Durga Puja in Dhanyakuria

Durga Puja, a four-day festival is celebrated in different parts of West Bengal and even outside. The pujas which are celebrated in traditional Bengali households and jamidarbari have some unique features from idol to puja rituals.

During the festive days all the members of the family who live outside try to come to their ancestral house where Maa Durga is being worshipped. Dhanyakuria in North 24 Parganas district houses the mansions of Gayen, Ballav and Sahoo who celebrate the puja in a grand way.

The first thing that comes to our mind when we speak of Dhanyakuria is Gayen Castle, a grand building belonging to Gayen family who happened to be one of the earliest descendants of this area.

The Durga Puja of Gayen family was started about 180 years back by Gobinda Chandra Gayen. The traditional ekchala protima is still prepared by the same artisan family which starts with kathamo puja (worship of the structure) on the auspicious day of Rathayatra. This grand house has a three-storied tower on your left as you enter it through the main entrance. It is said to be an watch tower while others regard it as a nahabatkhana.

The puja is meticulously performed in the thakurdalan which is inside Gayen house following the Baisnab rituals and, as a result there is no sacrifice associated with this puja. The puja starts with the firing of a gun. During Sandhi Puja the members of the family light 108 oil lamps. The attraction of the puja is dhuno porano which is held on Nabami tithi when a female member of the family sits in front of the deity with heated earthen pots on her head and hands with a baby boy in her lap and it is assumed that the power of the goddess spreads out in that lady. On the day of Dasami the ritual of playing with vermillion (sindurkhela) followed by kanakanjali and after that the idol is carried on shoulders for immersion. The house was once used for shootings of films and mention may be made about the film “Saheb Bibi Golam” in this context.

Once you come out of Gayen Mansion a short walk on the opposite side will take you to the house of Sahoo. But last year when I visited I came to know that Durga Puja was not held. But I took a photograph of Sahoo Mansion from outside which has superb stucco decorations.

My next destination is Ballav Mansion which was built by Shyamacharan Ballav. This double-storied grand house of green and white colour decorated with Corinthian pillars and stucco works adds grandeur to the building. One will spot a total of five human figurines in the pattern of three in the centre and two on each side and a peacock made of stucco on the top of the entrance. The house seems to be very well maintained. Once you enter inside the house you will spot a courtyard and the thakurdalan on the right where Devi Durga is being worshipped.

The goddess here is of ekchala type. The idol is gorgeous. When I entered the dalan I found that nabami puja is still going on and the priest is busy carrying on the same. A large number of people are there inside the courtyard while others are outside. Many have also come from outside to see the puja.

Coming out of the house I enquired about a nine pinnacled rasmancha and I was told by the locals that the same will be spotted if I move further. Accordingly I followed the path and the first structure which I saw was a three-storied tower more or less like the tower of Gayen family. Walking further I saw a grand rasmancha on a raised platform. The rasmancha has received a coat of white colour. Once you see this structure initially it looks like a temple. During the rash festival the idols of Radha-Krishna are worshipped inside this mancha for three days.

Going there: Dhanyakuria can be reached both road and rail. If you want to go by train, then take the Sealdah-Basirhat local and get down at Kankra Mirzanagar station. From there take a toto and reach your destination. Or you can simply take a car and reach there via Barasat.

Date of posting: 11th September, 2023.