Shyamnagar Mulajor Kali temple

Shyamnagar is a small town on the east bank of the holy river Ganga  in the district of North 24-Parganas, about 35 km from Kolkata. This dusty town, with cramped houses & buildings &  teeming with thousands of people, boasts of some important temples , the most famous of these as the Brahmamoyee Kalibari  right on the bank of Ganga. Constructed by Maharaj Gopimohan Thakur, the King of Mulajore (the old village which later developed into the town of Shyamnagar) in 1809.

The temple is also known as the Mulajore Kali temple, as during the Bengali month of POUS (December-January) lakhs of devotees offer a pair of radish ( pair =JOR, & radish=MULO/MULA in Bengali) as a part of the tradition.

The temple or rather the temple complex consists of the main temple dedicated to the Goddess Kali, which is flanked on either side by 6+6 (total 12) smaller temples dedicated to Lord Shiva.

The main temple is a Navaratna (nine pinnacled) temple with ridged pinnacles. Inside, there is the idol of the Goddess Kali named  Brahmamoyee Kali.

In front of the temple there is a Naat Mandir.

The accompanying Shiva temples (6 on either side) are constructed in the same  pattern  ---- the outermost temple on the flank is Pancharatna (5 pinnacled) type & the rest 5 are Aatchala (8 roofed) type. Each of these Shiva temples houses a Shiva Lingam (The phallic form of Lord Shiva) made of stone.

This Kali temple is also famous for its various folklores about the Goddess  Brahmmomayee and her ardent devotee Sadhak Ramprasad, who has written a large number of Shyama Sangit ( devotional songs dedicated to the Goddess Kali).

Another attraction in this premise is the temple of Radha-Gobinda present behind the main temple.

There is a beautiful garden in front of the temples ending in the gently flowing Ganga. The sunset on the Ganga is just lovely.

The most interesting time to visit this temple is December-January, because  a fair called POUS MELA or MULAJOR MELA is organized at this time.