Jor Bangla Temple

The Jor Bangla temple at Pabna is a seventeenth-century example of the form its name describes: two do-chala hut-roofed structures joined together, one serving as porch and one as shrine, so the building reads as a pair of village huts in brick, a Bengali temple type that translates the everyday thatched house into permanent material. The front carries terracotta panels with figures, floral bands and narrative scenes, worn but substantially present. It was built under the Rajas of Natore in the 1650s by their agent in Pabna. The temple is small, stands in a town lane, and is looked after by the Department of Archaeology; it is the main reason a visitor stops in Pabna.

What you actually see

• Two joined hut roofs - the jor bangla form in brick.
• Terracotta on the front - figures and floral bands, worn but present.
• A village house made permanent - the thatched form translated to brick.
• A town-lane setting - the temple among the houses of Pabna.

When to go

November to March. One hour. Morning light suits the terracotta. The gate is sometimes locked and a caretaker opens it. Pabna is a stop rather than a destination.

Honest expectations

It is small and the visit is short. The terracotta is worn and some panels are lost. The lane setting allows no distance to view the front. Pabna offers little else.

Nearby

Pabna town surrounds it; the Hardinge Bridge lies west.