Akalipur can be an
ideal place for a small weekend trip which at the same time has the glamour of
outing but with an edge of ancient social culture adorned with folklores and
with a kaleidoscopic religious history. It is better to drive till Tarapeeth
which is approximately 285 KM away from Kolkata and make a night stay in any of the decent
hotels. Akalipur is 38/40 KM away from Tarapith and can be reached within a
span of 45 minutes from Tarapeeth.
We had started
driving from Kolkata and reached Tarapeeth via Durgapur Express way which is a
magnificent and well-maintained thoroughfare and as such the distance of 285 KM
does not tire the travelers. 
Lunch can be had at
Panagarh crossing. But, if one is interested to have a cozy lunch at a secluded
place, then a Resort named RIK situated about 7 KM inside/interior from the Panagarh Crossing
(More) can be a good choice and more than the worth of the 7+7=14 KM extra ride.
We had made a night
halt at Tarapeeth on the date on which we had started our journey and on the very
next morning we had started for Akalipur. Very little is known in urban life regarding
the folklores and the historic temple
of Maa Akali at Akalipur.
My sole intention was to unearth various folklores and to have a taste of
history of Akalipur which lies asleep within the long forgotten sleepy hollows of Time. 
The road we followed is obviously the Durgapore Expressway and it goes without saying that till Panagarh More, the journey is swift and pacy. My Xylo easily cruised along at about 100 to 120 kmph, and the road itself was enviously smooth and large distance got covered in no time. So much so that before reaching Panagarh we took a detour through a nearby village and captured some amazing rural scenes and the villages in this side of the State seemed to be quite well to do and for the first time in my life I did not have to feel sorry for the villagers and these people truly seemed to be contended folks, basking in the warmth and glory of their own freshly tilled soil.
In this detour itself I got to see the season's first full bloom of water lilies. Although the water lilies, unlike Lotus, prefer to grow on shallow mires and bogs and not in ponds at all, but this bloom of water lilies actually soothed the eyes.... be it mire, bog or a pond.
Goddess (Maa) Akali:
Regarding the origin of and the history to the temple and the Deity, two
consistent folklores could be gathered; some having strong back up in history
whereas some originated from strong gut feelings and from the literary
narratives of the bards. The temple of
Maa Akali at Akalipur was erected by
Maharaja Nanda Kumar,
the then Diwan of a subdivision of Bengal and
a close confederate of Warren
Hastings in the year 1887.
According to the Bengali Calendar, the corresponding date of erection of the
temple was 11th Magh, 1178. The Temple
is situated on the bank of Brahamani
River, so that the front of
the main entrance of the temple faces the River. 
The temple is a
structural enigma as the shape of the temple does not resemble to any other
temples prevalent in the Indian architecture. It has an octagonal shape. The
eight corners of the said temple symbolize eight Yogas of Hinduism.
In the
courtyard of the temple, there is a peculiar tree wherein three different
plants; Banyan, Ashwathha and Tamarind share one main trunk and in the
structure of one tree, three different plants co-exist since the time immemorial.
The Deity of Maa
Akali is believed to be the Kuladevi of the controversial king Jarasandha who
was the king of Magadha at Bihar. The folk lore goes that thereafter same Deity of
Maa Akali had reached the hands of King of Kashi, Chaita Singha
and was worshipped by the religious King of Kashi.
When the palace of Maharaja of Kashi, Chaita
Singha was looted and plundered by Warren Hastings, the Deity of Maa Akali was
recovered by Maharaja Nanda Kumar who was the then Diwan of Hooghly. History
hints that such recovery of Maharaja Nanda Kumar was possible mainly due to his
friendship with Warren Hastings, the then Governor of Government of Bengal whose friendship later turned sour and
resulted in the historic trial and untimely death of Maharaja Nanda Kumar.
Another myth
regarding the temple and Deity, which also does regular rounds in the
corridors and courtyards of Akalipur, as
informed by Nitai Bhattacharya, a shop owner in the temple premises is
that when Maharaja Nanda Kumar had
recovered the Deity of Maa Akali and was
desirous of erecting the instant temple, the Kulo Purohits of the Diwan
of
Hooghly had repeatedly discouraged Maharaja Nanda Kumar on the supposed ground
that the Deity is not to be worshipped by any “Grihi” (a family man) but has to
be worshipped by such a person who has
renounced worldly life, especially by Kapalik/Tantrik. But the daring Maharaja,
took no notice of such warnings and proceeded with his resolve to build the Temple. As destiny would
have it, when the temple was built, it was struck by lightning and Ishan corner
of the temple was cracked open. Although the crack was plastered in the recent
time in 2003-04, it is still visible and can be witnessed by all and sundry.
But Maharaja Nanda Kumar was not discouraged by such
incidence and he continued with the Puja of the Deity. As per the folklores,
thereafter, in the eve of one such Puja, the wife of Maharaja
Nanda Kumar
fell down in the temple and had cut her forehead on the offering plates of the
Deity, made of Knasha (bell metal). The folklores add on that even when such
incident could not stop Maharaja Nanda
Kumar from worshipping the Deity, then came the
historic trial of Maharaja Nanda
Kumar which resulted in his
untimely death. Thereafter the family of Maharaja Nanda Kumar
appointed Purohits to make offerings to the Deity and had stopped performing
the rites of Puja themselves.
I must accept that
these folklores which I collected from the fragmented stories of the villagers
had neither any back up in history nor could it be corroborated from any authentic
source. The Puja offering still goes on in full splendor and people from neighboring
village and town, they often come down with offerings. Regular Bhog is offered to Maa Akali
at about 2 P.M.
Another important
feature of the Temple
is that the construction could not have been completed by Maharaja Nanda Kumar during his life time and as such
there was no roof constructed above the octagonal structure. The roof was constructed later on with the
effort of Sri Kiranmay
Nando, the then Hon’ble Minister
of Fisheries, West Bengal.
Another interesting
feature that one gets to see is that the temple bears engravings of Snakes at
the top of each doors and at the very pinnacle of the temple structure a snake
with raised hood can be located. Even
the Deity of Maa Akali is adorned with Snakes which are used as jewelries . The
Devi Herself is seated over a huge Snake and at the top of the head of the Devi, a Snake is entangled forming Her Crown. Sri Debasish
Bandopadhyay who has been serving as Priest and who has also his hereditary
legacy at the temple of Kalikapur
informs us that Maa Akali is another form of Maa Kali, but unlike Ma Kali, Maa Akali
has two hands and does not stand on Lord Shiva but sits over a huge
serpent and is clad in clothes adorned
with ornaments made of Snakes.
Sri Bandopadhyay
further informs that the form of Maa
Kali is also known as “Sristi o Sanghar Murti”, as She destroys with Her Kharga and re-creates with
Her Hand holding the severed human head, which is also known as Beeja-Hawsto;
the severed human heads symbolize the seed of new beginning “Beej”.
According
to Sri Bandopadhyay, unlike Maa
Kali, Maa Akali is that form of The Devi, which was conceptualized by ‘Sadhaka’s
to be seen after the Era of Sanghar and Sristi, signifying Maa Kali’s normal form. Sri Bandopadhyay,
further adds that in this form Devi does not require
the other two hands for Sristi and Sanhar as it is the later form of Devi and therefore, Maa Akali
has only two hands which are meant for protection and granting wishes of Her
Children.
As I have already
narrated earlier that the Devi is seated on a huge
serpent, and unlike Maa Kali,
Maa Akali is clad in clothes and adorned with
ornaments made of snakes. Sri Bandopadhyay explains,
since in the form of Maa
Kali, the Goddess is creating the
world, she is portrayed naked, as nakedness symbolizes Mother Nature with all
Her Fertility. Large coiled snakes on which Maa Akali
sits symbolizes ‘Muladhar’ or ‘Kulo Kundalini’, which according to the Hindu
Philosophy is a sleeping or dormant knowledge. Again the Snakes forming crown
of the Devi with his raising hoods suggests and
symbolizes “Jagroto Kulo Kundalini”, that is to say, that state when the
Supreme Knowledge has already risen from its slumber. Hence The Devi symbolizes
the event of “Jagaran of Kulo Kundalini”; the event of attainment of supreme
knowledge. Since the concept of this attainment of supreme knowledge is
itself sacred and also a secret concept
and as also it is believed that Kulo Kundalini lies above one’s genitals
but below the last bone of the spinal
cord , Maa Akali is also known as Gujhya Kali. 
To
sum up, I must suggest that it is an awesome place to visit, especially at
winter and can be made a very coveted spot for all the folk tale hungry
travelers, in search of new places and fascinating history. The place is both
ideal for solitary travelers and for families.
