Guptipara in Hooghly district of West Bengal is famous for Rathayatra, first barowari puja, terracotta temples and sweets (gupo sandesh). That apart Durga Puja is also held here. Durga Puja of Sen Bari is not only famous but very old. The puja was started way back in 1580 by Shri Ram Sen.
Kali Puja is equally old here and initially it started in jhantra. Likewise, in the early years, Chandi Puja was also performed here in ghat and thereafter gradually it was worshipped in idol.
As you reach Sen Bari, you will first see two twin aatchala Shiva temples on a raised platform founded by Ramdhan Sen. The temples have received a fresh coat of colour.
Once you enter through the main gate you will notice a name plate on your left with the name Shri Kirti Chandra Sen. After you enter the house there is a large courtyard and on the right there is a thakurdalan. The thakurdalan is unique in many respects.
Firstly, you will notice decorations on the arches which was prevalent during the Mughal era. I came to know from Shri Anjan Sen, family member that possibly these decorations were done by the artisans of Murshidabad during the time of Dataram Sen. The works are mesmerising. Another thing I came to know is that the floor of chandi mandap is made of clay. Isn’t it sounds peculiar?
He added that the same is there from the sixteenth century. The reason was that there happened to be a pancha mundir aashan (a place of meditation) there and he added that later successive attempts were made to make the floor concrete but in each and every case there was hindrance. The altar is made of clay and on which the idol of Maa Durga is placed There are also two small rooms on the mezzanine floor inside the dalan known as the rooms of Narayan and Lakshmi respectively. The stairs are small and I was told that Narayan resides here along with a ghat.
Another interesting thing is that there is no owl with Goddess Lakshmi. Shri Sen said as the owl resides in a small room in the house on a permanent basis; so there is no owl with the goddess. I have seen watch towers in a few houses. But in Sen Bari, there were two such three-storied towers out of which one had already collapsed a long time back, and another, the southern one has survived though the same is not in a good shape. It requires urgent restoration to save it from further decay.
The protima is built in the dalan following kathamo puja on Janmastami. The puja is performed following Shakta rituals. Earlier there happened to be animal sacrifice. But it was stopped long time ago. At present sugarcane, chalkumro and banana are sacrificed. Shri Sen said that at present four groups (sarik) of Sen family are continuing this heritage Durga Puja. The tradition of Kumari Puja is there in this house but the same is held by one group and, that too, once in four years and the same is held on Astami. The lion is white in colour and looks more like a horse. This type of horse-shaped lion is seen in the idol of Maa Durga in many bonedi households. I was told that during the days of the puja, many old utensils, some of which are more than four hundred years old are used.
Shri Sen showed me a large white shaped thing hanging from the ceiling of one of the rooms. He asked me what was it and I failed to answer. He told me that previously there were two – one of them was lost. It is a jaw of a whale. I have never seen such a huge jaw ever in my life. Thanks to him. On the day of Dasami, after the sindur khela, the idol is taken out of the thakurdalan and the same is carried on shoulders following the age old tradition and the idol is immersed in the late afternoon at a place a little away from Sen Bari.
Special thanks to Shri Anjan Sen.
Going there: Take the morning Howrah-Katwa local and get down at Guptipara station. From there take a toto and reach Sen house. Alternately the same can be reached by road.
Date of posting: 28th October, 2023.
Blog of Kinjal Bose 