Kantajew Temple

The Kantajew temple at Kantanagar was completed in 1752 by the Dinajpur rajas, a navaratna temple whose nine spires fell in the 1897 earthquake and were never rebuilt, leaving a three-storey block, and every external surface of that block is covered in terracotta: thousands of panels running in bands, with the Ramayana and Mahabharata, Krishna's life, hunting scenes, boats, European soldiers, processions and the daily life of eighteenth-century Bengal, in a density that makes it the finest terracotta building in the country and among the best anywhere in Bengal. The temple stands in a paved courtyard beside the Dhepa river and remains in worship, with a large Ras festival in November or December.

What you actually see

• Thousands of terracotta panels - epics and daily life across every wall.
• European soldiers and boats - eighteenth-century Bengal in the carving.
• The lost nine spires - the towers taken by the 1897 earthquake.
• The Ras festival - the November-December gathering at the temple.

When to go

November to March; the Ras festival falls in November or December and fills the site. Two hours. Morning and late light rake the panels. Shoes come off in the courtyard.

Honest expectations

The spires are gone, so the silhouette is a block rather than the temple as built. Panels at reachable height are worn by touching. Festival days are extremely crowded. The road out from Dinajpur is slow.

Nearby

Dinajpur and its rajbari are south; Ramsagar lies beyond.