Destination India: Contai, West Bengal

Tuesday, July 04, 2006

Contai, West Bengal

Give me Ray I
Originally uploaded by partha Pal.

Contai was originally a part of Hijli Kingdom, a tributary State of Orissa ruled by the Hindu King Gopinath Pattnayak. Contai Subdivision was established in 1852, under the British Raj. Initially, Negua was the Subdivisional headquarter, which was shifted to Contai in 1863. Rishi Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay was appointed as the Subdivisional officer in 1860. He selected Dariapur as the background of his famous novel "Kapalkundala". Dariapur is just few kilometers from Contai city and is situated by the Bay of Bengal at the confluence of Rasulpur River and Hooghly River.

Contai is a subdivisional town in the District of East Midnapore, in the State of West Bengal. It is about 160 km from Kolkata and 30 km from the beach town of Digha.

About Me

India has always fascinated me for different reasons. The vastness of its culture, the diversity of people’s opinions and the limitations of its vision. Despite our diversity, we need to have a collective vision. India is not a country of four metropolis or a couple of high-tech cities. This nation of a billion people has 29 states and 6 union territories. We have 35 state and territorial capitals. How much do we know about each of these important cities?

Professionally I am a graphic designer from Bombay, India. In 1987, I co-authored a book on Corporate India, but my desire to throw a wider net and pick up much more information remains intact. I want my people from every city and every state to write and photograph details and information that would be interesting to the viewers around the world. We have so much to talk about and so much to share - this medium and this technology can help fulfill our collective dreams.