Shantiniketan

Shantiniketan is a small town near Bolpur in the Birbhum District of West Bengal and about 21.2 km north of Kolkata. It is famous due to Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore, whose vision became what is now a University town - Visva-Bharati University. The place is now attracts thousands of visitors each year.

Kala Bhavana, the art college of Shantiniketan, is still considered one of the best art colleges in the World. Other institutions here include Vidya Bhavana: the Institute of Humanities, Shiksha Bhavana: the Institute of Science, Sangit Bhavana: Institute of Dance, Drama and Music, Vinaya Bhavana: Institute of Education, Rabindra Bhavana, Institute of Tagore Studies and Research, Palli-Samgathana Vibhaga: Institute of Rural Reconstruction, and Palli Shiksha Bhavana: Institute of Agricultural Sciences.

It is adorned by splendid sculptures, frescoes, murals and paintings of Rabindranath, Nandalal Bose, Ramkinkar, Binod Bihari Mukhopadhaya and others.

Shantiniketan is also famous for its fairs and festivals like Poush Mela (December), Joydev Mela (January), Basanta Utsav (March) and the famous Mystic Baul Singers.

How to reach

Air: The nearest airport is Calcutta approx. 213 km.

Rail: The nearest railhead is Bolpur, 2 km away. Trains connecting Bolpur with Howrah/Sealdah (Calcutta) are 3015/3016 Howrah-Bolpur Shantiniketan Exp, 3133/3134 Sealdah-Mughalsarai Exp, 3071/3072 Howrah-Jamalpur Exp, 2557/ 2558 Kanchenjunga Exp., 335/336 Vishwabharati Fast Pgr., Shantiniketan Exp., Danapur Fast Pgr. and Tarapith Passenger.

Road: Good motorable roads connect Shantiniketan with Calcutta (213 km, Bolpur 2-Panagarh 44-Burdwan 48-Calcutta 119), Durgapur (56 km) and Sarnath (197 km).