The story behind Bengal’s flamboyant Durga Puja Celebrations

The tradition of Durga Puja, coinciding with Dussehra and most commonly associated to Bengal, has been around in the subcontinent for many centuries. Yet, the present-day celebration in all its pomp and extravagance came into being only sometime between the 16th and 18th centuries and is strongly tied to the rise of an aristocratic class in the region, particularly during the Mughal period.

Durga Puja. Image Credits: flicker.com

Every year, Bengal’s ostentatious Sharadiya Durga Puja celebrations become the major news during the Dussehra. Pandals worth lakhs and crores are erected during this time, making this festival a grand social event for the natives and tourists alike. But when did the sacred ritual of Goddess worship assume the modern-day carnival-like character?

The occurrence of Durga puja was not uncommon in medieval Bengal. In many parts of the region, goddess worship had always been quite pivotal to the beliefs and customs of the natives. Traditional vernacular sources of Bengal like the Mangalkabyas, mention the worship of Chandi, a form of Durga in private and local circles. Similarly, Sculpture and other forms of art from the Pala-Sena periods between 8th and 12th centuries, project images Mahisamardini, another form of the Goddess. The Mangalkabyas seem to suggest that Goddess worship in Bengal was strengthened by the Mughal rulers, specially from the time of Jahangir and this in turn, helped in legitimising the rule of the Mughals in the predominantly Hindu region.

In many ways, the organization of the first modern Durga Puja, was actually a consequence of Mughal expansion into the region. From the 16th century, the region of Bengal came under the control of the Mughals. The Mughals theoretically controlled the region but the actual power was still exercised by the provincial governor as well as the local landlords or zamindars, who benefitted immensely from the Jagirdari system (feudal land revenue system) under the Mughals.

Three zamindars in 16th century supposedly began the tradition of large-scale organization of a big public puja, centred around the worship of Goddess Durga. These noted zamindars were identified as Raja Kangshanarayan of Tahirpur from Northern Bengal (present day Bangladesh), Bhavananda Majumdar, the Raja of Nadia from Western Bengal, and Lakshmikanta Majumdar of the famous Sabarna Chowdhury family who controlled large parts of the area around what later grew into the metropolis of Calcutta.

They initiated practises of installing large clay idols of Durga, paintings (pat) and waterpot (ghat) to worship the goddess. The fashioning of clay idols in particular has become a crucial aspect of the festival in modern times.

The dazzling decorations of Durga Puja showcased the wealth and power of the zamindar rajas and demonstrated their prestige and standing in the Bengali society. Raja Kangshanarayan for instance, spent around nine lakh rupees when he first conducted the puja. Raja Krishnachandra’s Durga image was often decorated with precious jewellery made of pearls and diamonds. When the Battle of Plassey ended in 1757, Nabakrishna Deb, one of the most affluent zamindars of the time and a British ally, threw a grand Durga puja at Shohobazar Rajbari. Hence, the British too became a part of these festivities from the eighteenth century and were regularly hosted by the rich landlords who organized the festival in their estates.

Despite this, the Durga Puja did not assume a popular character until probably in the latter half of the 18th century. The puja with all its splendour and richness was confined to the massive estates of the elite hosts and their restricted social circle.

Sometime in the 18th century, the ordinary people who could not form a part of these elitist celebrations, arguably began the tradition of ‘Baroari’ puja. The idea behind the baroari puja was to collect funds from every household and use it to organize a community wide Durga Puja. It is this concept of baroari puja that remains prominent even today in Bengal and in other parts of east India like Assam, where people collect funds from every household and use it install a pandal in the neighbourhood.

Although the first social Durga puja in Bengal is associated with the rich and elite, it is the baroari puja which ultimately transformed the worship of Durga from a daily sacred practise held at the confined of private households to a grand, public affair that began to be conducted only once a year, during the autumn (sharad) period.