On the day of Deepawali, people light oil lamps or candles in the balcony and now-a-days with colourful electric lights. Fireworks are also lighted at night. At times fanush or sky lanterns are also seen.
Sky lantern Festival or Fanush Utsav at Bholonath Dham Dutt Bari of 33/2, Beadon Street, Kolkata – 6 has already turned 100 years last year (2024). The event was started way back in 1925 though before that, the Dutts used to live at Shovabazar and there flying fanush was not a regular feature. During the afternoon of Kali Puja, the inner courtyard of Bholanath Dham is crowded with people of different age groups – some with high-end cameras and mobile phone cameras capturing the moment. The Dutts celebrate both Durga Puja and Kali Puja.
According to Shri Ajoy Dutt, a family member, he had seen his elder uncle and father preparing fanush when he was young. This actally made him enthusiastic. I was pretty lucky to witness the event in 2023. Shri Dutt told me that he had made his first fanush when he was only ten. He added that he had learnt the art of preparing sky lantern from his father Jadavlal Dutt. Ajoy Babu is making fanush for the last sixty years, and, according to him, since the last two decades or so it has turned into a festival – more precise to say fanush festival.
Shri Dutt informed me that fanush came to Calcutta during the mid nineteenth century through the Europeans. Later on it became a part of Babu culture. During that time the fanush were prepared professionally. Around 1916-20, a gentleman named Govinda Chandra Dey at a place called Darjeepara first prepared a fanush.
When asked about how much time does it take for preparing a fanush of standard size, he replied about three days, or more precisely 18 to 20 hours. He stressed that preparing a fanush is not so difficult but what is difficult is patience. A big space is also required. Shri Dutt told me that the material cost for preparing a sky lantern was not so high but at present the cost has risen because the special type of paper required for fanush needs to be imported. He said that he was giving lessons in fanush to the enthusiastic persons so that they may carry on this legacy to the next generation.
Special thanks to Shri Ajoy Dutt.
Date of posting: 20th October, 2025.
Blog of Kinjal Bose 