Current Time in Barddhamān, India

Barddhamān, also written Bardhaman or Burdwan, lies in the state of West Bengal in eastern India, on the alluvial plain between the Damodar and the Bhagirathi about a hundred kilometres northwest of Kolkata. The surrounding countryside is flat, intensively irrigated and dense with rice fields, mango orchards and palm fringed villages. The climate is hot and humid, with a heavy monsoon from June to September and a short, pleasant winter.

The city has a population of around three hundred and fifty thousand and is the administrative headquarters of Purba Bardhaman district. It is often called the rice bowl of West Bengal, since the surrounding district produces more rice than almost any other in the state, and the city functions as a market, education and transport centre for a wide agricultural region.

The name is generally traced to Vardhamana Mahavira, the twenty fourth Jain tirthankara, who is said to have spent time in this area more than two and a half thousand years ago, and archaeological finds nearby confirm very early settlement. The town's modern character was shaped by the Burdwan Raj, a line of zamindars founded in the seventeenth century by a merchant family from Punjab who rose to control one of the largest landed estates in Bengal. The maharajas built temples, gardens, waterworks and colleges, and their patronage gave the town an unusually rich architectural legacy for a district centre.

The most recognisable landmark is the Curzon Gate, a grand ceremonial arch of the early twentieth century topped with sculpted figures and standing at the entrance to the main avenue. Nearby is Golapbag, the rose garden of the maharajas, now a botanical garden and zoo shared with the university campus. The Sarbamangala temple, dedicated to the town's presiding goddess, draws large crowds, and at Nababhat stand one hundred and eight small Shiva temples arranged in two concentric circles, an unusual and striking arrangement built in the eighteenth century. Krishnasayar, a large tank surrounded by parkland, provides the city's favourite place to walk, and the tombs and mosques of the older quarters recall the Mughal period.

Barddhamān is famous throughout Bengal for two sweets that carry protected geographical status. Sitabhog resembles fine white vermicelli made from rice flour and cottage cheese, while mihidana consists of tiny golden droplets of sweetened gram flour, and both were reputedly created to honour a visiting viceroy. Sweet shops around the town centre still make them daily.

The University of Burdwan is one of the older and larger universities in the state, supported by several long established colleges, giving the town a substantial student presence. Barddhamān stands on the main railway line from Howrah toward Delhi and was among the first places in eastern India reached by rail in the 1850s, and today it is a busy junction with frequent local and express services, complemented by highways and buses.

Barddhamān combines princely heritage, agricultural wealth, learning and celebrated sweets into a city with a strong Bengali identity.