BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Kolkata

The Southern Suburbs of Kolkata are the rural–urban fringes south of the city. It consists of neighbourhoods like Baruipur, Batanagar, Bawali, Budge Budge, Bishnupur, Kamalgazi, Joka, Maheshtala, Narendrapur, Pailan, Santoshpur, Sonarpur, Subhashgram and parts of Garia.

Get in

By train

1 Sonarpur Junction  Sealdah South  is the main railway station to get into the more eastern parts of the Southern Suburbs. Besides, there are smaller stations throughout the district, including Batanagar, Budge Budge, Garia, Narendrapur, Santoshpur and Subhashgram.

By metro

There are two lines of the Kolkata Metro penetrating the district. The North–South Line  1  runs over Adi Ganga, with stops at Kavi Nazrul, Shahid Khudiram and Kavi Subhash. The Purple Line  3  runs over Diamond Harbour Road, with a stop at Joka.

See and do

Bawali Rajbari

• 1 Ancestral house of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, Kodalia, Subhashgram. The Bose family used to live in this house before shifting to Netaji Bhawan at Bhowanipore. (updated Nov 2022)
• 2 BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Kolkata, Bhasa no. 14, Diamond Harbour Rd. A temple built by Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS). It has ben said that Shri Swaminarayan (1781–1820) once visited the Kapil Muni Temple in Sagar Island. (updated Nov 2022)
• 3 Bawali Rajbari, ☏ +91 33 4180 0305. A historic zamindar palace of the Mondal family. The family originally carried the title of Roy. Shovaram Roy was awarded the title of Mondal. Shovaram’s grandson, Rajaram Mondal, received the zamindari rights of 50 villages (including Budge Budge and Bawali), as a reward for his bravery, from the Raja of Hijli. They settled at Bawali around 1710. Rajaram Mondal’s grandson Haradhan Mondal, who enjoyed the patronage of British East India Company, and his sons built many temples in Bawali. The 300-year old Bawali Rajbari, with corinthian pillars, has been renovated for use as a hotel. (updated Jan 2023)
• 4 Bhaskar Bhawan State Museum, NSC Bose Rd, Narendrapur. A museum with numerous sculptures of sculptor Chintamoni Kar. (updated Nov 2022)
• 5 Chintamoni Kar Bird Sanctuary (CKBS, Kayaler Bagan, Narendrapur Wildlife Sanctuary), EM Bypass, Narendrapur. Famous for its wide variety of birds, butterflies, ferns and orchids. (updated Nov 2022)
• Gopinath Jiu Temple, Bawali. A navaratna (nine-pinnacled) temple. Built-in 1794, the temple is rich in stucco works. (updated Jan 2023)
• 6 Gurusaday Museum, P6, Diamond Harbour Rd, Joka (metro: Joka  3 ), gsmuseum@rediffmail.com. Tu–Su 10AM-5PM. Closed on M and national holidays. The outcome of a lifetime collection of traditional folk arts in Bengal by Sir Gurusaday Dutta. On his death in 1941, the collection was handed over to the Bratachari Society founded by Sir Gurusaday Dutta to preserve and protect Bengal folk arts. It was opened as a museum to the public with the help of the union government in 1963. It contains, among other fine handicrafts, terracotta panels, kantha (folk quilt work) and patas (hand-painted scrolls), notably of the Kalighat School. Students ₹2, adult Indians ₹10, foreigners ₹50. (updated Oct 2022)
• 7 Ramakrishna Mission Ashrama, NSC Bose Rd, Narendrapur. (updated Nov 2022)

Learn

• 1 Indian Institute of Management Calcutta (IIM Calcutta), Joka. Established in 1961, it is a fully autonomous institution and offers several Post Graduate Diploma and Fellowship programmes in Management. (updated Aug 2022)

Buy

• 1 Samukpota. known as the "Green Mall," this village offers an extensive collection of palm trees plus other plants, gardening tools, yoga instructions and South Indian food. (updated Dec 2022)
• 2 Wood Square Mall, 169, NSC Bose Rd, Narendrapur. (updated Oct 2022)

Sleep

• 1 Hotel Artland, Joka. 
• 2 Hotel East Palace, Diamond Harbour Rd, ☏ +91 6450 4025, +91 33 2497 9007, +91 9230613727. 
• 3 Ibiza (The Fern Resort & Spa), Diamond Harbour Rd, ☏ +91 33 24809009, +91 33 24709929, +91 33 24809000, +91 33 24709928, info.tf.ibiza@fernhotels.com. 110 rooms, halls, conference rooms, swimming pool and many other indoor facilities. Arrangements for weddings, anniversaries, birthday parties, conferences, corporate award shows and dinner, dealer’s meet, training sessions etc. Lunch also available for non-boarders. Price starts from ₹4,720. (updated Jul 2018)