Chakla Dham is the place of a famous Hindu Yogi called Baba Lokenath. Chakla Dham is considered to be one of the most popularly visited places in Bengal after Kalighat and Daksnineswar. It is located near Basirhat in North 24 Parganas. The place is very popular among the devotee of Baba Lokenath. People come from different parts of India to offer puja. In the year 1730 on the day of Janmashtami (the birthday of Lord Krishna) Baba Lokenath was born in a conservative Hindu family in Chakla. His father Sri Ramnarayan Ghosal and his mother was Kamala Devi. He was the fourth child of his parents. His father was a devoted person and he wanted that one of his sons choose the path of God and eventually lokenath became a ‘sanyasi’. Bhagawan Ganguly was the guru of Lokenath. His friend Benimadhav accompanied him on his spiritual expedition. As the diksha guru, Bhagawan Ganguly took them to Baranasi. Before his death Bhagawan Ganguly handed over his two disciples to Hital Mishra (eventually Trilanga Swami). There they studied yoga with Swamiji and the three aspirants went on a journey. He finally attained enlightenment in the Himalayas in 1820 at the age of 90. After enlightenment he travelled all over South Asia and Southeast Asia on foot. He visited many religious places associated with Islam, Christianity, Buddhism, Sikhism and Jainism. This includes three trips to Mecca. Baba Lokenath returned to Bengal in 1866 and setteled down at Baradi near Dhaka ( present Bangladesh). This would later grow to be his ashram for the restof his life. There is huge controversy about the original birthplace of Lokenath. Some people say that Chakla Dham is the place where Lokenath was born but some of them claim that it is Kachua Dham. During the beginning of 20th century a man named Nityagopal Saha lodged a case to find out the truth. The case ended in favour of Kachua Dham. Since then Kachua Dham is legally regarded the original birthplace of Lokenath. A temple is also situated in Kachua Dham. This temple is also very famous among the devotee of Baba lokenath. His Jonmo diwas and Tirodhan diwas are celebrated by his followers. Lokenath’s friend Benimadhav Bandopadhyay’s house is situated beside this temple. Every year Chakla Dham celebrates the birthday of Lokenath on the day Janmashtami. According to Bengali Calender Lokenath Baba left his material body on the 19 th day of Jaishtho at the age of 160. This incident is known as ‘Ontordhan’. The ‘Ontordhan Diwas’ is also a special festival of this place which is celebrated every year in a grand scale. Apart from this Nandostav, Purnima, Poush Sankranti, Makar Sankranti, Saraswati Puja, Shivratri, Pohela Baisakh, Durga Puja, Laxmi Puja and Kali Puja are also celebrated here. The temple follow the path shown by Lokenath that says that one should serve people in need and deed. Many lost religious activities like Yagnas, Kirtana are still practiced here. The temple offers puja to the God thrice a day. Apart from the religious side, Chakla Dham is also a popular tourtist spot. It is said that the economic condition of the villagers has improved a lot because of the temple. The temples remains open from 8 am to 12 pm and again between 4 pm to 6 pm. How to reach : Chakla Dham is well connected by roadways. If you are planning to travel by train, then you have to board Bonga local from Sealdah and get down to Guma Station. Then you can hire a Motor Van to reach the temple. Kachua Dham is also well connected by roadways. If you are coming by train, then you have to board Sealdah Hasnabad local and get down to Kankra Mirza Nagar Station. Then you have to take a motor van or an auto to reach the temple.