Durga Puja in Kolkata

Image of Durga in an early 19th Century lithograph

Jamindarbari Puja

Old painting of Durga Puja in Kolkata at Sovabazar Rajbari

Kumortuli

Durga Puja recalls the power of Female Shakti by the worship of Goddess Durga who kills the Mahishasura (Buffalo Demon) to bring peace and sanctity on earth. It is also referred to as Durgotsav (‘Festival of Durga’), which is an annual Hindu festival in South Asian Subcontinent that celebrates worship of the Hindu goddess Durga. The ‘pujas’ are held over a nine-day period (mainly last six), which is traditionally viewed as the arriving of the married daughter, Durga, to her father, Himalaya's home. It is the most important festival in West Bengal, India and the Bengalis celebrate it from the sixth to tenth day of the waxing moon in the month of Ashwin, which, due to shifts in the lunar cycle, relative to the solar months, may also be held in the following month, Kartika. In the Gregorian calendar, these dates correspond to the months of September and October.

Akalbodhan:
The actual worship of the Goddess Durga, as stipulated by the Hindu scriptures, falls in the month of Chaitra in Bengali calendar, which roughly overlaps with March or April in the Gregorian calendar. Although She was traditionally worshipped in the spring, in the Krittivas Ramayana, Rama invoked the goddess Durga in his battle against the ten-headed demon Ravana during Autumn. It is then that Goddess Durga appeared; satisfied with his devotion, and granted her blessings and eventually Rama won the battle against Ravana. Since the Goddess is invoked at the wrong time, it is called "Akaal Bodhan" (in Bengali) which means 'untimely awakening'.
 

Going Back:
Durga Puja was popular in Bengal in the medieval period, and records exist of it being held in the courts of Rajshahi (16th century) and Nadia district (18th century). Interestingly the oldest such Puja to be conducted is in Rameswarpur, Orissa, where it is continued for the last four centuries since the Ghosh Mahashays from Kotarang near Howrah migrated as a part of Todarmal's contingent during Akbar's rule. Community Durga puja was started in 1761 in Guptipara, Hooghly, by 12 young men when they were barred from participating in a family Durga puja. They formed a committee which accepted subscriptions for organising the puja. Since then, community pujas in Bengal came to be known as ‘Baroyari’ – ‘baro’ meaning 12 and ‘yar’ meaning friends.
 

British Regime:
It was during the 18th century, that the worship of Durga became popular among the landed elite of Bengal called Zamindars and Jagirdars, enriched by British rule, including Raja Nabakrishna Deb, of Shobhabajar, Calcutta. He initiated an elaborate Durga Puja at his residence, Shobhabazar Rajbari, in honour of Lord Clive in the year 1757. The puja was organised because Clive wished to pay thanks for his victory in the Battle of Plassey. He was unable to do so in a Church because the only church in Calcutta at that time was destroyed by Siraj-ud-Daulah. Indeed many wealthy mercantile and Zamindar families in Bengal made British Officers of the East India Company guests of honour in the Pujas. This was deemed necessary since the Company was in charge of a large part of India including Bengal after the battles of Plassey and Buxar.
 

Today:
It is the Rama's time for the puja and the ‘Sarbojanin’ concept that has gained ascendancy and popularity, although the spring puja, known as Basanti Puja [One of the oldest Basanti Puja is held every year at spring in Barddhaman Pal Bari], is also present in the Hindu almanac. But the fact can’t be hidden that there are still a few old and famous ‘Family Pujas’ held by a number of bonedi (rich and affluent historically for multiple generations) families. The main hub for creating the idols remain at the famous artisans’ town in north Kolkata called ‘Kumortuli’ For generations, the sculptors have been producing such magnificent idols which nowadays are imported all over the world.

Pandals (temporary structure set up to venerate the goddess) and idols inspired by a particular theme have been the hallmark of many community or Sarbojanin Pujas in Calcutta since the 1990s. The ‘projects’ are managed by eminent artists, mostly from the famous Academy of Fine Arts, Kolkata. Many Bengali films, albums and books are released to coincide with the Puja. The West Bengal government gives a fortnight of holidays for the Pujas.