Durga Puja of Howrah’s ‘Bonedi’ families (Part-I)

1. Buri Maar Aaatchala, Chaitalpara, Bally

According to Sri Suniti Ganguly, Vice-President of Bally Chaitalpara Buri Maar Aatchala Puja Committee, this puja dates back to nearly 400 years and was started during the reign of Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan. Acutally this puja was a household puja but now it has been taken over by the puja committee. This puja is named as Buri Maar puja only because of its age; it started nearly four centuries back.

Continue reading Durga Puja of Howrah’s ‘Bonedi’ families (Part-I)

Coomar’s Shiv Mandir, Bally

One can find a number of old temples in Bally of Howrah district. One such old temple, I mean two old aatchala (eight roofed) temples in one raised platform at 15, Kali Prasanna Coomar (Kumar) Street (which was previously known as Sen Para) in Bally deserve mention. There are actually two temples placed side by side opposite to a pond known as Coomar (Kumar) Lake.

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Twin Shiva Temples, Bally

Shiv Mandir (Temple) is pretty common in West Bengal and mostly they are of aatchala (eight rooofed) type. Among them some are pretty old and have undergone restoration and while others have not. Many contain terracotta panels and during restoration some got damaged. Another thing while undergoing restoration work, many temples lost its old charm.

Continue reading Twin Shiva Temples, Bally