CALCUTTA~THE BEGINNING

THE CITY OF KALI

Episode I

The story of Kolkata as we know it starts with the Sabarno Roy Chowdhury family. The origin is traced back to the 10th Century CE, when Adisura brought five Brahmins to Bengal, one of whom is an ancestor to Sabarno Roy Chowdhury. Later, Panchanan Gangopadhyay (Panchu Saktikhan) of the family acquired the Khan title from the Mughal Emperor Humayun in the sixteenth century, for his bravery as a cavalry in charge of Pathan soldiers. He built a palace at Halisahar and the family spread from there to Uttarpara, Birati, Barisha and Kheput.

The three villages of Sutanuti, Govindapur and Kalikata were part of an estate belonging to the Mughal emperor himself, whose jagirdari rights were held by the Sabarna Roy Choudhury family. On 10 November 1698, they transferred, by lease, their rights over the three villages to the East India Company much against their wishes and protests.

Lal Dighi (or red tank), that still stands in the middle of B. B. D. Bagh in the heart of commercial district of Kolkata was part of the kutchery (court-house) and temple of their family deity-Shyam Rai, set in the centre of the settlement. One story is that Lal Dighi is so named because of the red colour the water acquired during dol, the festival of colours. Another is that the water reflected the red colour of the fort. John Anthony was a Portuguese who worked for the Roy Chowdhury family.He was the grandfather of Anthony Firingee of Firingee Kalibari and Kavigan/literary face-offs fame. He was once famously whipped by Job Charnock for preventing his men from entering the enclosure where the women of the family were bathing.
Dalhousie area which is the business district since East India Company times, developed in the court-house area that was first taken on rent and later purchased by the British East India Company.
In photo: Dalhousie Square renamed as B.B.D. Bagh where Binoy,Badal&Dinesh (the trio of early revolutionaries in the independence movement of India) were martyred; and the 200 year old St.Andrew's church and Writers building reflected in the waters of the tank.

The Subarno Roy Chowdhury family has been celebrating Durga Puja since 1610 in their ancestral home at Barisha and it is the oldest organized festival in Kolkata region.
In Photo:The oldest Durga temple in Kolkata of the Sabarna Roy Choudhury family. Built in 1610 by Laksmikanta Gangopadhyay. Source: Wikipedia, Biswarup Ganguly

The 'Sabarna Roy Choudhury Paribar Parishad', the supreme family organisation and nine other intellectuals of the city filed a public interest litigation before the Kolkata High Court in 2001 demanding a probe into the matter whether Job Charnock can be regarded as the founder of Kolkata. The Court, upon an Expert Committee finding, declared on 16 May 2003, that Job Charnock cannot be regarded as the founder of the city and 24th August also cannot be considered as the city's birthday. However, there is no doubt that it is Job Charnock who transformed three small villages on an inhospitable tract of riverbank into what was to become the premier city in India. Of all the great cities of modern India, Calcutta it is that owes its existence to the vision and commitment of one man.

Reference of Calcutta in ancient texts: Kalikatah is mentioned in the Bengali poetry Manasamangal written by Bipradas Pipilai in 1495 as lying next to a Kali mandir or Kalighat.

10 STORIES OF DURGA PUJO

There are several stories behind the worship of Devi Durga. One is the story of Ram invoking the goddess for his victory over Ravan. Another is that Mother Durga visits her parents’ home with her children-Ganesh, Kartik, Lakshmi and Saraswati from Kailash. In keeping with this tradition, Bengali households don the role of Durga’s paternal home and begin preparing for the annual home coming. Yet another is the slaying of Mahishasur by Devi Durga. All in all, Durga Puja celebrates the feminine aspect of divinity-both maternal and fierce, that creates life, protects good and destroys evil. The message of woman empowerment through Durga Puja where the Goddess is worshipped as a Mother and warrior and not as a consort to a God is clear.

In picture: The Idol is composed of Durga at the centre flanked on her left by Saraswati(Goddess of learning&arts) and kartik (God of war) and on her right by Laskhmi (Goddess of wealth) and Ganesh(remover of obstacles).On extreme right is the Kola Bou. All the gods&goddesses are depicted with their respective steed.

1. Akal Bodhon or Untimely Worship (অকাল বোধন)- The worship of Goddess Durga is customarily during Spring (Basanto Pujo). In Bengal, we worship her in the month of Ashwin, the time when Ram prayed to Durga for victory in battle against Ravan. The battle started on Saptami and Ravan was killed on Dashami. Ram's Durga Puja was first depicted in Krittivasi Ramayan composed in 15th century.

2. Ulta Rath- Traditionally, the sculptors start making the idols on the day of the return of the Jagannath Rath(Ulta Rath). The piece of wood  from the previous year's structure called Katahmo is used in the making of the idol after a special Katahmo Puja. Katahmo is basically the skeletal structure of the idol around which the clay is used to fashion the Goddess and her family. So the wooden frame is reused every year.

3. Punya Mati or Mud from prostitute’s house- Work on the idol starts with Mud begged from the house of a courtesan as a gift or blessing. One explanation is that people who visit the prostitutes for sex leave their purity and virtue outside the door, thus making the soil in front of the home of a prostitute virtuous. Another is that the festival and worship of the goddess includes everybody and prostitutes are an example of those who live on the fringes of society.

4. Mahalaya- is the day of the new moon at the beginning of Autumn when the gods are awakened and marks the beginning of Devi Paksha. During Mahalaya Amavasya, people offer prayers to their ancestors at early dawn. The ritual is called Shraddh or Tarpan. This is the day Goddess starts her journey to her earthly home to bestow her blessings. On this day, the artist draws the eyes of the Goddess on the idol.

5. Bodhan- As this is Akaal Bodhan or untimely worship, separate ritual is performed to infuse life into the idol. The Main Puja, or worship, starts on "Shashthi" i.e. sixth day, generally underneath a "Bael" tree and by installing a Ghat(Copper Pot with Ganga water). At dusk, the "Pran" or life of the the goddess is brought from a nearby pond or water body, wrapped in a Banana plant and then reinstated on the "Ghat" and then to the Image. The process of virtually implanting life into the Ghat and then into the Image is known as "Bodhan".

6. Kola Bou or Nabapatrika- popularly known as Lord Ganesh's wife. It is an ancient ritual of worshiping nine types of plants (or nine forms of the goddess), together worshiped as a symbol of the goddess. The nine plants comprising Nabapatrika are: the Banana plant, the Colacassia plant, the Turmeric plant, the Jayanti tree, the Wood apple tree, the Pomegranate tree, the Arum plant, the Rice plant and the Ashoka tree. Nabapatrika was actually a popular ritual performed by the peasant folks for prosperous harvest during Autumn, the time for reaping crops. As idol worship was not common then, people worshipped Mother Nature. Later when Durga Puja became a popular festival of "Sharat", all the nine holy rituals of the Nabapatrika were added to the ceremonies of Durga Puja. During the olden times the holy bath was an elaborate affair. All the nine Goddesses representing Nabapatrika are bathed with waters from 8 different holy places accompanied with Dhaak and bells. She is then adorned in a typically bengali white saree with red border and vermilion is smeared on the leaves. Offerings of flowers, sandalwood paste and incense sticks are made. Later Kola Bou is placed on the right side of the Lord Ganesha. This takes place on Saptami morning.

7. Blue Lotus-Before Ram started the war, he invoked the goddess for blessings and victory. But Ravan had already prayed to the goddess and received the boon that she would sit on his chariot. So, Bibhishan suggested Rama that the latter should try once again to appease Goddess Durga by offering 108 blue lotuses. Summoned by Ram, Hanuman flew to Debidaha, the only place where one could find blue lotuses. In the course of the puja which Ram started on Saptami, Durga hid one lotus to test Ram. When Ram found only 107 blue lotus at the altar, he plucked out his own eye (Ram’s eyes were described as lotus like and blue). At that moment on Ashtami, Devi Durga appeared in front of him and gave Rama the boon that she would leave the chariot of Ravan, thus ensuring his victory.

8. Sandhi Pujo and Kumari Pujo- Sandhi Pujo, the most important ritual of Durga Pujo is conducted in last 24 minutes of Ashtami and first 24 minutes of navami that constitute the Sandhi or ''Sacred Juncture''.That is the moment Chanda and Munda were killed by Goddess Chamunda and Mahishasur was slayed by Durga. Many "Rajbaris", including, the zamindar of Sutanuti of Sobhabajar Rajbari fired cannon balls to announce the "Sandhikhan". An animal sacrifice is also given during this “Sacred juncture”. Worship of a young girl, treating her as Devi, is also a part of Ashtami Pujo and was started at Belur math by Swami Vivekananda.

9. Sindoor Khela-is a part of Boron or the farewell to the goddess who has to leave her parents’ home for her abode at kailash. The married women bid her farewell by exchanging vermillon marks on each other’s foreheads and also on the forehead of Goddess Durga. The women take a last look at the Goddess by looking at her reflection in a mirror/water placed near the idol. After immersion, sweets are also exchanged along with "Kolakuli" or mutual hugging and this ritual is known as Bijoya. Bijoya ensures friendship among individuals who then collectively vow to spend the year ahead in Peace and Harmony and to ward off any evil or hardship.

10. Neelkanth bird or Blue jay-The blue throated bird is regarded as the bird of Shiva (Shiva is also known as blue throated one or neelkanth after taking the poison that was churned out of the ocean). This bird is released just before the immersion of the Goddess in the Ganges and is supposed to act as a messenger to Shiva that Durga is on her way back to Kailash.

Beautifully handmade Goddess Durga with her family in miniature by the immensely talented Jini Seal.This has been made of clay and fixed on a wooden frame and is about 20" wide and 12" tall. The weapons are individually crafted of wire.

Photo courtesy: Rini Seal,Miranda Chatterjee, Wikimedia