Ben: আসানসোল āsānasōla
‘Indian Laurels’ [Assensole] City, West Bengal
From Ben: asan, [Indian Laurel, Silver Greywood, Terminalia tomentosa]; and Ben/Skt: sala/sthala, ‘land’, ‘place’.
The Asan is a deciduous tree which can grow to a height of 30m. It is found on the banks of the Damodar River. It has an extraordinary talent: it can store water in the dry season. The wood is used for furniture and boat-building.
The British corrupted the name to Assensole, but fortunately the original name was restored following Independence. Asansol is West Bengal’s second largest city.
Asansol is the second largest city in West Bengal and is the district HQ of Paschim Bardhaman district.
For related place names see Indian Place names and West Bengal place names.
Asansol Railway Station P.K.Niyogi
