Achipur Ghat
As we drove along the extreme south along the Hooghly, we arrived at a dead end. Here the river takes a U-turn, snaking out to embrace a village on the go. This is the ghat that the Chinese first landed at in India and then liked enough to create a settlement around the area. The ghat is also significant for other maritime activities of British India. Welcome to Achipur Ghat!
Route
From Taratala Morh drive westwards via Taratala Road till you reach Jinjira Bazar Y-fork. Hereafter, take a left onto Sampriti Flyover for Budge Budge. Drive straight through Budge Budge Trunk Road (M. G. Road) crossing Budge Budge Chowrasta and coast further down to the Pujali Municipality till you reach Boro Battala Morh. From here, drive for about 500 m to find a narrow road on the right. Driving for nearly a kilometre westwards from the main road negotiating the narrow village road, you reach the Achipur Launch Ghat.
The Ghat
Christened after the Chinese trader, Tong Atchew, Achipur (old name Atchewpur) Ghat is where Atchew landed in India. Today Achipur Ghat is merely a jetty, albeit a busy one, with daily ferry services to and from Uluberia. It is also the place that boasts the several now abandoned gunpowder magazine factories(?) of British India.
History
Achipur is a small hamlet with an interesting history. It is nestled snugly in the southernmost tip of Kolkata. It is here that the first recorded Chinese settlement was established in India.
Tong Achew: Tong Achew was a trader who had landed in the Kolkata Port in the south of Budge Budge in the late 18th century. He had set up a sugarcane plantation along with a sugar factory. History has it that around 1778, Tong Achew applied to the colonial government for land in Bengal, because he wanted to set up a sugar mill. Warren Hastings, the then Governor General of India (1773 - 1785), was very interested in establishing a relationship with China as the country represented a huge potential market. It was perhaps because of these considerations that Hastings granted Atchew 650 bighas of land at an annual rent of 45 rupees. Thus the place where he built his mill came to be known as Achipur (old name Achewpur).
To work in his sugar mill, Achew imported indentured labourers from China. This led to the sprouting of a tiny Chinese settlement. Eventually a Chinese temple was built in 1781. With Achew’s death, the settlement came to an end and the Chinese community moved to Kolkata.
Another significant bit of history associated with Achipur was that the ships carrying gunpowder traveling to Calcutta from the Bay of Bengal during the British regime had to deposit their stock at the warehouses called Barood Ghar located by the banks of the Hooghly. It is said that the ships were only allowed to carry 100 lbs of gunpowder with them for emergency calls and signalling because of security reasons. On their return journey, they would collect their deposits back from this Barood Ghar and then set sail.
Places to visit in Achipur
Negotiating the narrow road to the ghat can be a challenging task especially in the absence of proper parking and turning space. We do not recommend you visit the ghat. Instead, there are other interesting places at Achipur of immense historic importance that are worth a visit.
According to Gopal, the 6th generation caretaker of the temple, the Chinese temple, is dedicated to the deities Khuda-Khudi, the God and Goddess of Earth. Post renovation (in 2009) the temple looks attractive with its wooden ceilinged low-roofed quadrangle, painted yellow and bright red and accented by intricate Chinese calligraphy. The idols inside the temple are likely to have been brought over from China by Atchew himself. Curiously, right in front of the entrance of the temple, there stands a small Hindu shrine. It is believed to be dedicated to Dakshin Ray, the Tiger God worshipped by Hindus in and around the Sunderbans. There is also a small temple of Confucius, prayer halls along with staff quarters in the temple complex.
Note: The year embossed on the top of the Temple Gate reads 1718. This was probably done by mistake perhaps during its renovation. Ideally, the date should have been 1781, a few years after Achew landed at Achipur.
Since the Chinese no longer live here, Achipur is now a quiet hamlet for most of the year. It is transformed to a fairground from the end of January every year, that is, in the weeks following the Chinese New Year, as per their Lunar calendar. This is when hundreds of Chinese arrive at the village, to pay their respects to Tai Pak Kung, as they address Achew (Chinese for ‘biggest grandfather’ or ‘godfather’). During the festival, at the temple, scores of incense sticks in bright red holders burn continuously, filling the sanctum sanctorum with a divine aroma. People find their fortune from the ‘Kau Chims’. On the table in front of the sanctum, offerings of food and wine are made which often include tea, cake, chocolates, biscuits, roasted ducks or pigs or even a whole fish and chicken along with Chinese wine.
Infobox: Gopal - 9681144197
The bright red painted horse-shoe shaped tomb of Tong Achew adorned with Chinese calligraphy sees a lot of pilgrims despite its remote location. Around the tomb is a paved promenade on the banks of the river where pilgrims can not only pay their homage but also have a wonderful time enjoying the serenity of the Ganges. At Achew’s tomb, symbolic paper money is burned and incense sticks are offered.
During the British regime ships travelling to Calcutta carrying gunpowder from the Bay of Bengal had to deposit their stock in the warehouses called Barood Ghar located by the banks of the Hooghly. It is said that the ships were only allowed to carry 100 lbs of gunpowder with them for emergency calls and signaling because of security reasons. On their return journey, they would collect their deposits back from this Barood Ghar and then set sail. (This has already been written under Tong Achew).
The smaller warehouse has four doors, two on opposite sides while the larger one with six doors has three on opposite sides. These warehouses have a characteristic vaulted ceiling. At one corner of the field, you can find a guard house. Looking at the guard house, one can say that the warehouses were once a high alert zone with guard houses on all corners of the field, of which only one remains today.
At yet another corner, away from these warehouses, is a two storeyed building, which probably served as the officers’ quarters of the Achipur Powder Magazine.
At Achipur if there is interesting history on one side, there is also the resplendent Ganges which so beautifully meanders from west to east creating a unique topography and etching awe-inspiring stories that demand a visit.
Infobox: Accommodation at Achipur
Pujali Guest House (by the Ganges) -
Room Tariff: 700/- - 1200/-
Phone: 033 - 2482 2267/0252
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