At-chala Temples

Features and Origins

If the roof of a char-chala temple is truncated and a miniature duplicate char-chala temple is added on it, then it becomes an at-chala temple. Though the char-chala style is rare, the at-chala style is very common, particularly in Hugli and Howrah, where it seems to have been very popular with artisans and patrons in the 18th and 19th centuries. As the architecture of the at-chala temple became common, the decorative arrangements of terracotta panels on the facade also became standardized, allowing artisans to build hundreds of fairly similar at-chala temples in this region. Although the both architecture and decoration of the temples became similar, it was sufficiently complex to allow both patrons and artisans to experiment and innovate.

Examples

Many variations of the basic at-chala style were developed. These range from a small squat Bishnupuri type where the roofs are only slightly separated, to a massive type where the temple is placed on a large plinth. The most common type in Howrah and Hugli have triple-arched entrance and fully-decorated facades. Given the popularity of this style through the 18th-20th centuries, fine and fully decorated examples of this style are numerous and widespread across Hugli, Haora, Medinipur, and Bankura districts. Some notable examples of the style are the massive temples at Gurap and Mellock, several ornate temples at Atpur, the Dakshina Kali temple at Malancha, the Raj-Rajesvara temple at Dvarhatta, several temples in Amadpur in Bardhaman, and temples in many villages around Arambagh and Goghat in Hugli. The renowned but significantly renovated pilgrimage temples at Kalighat and Tarakeswar are also in the atchala style.