are infrequent. Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport (CCU IATA) in Kolkata is the nearest major airport that is close to Santiniketan.

By train
See also: Rail travel in India

Santiniketan is two to three hours by train from Kolkata. Vande Bharat Express and Shatabdi Express offer the fastest service. For schedules check with Indian Railways.

There are two railway stations in Santiniketan, namely 🌍 Bolpur Shantiniketan  ER  (BHP) and 🌍 Prantik  ER . Most express trains stop at Bolpur Shantiniketan.

If you are travelling with a lot of baggage, you may struggle for space even in reserved cars, and hiring a car may be a better alternative to reach Santiniketan.

Express trains that stop at Bolpur Shantiniketan:

  • From Howrah, Kolkata (HWH): Ganadevta Express, Jamalpur Express, Kavi Guru Express, Malda Intercity Express, NJP Shatabdi Express, NJP Vande Bharat Express (fastest, non-stop), Saraighat Express and Shantiniketan Express (the only train that originates and/or terminates at HWH and BHP, so you a better chance of finding seats on this train if you buy unreserved tickets).
  • From Sealdah (SDAH), Kolkata: Darjeeling Mail and Kanchenjunga Express.
  • From New Jalpaiguri (NJP), Siliguri: Darjeeling Mail, Howhrah Shatabdi Express, Howrah Vande Bharat Express and Kanchenjunga Express.

By bus

From Kolkata, there are two options: The Asansol bus (alight near Panagarh) and the Suri bus (alight near Ilambazar). From both places, local buses are available for Santiniketan.

  • 🌍 Bolpur Bus Stand. 

By car

Santiniketan is 212 km (132 mi) from Kolkata by road. Good drivers can cover the distance in about 3 hours.

Santiniketan is connected with Kolkata by an excellent 4-lane expressway. From Kolkata, travel to Dankuni and take the Durgapur Expressway (NH 19). It will bypass Saktigarh, Bardhaman and Panagarh. At Panagarh (Darjeeling More), turn right. After crossing the Ajay River, take the road to the right at Ilambazar and proceed towards Bolpur. At the Santiniketan–Sriniketan junction (also called Surul More) take the road to the left. Coming from the direction of Kolkata, one can also take the NH 114 route via Talit, Guskara, Bhedia and Surul More by taking a right turn from the Durgapur Expressway just after crossing Bardhaman on the right (where the Renaissance Township is on the left) and taking this route via Nababhat More. It saves time and the distance is less from the above route by about 50 km.

Get around

You can also look at the map of the Visva-Bharati campus in Santiniketan.

By rickshaw

Electric rickshaws (locally known as totos) are the most convenient and cheap means of transportation these days. The older cycle rickshaws are still available and can be availed, though it would cost more. If you are a tourist, don't get on the cycle rickshaws in front of the museum that are manned by persistent teenagers as they will take you on a farcical circulatory route to make you spend more. Choose the older guys. Or just walk round the town.

By car

Hired cars and taxis are not always readily available.

By bicycle

If you are planning an extended stay, it may be worth your while to purchase a bicycle from one of the many local cycle shops. A brand new bicycle costs ₹3,200-3,600.

See

Santiniketan has several buildings associated with the Tagore family—Santiniketan Griha, Nutan Bari, Dehali etc. School classes and major functions are held in the Amra Kunja (mango grove). Some distance away on the eastern side is a small hillock with a large banyan tree. It was a favourite of Maharishi Debendranath Tagore. Visitors are not allowed to loiter around educational centres during working hours as these disturb the classes being held.

  • 🌍 Ballavpur Wildlife Sanctuary (Deer Park). 10AM–4PM (closed W). At the northwestern fringes of Santiniketan, Ballavpur Wildlife Sanctuary is just the perfect getaway for your next weekend. The lush sanctuary contains three large waterbodies (ঝিল jhil) which host migratory as well as resident birds in plenty. It is home to numerous spotted deer, blackbucks and other resident animals like jackals and foxes. The whole sanctuary is a protected area with watchtowers and jungle paths to walk around and catch glimpses of deer and other wildlife. (updated Aug 2022)
  • 🌍 Bangladesh Bhavana. Well-designed new addition with auditorium. 
  • 🌍 Cheena Bhavana (চীনা ভবন Cīnā Bhaban). A centre of Sino-Indian cultural studies promoting historical study and modern relations between the two countries. The library is known for a major collection of Chinese books and journals, especially Buddhist scriptures and texts. (updated Aug 2022)
  • 🌍 Chhatimtala. Prayer place (under the chātim tree) of Maharshi Debendranath Tagore, father of Rabindranath Tagore. (updated Aug 2022)
  • 🌍 Gitanjali Rail Museum (গীতাঞ্জলি রেল সংগ্রহালয় Gītāñjali Rel Saṅgrahālaẏ), Station Rd (opposite Bolpur Shantiniketan  ER ). 9AM–1PM and 2:30PM–5PM (closed W). The museum showcases some aspects of the life of Rabindranath Tagore, other than railways. (updated Aug 2022)
  • 🌍 Gour Prangan (Sinha Sadan). The old buildings of the Visva-Bharati University, named after the Sinha zamindar family. (updated May 2023)
  • 🌍 Hindi Bhavana (হিন্দি ভবন Hindi Bhaban). Hindi study centre. There's a mural in the building painted by Benode Behari Mukherjee. 
  • 🌍 Kala Bhavana (কলা ভবন Kalā Bhaban). College of fine arts and crafts, has a museum exhibiting sculptures, frescoes and murals and a library of art books. (updated Aug 2022)
  • 🌍 Kopai River (কোপাই Kopāi). A picturesque river north and west of Santiniketan, which meets the Bakreshwar River in Labhpur. Several tourists gather at the riverside to take pictures and/or videos of the river. There are several resorts at the Kopai River as well. (updated Aug 2022)
  • 🌍 Patha Bhavana. Secondary school, is of particular interest, being an example of the traditional gurukula method of learning, although things have changed slightly. (updated Aug 2022)
  • 🌍 Prakriti Bhavan (প্রকৃতি ভবন Prakr̥ti Bhaban), Amar Kutir Rd, Kabi Mohanpur. 9AM–5PM daily. India's only nature art museum with an impressive indoor display of natural sculptures in driftwood, and dry wood and a sprawling open-air garden of natural rock sculptures. Set in the most picturesque part of Santiniketan it is an aesthetic manifestation of the legacy of Tagore's Santiniketan in linking people with nature through art, music and poetry. (updated May 2023)
  • 🌍 Rabindra Bhavana. 10:30AM–4:30PM (closed W and Th). During Poush Mela the place is over-crowded and queues for entry are long. The museum hall is called Bichitra. Constructed in Tagore's birth centenary year 1961. There are original manuscripts, letters, documents, medals (including Nobel Prize medallion), plaques, certificates, paintings, photographs etc. The five houses used by Tagore during his life named Udayan, Konark, Shyamali, Punascha and Udichi. No photography in Rabindra Bhavana and Uttarayan complex. Combined entry fee for Uttarayan complex and Rabindra Bhavana Museum is ₹10 for students, ₹50 for Indians and ₹300 for foreigners. (updated Aug 2022)
  • 🌍 Santiniketan Griha. closed W. (updated Aug 2022)
  • 🌍 Shilpagram (near Ballavpur Wildlife Sanctuary). It is designed very nicely and showcases traditional handicrafts of eastern and north-eastern India (including Bihar, Assam, Odisha, Manipur, Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Jharkhand). Each state is represented by a traditional house which has a collection of paintings and articraft. The place is maintained neatly and has a good collection of cultural elements. 
  • 🌍 Sriniketan. The dream village of Rabindranath Tagore. (updated May 2023)
  • 🌍 Surul Rajbari (সুরুল রাজবাড়ি Surul Rājbāṛi). 8AM–6PM. The palace of the Sinha zamindars. The small temples with terracotta carvings are to the left of the Rajbari as one faces the Rajbari. Durga Puja still takes place here in a complete home fashion as it used more than 250 years back when it was started. (updated Aug 2022)

Do

In Santiniketan, seasonal changes bring their own colours and beauties with various festivals. The festivals are organised on traditional Indian forms and rituals.

  • Barṣāmangal (বর্ষামঙ্গল). Festival of rains during August/September. Tagore was a poet of nature and some of his finest creations were about the rain. 
  • 🌍 Basanta Utsab (বসন্ত উৎসব). Santiniketan's own style of Holi and it welcomes the arrival of spring. The students dance and sing their way through Amrakunja, followed by open-air variety programmes. Accommodation is heavily booked during this period. Anybody wanting to visit during his period will have to plan. (updated Aug 2022)
  • Māghotsab (মাঘোৎসব). Anniversary of Brahmo Samaj celebrated on the 11 Magh (25 January), with prayers and songs at Chhatimtala. 
  • 🌍 Poush Mela (পৌষমেলা Pauṣmelā). The fair is held from 7-9 Poush (22/23-25 December). Tribal sports, folk songs and dances including songs by bauls, and itinerant singers, are a part of the fair and festivities. Some sort of "bhanga mela" or broken fair, with some shops, continue till the end of December. Accommodation is heavily booked during this period. Anybody wanting to visit during this period will need to plan for hotel bookings. (updated Dec 2022)
  • Rabindra Jayanti (রবীন্দ্র জয়ন্তী Rabīndra Jaẏantī). Although the birth anniversary of Rabindranath falls on 25 Boishakh (8/9 May), the anniversary as well as the Bengali New Year (নববর্ষ Nababarṣa) is celebrated in Boishakh (পয়লা বৈশাখ Paẏla Baiśākh; 14/15 April) with songs, dances, and recitations by the students. (updated May 2023)

Buy

A favourable time for shopping is during the Poush Mela. The unique style of embroidery associated with Santiniketan is known as the 'Kantha stitch'. 'Sudha Karu Shilpa' in Andrews Palli, 'Amar Kutir' at the Kopai River, and 'Basundhara' in Sonajhuri offer quality Kantha stitchwork in the form of sarees, and dupattas throughout the year. Other handicrafts like dhokra (artistic brassware from nearby Ausgram), leather bags, bamboo toys and locally handwoven cotton are also worth a look.

  • 🌍 Amar Kutir (আমার কুটির Āmār Kuṭir). Many handicrafts like cloth, leather, batiks, hand-loomed fabrics and similar are available. (updated May 2023)
  • 🌍 Sonajhuri Hat (সোনাঝুড়ি হাট Sonājhuṛi Hāṭ), Sonajhuri. Sa–Su 3PM–5:30PM. This is a village market and one can buy local handicrafts and listen to baul songs. Sonajhuri Hat is a great place to see and collect wooden crafts, terracotta crafts, raw metal ornaments, dhokra (ডোকরা ḍokrā) art and local made clothes. It is an excellent place to experience the local culture of Santiniketan. (updated May 2023)

Eat
  • 🌍 Madhurima, Santiniketan Rd. A sweet shop on the way to Santiniketan. (updated Aug 2022)
  • 🌍 SK Restaurant, Bolpur-Santiniketan Rd, ☏ +91 9434132416. 10AM-10PM daily. This restaurant, near Jambuni Bus stands opposite Gitanjali Prekhagriha, and is very good, both in terms of food quality and quantity. Look for "morabba", a Suri speciality (type of sweet meat). (updated Aug 2022)

Drink

Santiniketan and the surrounding areas offer a few bottle shops for wine and liquor purchases. A few restaurants have permits to serve beer (Kharimati restaurant, Park Hotel restaurant) and one local bar with a liquor licence is the Moon Bar at the new Kharimati Hotel. During tribal festivals, the Santals enjoy rice beer which is served warm, is quite tasty and has a low alcohol content.

Sleep
Note: To avoid the unsavory, corrupt, and thoroughly untrustworthy booking services based in Kolkata, it is best to get a place to stay on arrival without reservation.
This guide uses the following price ranges for a standard double room:
Budget₹1000
Mid-range₹1000 to ₹3000
Splurge₹3000
  • 🌍 Rangabitan Tourism Property, ☏ +91 86979 84960. Run by West Bengal Tourism. (updated Dec 2022)

Budget

Mid-range

Splurge
  • 🌍 Chutti Holiday Resort, 241 Charupalli, Jamboni (off Sriniketan Rd), ☏ +91 34 6325 2692, +91 34 6325 5015. Reservation from Kolkata: +91 33 99 0357 0921 Ilaco House, 3/1 Brabourne Road ₹1,650- 3,540 Special packages available. 
  • 🌍 Mark & Meadows Resort, Sriniketan Rd (Gurmukh Jethwani), ☏ +91 94 3400 7777. Check-in: 9AM, check-out: 9AM. 3 star property spread over 5 acres with swimming pool, fishing pond, games room, children's park, multi-cuisine restaurant, banquet halls, conference halls, 32 cottage style A/C rooms with running hot/cold water. ₹1,450-3,500. 
  • 🌍 Raktokorobi Karugram (রক্তকরবী কারুগ্রাম Raktakarabī Kārugrām), Ruppur (7 km from Surul More (Sriniketan)), ☏ +91 9903392484. Check-in: 11AM, check-out: 10AM. There are 9 AC duplex huts, all designed traditionally so that visitors can feel at one with the natural space around them and to promote local artistry. The duplex huts have been created using mud, and murals have been painted by various tribal artists. Each cottage has a living room, a bedroom, a changing room, a bathroom, and an open terrace. The multicuisine restaurant serves quality Indian and Chinese dishes. Parking and driver's accommodation free. ₹3500. 
  • Sonajhuri Homestay, Sonajuhri, ☏ +91 9830011715, . ₹3200. (updated May 2019)

Nearby
  • 🌍 Amkhoi Wood Fossil Park. 10AM–4PM (closed W). The only fossil park in West Bengal. The fossils are laid out in a manicured lawn surrounded by pathways separated by hedge walls. Bilingual boards narrate the details of not only the fossils, but also about the process of fossilisation. The fossils displayed are trunk portions of angiosperm (flowering plants). ₹10 for students, ₹5 for children. (updated May 2023)
  • 🌍 Biswa Bangla Biswabidyalay (Bolpur University). Although the university is newer and less visited compared to the Visva-Bharati University, it also celebrates the festivals that are celebrated in Visva-Bharati. (updated Dec 2022)
  • 🌍 Kankalitala (কংকালীতলা Kaṅkālītalā) (9 km (5.6 mi) from Santiniketan). It is the last of the 51 Shakti Pithas. According to mythology, when the dead body of Goddess Shakti was cut by Lord Vishnu, her waist (কংকাল kaṅkāl) fell at Kankalitala. Baul dances are also organised in the temple premises. (updated Aug 2022)
  • 🌍 Raipur Rajbari (রায়পুর রাজবাড়ি Raẏpur Rājbāṛi). The old zamindar palace that belonged to Bhuban Mohan Sinha, who gave his 20 acres (8.1 hectares) of land to Debendranath Tagore, the founder of present-day Santiniketan. The palace is partly in shambles, as of 2021. (updated May 2023)

Go next
  • Bakreshwar — 58 km, Shaktipitha, also famous for the Bakranath Shiva temple and hot springs.
  • Durgapur — 60 km, the steel city. You can travel on to Bishnupur another 70 km in the same direction or on to Asansol, another 30 km, along NH 19.
  • Kendubillo — 30 km, on the bank of the river Ajay, believed by many to be the birthplace of 12th century Sanskrit poet Jayadeva, author of the masterpiece Geeta Govinda. A fair is held here on Makar Sankranti (mid-January). Baul songs are the principal attraction of this meal. There is a temple with terracotta decorations.
  • Labhpur — 30 km, the birthplace of Tarashankar Bandyopadhyay and home to the Fullara Temple, a Shakti Pitha.
  • Massanjore — 75 km (in Jharkhand), a dam across the river Mayurakshi with a picturesque reservoir. You can travel on to Deoghar another 98 km in the same direction.
  • Nalhati — 100 km, another Shakti Pitha
  • Nanoor — 20 km, birthplace of Chandidas, 14th century Sanskrit poet, famous for his Vaishnava Padavalis. There is a temple dedicated to Devi Basuli.
  • Sainthia — 44 km, another Shakti Pitha
  • Tarapith — 88 km, another Shakti Pitha, famous temple of Tara Devi
  • Dubrajpur — 44 km, Rajbari (Palace), terracotta temples and natural rock formation
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