Burdwan: A village just two hours drive from Calcutta has a Jain temple from the 10th century that only a few Calcuttans are aware of.

Another 20 minutes from the Jain temple are two other temples - one built in the mid-17th century and another in the mid-18th century.

A cluster of villages in Burdwan district have hundreds of temples that are several centuries old. Many of the temples are in ruins.

On Saturday, Bruce Bucknell, British deputy high commissioner to Calcutta, and Kajari Biswas, head of the Indian external affairs ministry's branch secretariat in the city, visited three such temples in Burdwan. They were accompanied by a group of people keen to know how the heritage in rural Bengal is being preserved.

The tour was organised by BAUL (Bespoken Architectural and Unique Legacies of Bengal) and supported by the external affairs ministry.

After returning to Calcutta, the group paid homage to an Englishman who documented a large number of terracotta temples of Bengal.

Metro travelled with Bucknell and Biswas.

Deula

A Jain temple in Jamalpur's Deula village, around 100km from Calcutta, dates back to 10th century AD, according to a plaque put up by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) near the entrance to the temple. ASI's website says: "Jaina sculptures found at the place may indicate that it belonged to the Jaina faith." The deity of the temple, called Saat Deul, has been stolen.

The latest round of restoration of the temple started about a fortnight ago. Even a decade ago, the area around the temple served as a playground.

The temple has been built in the Odiyan style of rekha deul, in which the square sanctum or shrine forms the lower part, above which a curvilinear tower is built.

Samrat Chowdhury, the chief mentor of BAUL, said: "The temple was set up more than 1,000 years back, when the area was probably part of a jungle. Also, the name Saat Deul suggests there were seven temples. It has to be found out how and when the other temples were destroyed," said Chowdhury.

Debipur

Memari's Debipur, around 12km from Deula, has two temples - one built in the mid-19th century and the other in the mid-18th century. Both are adorned with intricate terracotta designs.

The newer among the two is the Lakhshmi Janardan temple built by Narottam Sinha. The land for the temple was purchased in 1833 and the temple was opened in 1844, said a member of the trust running the temple.

"It is becoming increasingly difficult for us to maintain the structure. A lot of money is needed for its restoration," said Rabindranath Sinha, a descendant of Narottam.

Like Saat Deul, the Lakhshmi Janardan temple is built in the rekha deul style. Weeds have grown on the upper walls of the temple. Dwelling units meant for guests are in ruins.

The other terracotta temple in Debipur was built in the 1750s. Th deities worshipped in the temple are Shiva, Radha-Krishna and Bamakali.

"It is so important to tell the local history of a place. It is as important as telling the national history," said Bucknell, who was accompanied by Henrietta Dorrington-Ward.

David McCutchion

On their return from Burdwan, the group paid a tribute to David McCutchion, the English academic who had written extensively on terracotta temples of Bengal, at his grave in the Bhowanipore cemetery. McCutchion had taught English at Visva-Bharati before joining Jadavpur University's comparative literature department. He died in 1972 at the age of 41.

Food for thought

How to draw more tourists to the temples? "There is no home stay around the place. The temples are ideally located for a day's getaway from Calcutta. But the roads in the villages need to be better and there has to be a place to stay," said Chowdhury of BAUL.