History of Durga Puja in Bengal | Kolkata Durga Puja
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It is said that the previously Durga was worshipped by the zamindar of Maldah or Dinajpur. However, the first Durga Puja mentioned in recorded history was at Nadia around 1606, under the supervision of Maharaja Krishnachandra’s ancestor Bhavananda. Later, during the reign of Maharaja Krishnachandra, the celebration of Durga Puja took a larger form. The celebration was held in the building built by his ancestor Rudra Roy.
The oldest puja mentioned in Calcutta is the family puja of Savarna Chowdhury of Barisha which began in 1610 and is still conducted in a very traditional style today. Later, Durga Puja became practised among the cronies of Kolkata’s new urban business elite. Raja Nabakrishna Dev of Shobhabazar Raj founded a ‘family puja’ believing it will further his business interests.
After his victory at Plassey in 1757, Robert Clive received an invitation from Raja Nabakrishna Dev to attend Durga Puja. He came to Sovabajar Rajbari where a golden sofa was put in the quadrangle for him. Located at 36 Raja Navakrishna Road, Durga Puja is still called Company Puja. Raja Nabakrishna Deb established the pattern of Durga Puja that became a symbol of fashion and status among traders. The number of Sahibs (European from East India Company) attending family pujas became an indicator of prestige.
Durga Puja was mainly celebrated as a family festival until 1761 when twelve young men were prevented from attending a family puja in Guptipara of Hooghly district. They formed a twelve-member committee, which organized the first public or community Durga Puja with subscriptions. Hence this type of worship is called Barwari (baro, twelve; yar, friend). A plaque outside the Bindesharitala temple dates the event to 1168 Saka (1761 AD) but no such documented evidence has been found and the date is disputed. The Friend of India, a monthly paper published from Srirampur again mentions the year 1790 as the date of this event.
Later, when the Indian National Congress was held in Calcutta in 1910, a Durga Puja was organized by the country’s freedom fighters at Balram Bose Ghat Road in Calcutta. In that puja, the word barwari is replaced by the word ‘Sarbajanin’ which means universal. That was the first community Durga Puja in Kolkata. In the form of celebrating religious festivals.
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