Santiniketan lies in Birbhum district of West Bengal. Santiniketan Sishutirtha is situated in Ballabhpur Danga village adjacent to Santiniketan and some 3 Kilometers away.

Santiniketan takes it's name from two Bengali words : shanti, meaning peaceful and niketan, meaning abode.

History

The area has a rich cultural heritage steeped in history.

In 1901, the great prolific poet, writer, artist and humanist Rabindranath Tagore ( 1861-1941), who is credited with introducing India's historical and cultural greatness to the modern world, founded a school here. The school was later developed into the Visva Bharati University with an emphasis on humanity's relationship with nature.

Although Santinketan was the name of the house which Maharshi Devendranath Tagore, father of Rabindranath Tagore, built in the Middle of the 19th Century , the name later came to denote the entire area.

Santiniketan is also one of few areas in West Bengal which still has aboriginal or tribal Shantal communities residing in the adjacent villages. It is famous for its murals and annual festival of folk music, crafts, dance, song and theatre.