Vishnupur Festival (West Bengal)

Held every year between 27 and 31 December near the Madanmohana Temple, Vishnupur (Bishnupur), the Festival celebrates the rich heritage of this temple town famous for its beautiful terracota temples and elegant silk sarees. Bishnupur, once the capital of the Malla Kings, is renowned for its crafts and is located about 100 kilometres northwest of Kolkata, the capital of West Bengal.

The festival is immensely popular, characterised by exhibition and sale of local handicrafts and performance of the rich musical tradition that Vishnupur boasts of. Thousands of people come to this fair to buy various objects of handicrafts and rural artisanry from different parts of West Bengal.

There are various stalls of art works and trinkets including sea-shell works, terracotta works and cloths, sweets etc. The whole process of making silk is depicted including the mulberry in pots with the silkworms eating away the leaves. A variety of cultural programmes are also held during this period. Vishnupur is also famous for its own school or Gharana of classical music (Vishnupur gharana).

For more details Contact, 

Department of Tourism,
Government of West Bengal
2, Brabourne Road
Kolkata - 700 001
Phone: +91-33-2225-4565/8183/4723-25
Fax:+91-33-2225-4565
E-mail: dtwbtour@vsnl.net

Tourism Centre,
3/2 B.B.D. Bag (East)
Kolkata - 700 001
Phone: +91-33-2248 8271/5168
2210-3199, 2243-7260
Fax: +91-33-22485168

How to get there

Air

The nearest airport is at Kolkata 151 kms away from Vishnupur.

Rail

Vishnupur has a small railway station and there are direct trains from Howrah to Vishnupur.  The trains from Howrah are, Asansol Passenger, Gomoh Passenger, Howrah-Purulia Passenger, Hatia-Kharagpur, Rupashi Bangla Express, Purulia Express etc.

Road

Vishnupur is well-connected by regular bus services to Kolkata 151 kms (takes around 4 -5 hours), Durgapur 81 kms, Purulia 145 kms, Bankura 34 kms, Khargapur 91 kms etc.

Local Transport

Cycle Rickshaws are popular means of  local transport. Cars and jeeps are also available on hire and can be arranged through the Tourist Lodge (Phone : +91 3244- 252 013, +91 3244- 253 561 ) run by West Bengal tourism. Cars on hire from Kiron Homoeo Hall, Matukgunge.