Blog of Kinjal Bose

Durga Puja of Kolkata’s ‘bonedi’ families (Part – II)

Durga Puja is the greatest festival of the Bengalees. It is celebrated both in India and abroad where there is the presence of Bengali community. In Kolkata there are a number of families who are celebrating the festival for a long time without any break. Some of the families are continuing the pujas for more than two centuries without any break. In 2017, in my blog Durga Puja of Kolkata’s ‘Bonedi’ Families I have included 38 families of the city, and, in a single year. But there are still a number of families where Durga Puja is being celebrated with equal pomp and splendour. In this blog I have included eight families of Central Kolkata; though I would like to mention that there are still a number of families left, which I hope to cover in the next year.

Durga Puja of ‘bonedi’ families of Chetla

Chetla (now a place in South Kolkata) was once a very crowded business area as it was by the side of Adi Ganga, which was the main waterway of the Ganges. The area started populating after 1770. A number of bonedi families like Najir Bari (1861), Addya Bari (1830), Shyam Bose (1840) came to this place and started living here. Gradually they started Durga Puja in their thakurdalan. Some of the families are still continuing the age-old tradition. I along with Shri Subrata Kumar Brahma, a resident of Chetla visited four such pujas this evening.

Durga Puja of Haldarbari of Baghbazar

Durga Puja is the biggest festival of the Bengalees and is celebrated in almost every corner of the globe where there is presence of Bengali community. This five-day festival is not only celebrated in the barowari pujas of the city of Kolkata; but it is equally worshipped in many households – from north to south. Some of the pujas of the bonedi families of Kolkata are very old and are meticulously performed with all rituals till date.

Keshaveshwar Shiv Mandir, Mandirbazar

There are a number of temples situated in South 24 Parganas district of which Keshaveshwar Shiv Mandir of Mandirbazar in Diamond Harbour subdivision deserves special mention. This 60 feet south-facing very large aatchala (eight rooofed) temple with porch is situated in Ramnathpur village by the side of the main road about five hundred metres south from Mandirbazar crossing.

Rajrajeshwar Temple, North Chandannagar

Chandannagar, the 13th station from Howrah can be reached in less than an hour by train. It was a former French colony and can be reached by road and rail. The city has a number of heritage buildings and, therefore, has a rich history to offer. This city has a number of temples of which Rajrajeshwar Temple of North Chandannagar deserves special mention as far as intricate terracotta works are concerned. It is possibly the only surviving terracotta temple of Chandannagar.

Dasabhuja Mandir, Mankundu

Mankundu, being the 12th station in the Howrah-Bandel section of the Eastern Railway has a rich history to offer as far as the Dasabhuja Temple is concerned. The four hundred year old temple has beautiful and intricate terracotta works (though much of it has lost its original glory) and houses the deities of Dasabhuja in astodhatu (an alloy of eight metals) and Radha Krishna.

Jhulan Festival of Central Kolkata

Jhulanyatra, a five-day festival is celebrated in the Bengali month of Shravan (August) every year. This festival is held in different parts of Kolkata; but there are several houses in Central Kolkata where Jhulanyatra is held with pomp and gaeity even today. Some of the household are celebrating this festival for more than 150 years. I was lucky to witness this Jhulanyatra for two years and I am describing here seven of those families who are still celebrating this festival; although there are many families who are still maintaining this age-old tradition.

Susanna Anna Maria’s Tomb, Chinsurah

Chinsurah or Chuchura is now the headquarters of Hooghly district of West Bengal. But Chinsurah was a Dutch colony during the period from 1635 to 1824. Though a long period has passed since then but the Dutch legacy still remained. One such is the tomb of Susanna Anna Maria, a Dutch lady who died in the year 1809.

Dasghara

Located about 12 kms from the temple town of Tarakeshwar, Dasghara is famous for the pancharatna Gopinath temple with ridged rekha turrets containing exquisite terracotta works built in 1729 by Sadananda Biswas along with other temples and structures. The architectural splendour consists not only in temples but also in great mansions, clock towers and of course, the Rathyatra.

Madanmohan Mandir, Serampore

Serampore, a sub-divisional town of Hooghly district of West Bengal is about 18 kilometres from Howrah. The Grand Trunk Road passes through this town. It can be reached either by rail or by road or even by the river route. Serampore has a rich history to offer and has many heritage structures scattered throughout the town. The town was called Fredericknagar as the Danes names it in 1757 in the name of the then King Frederick V of Denmark.

Shyamsundar Mandir, Khardah

Khardah, a town of Barrackpore subdivision of North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal houses a number of beautiful temples of which Shyamsundar Mandir deserves special mention. It is a very large “at-chala temple with porch on triple entrance.” A stone plaque on the entrance to the temple states that the temple is renovated by P. C. Robertson who happens to be the manager of Khardah Jute Mills.

Nandadulal Jiu Temple, Saibon

A beautiful temple housing the idols of Nandadulal Jiu and Radharani is situated at a place called Saibon or Saibona in North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal. This is the third Krishna idol after Ballavji of Serampore and Shyamsundarji of Khardah.

Radhaballav Temple, Serampore

Serampore, a sub-divisional town in Hooghly district of West Bengal is about 18 kilometres from Howrah and is the eight station in Howrah-Bandel line of Eastern Railway. Grand Trunk Road passes through this town. The town can be reached either by road or by river apart from the rail route. This town has a rich history to offer. The Danes named this town as Fredericknagar in 1757 in the name of the then King Frederick V of Denmark.

Annapurna Mandir, Bhadreswar, Hooghly

Bhadreswar, a muncipal town of Hooghly district of West Bengal, roughly 28 kms from Howrah can be reached both by rail and road. It is the 11th station from Howrah in the Howrah-Bandel section of the Eastern Railway. This industrial town is located to the south of Chandannagar. The mention of Bhandreswar can be found in Bipradas’s Manasamangal.

Annapurna Mandir, Barrackpore

A beautiful nabaratna temple, like that of the famous Dakshineswar Temple is situated in Talpukur area of the subdivisional town of North 24 Parganas – Barrackpore just by the sides of the Ganges. The temple is dedicated to Goddess Annapurna.