(Ancestral Mansions)
The story of famous Banedi Barir (Ancestral Mansions) Durga Pujas of Kolkata begins in the aftermath of the Battle of Plassey in 1757. When the East India Company emerged victorious, a vast share of the royal treasury was plundered and distributed among the victors and their allies. Among those who prospered was Raja Nabakrishna Deb, the trusted munshi of Company. To celebrate his newfound wealth and status, Raja Nabakrishna Deb organized a grand Durga Puja at his palace in Kolkata—now known as the Sovabazar Rajbari. The event was a dazzling spectacle of feasting, music, dance, and grandeur, attended by Lord Clive himself along with several prominent English dignitaries.
As British power spread across India, Kolkata grew in prominence as their capital. Alongside this rise, a new class of wealthy Bengali landlords and businessmen, popularly called “Babus,” emerged. Inspired by Sovabazar, they too began hosting Durga Pujas in their own homes. These celebrations extended far beyond the rituals—featuring celebrated performers, cultural programs, sumptuous banquets, fireworks, and fierce competition among the Babus to outdo one another in scale and splendor.
Photostory: Autumn Ahoy, Joy Awaits
Many of these families still host their Durga puja, sometimes uninterruptedly for over centuries, in their ancestral mansions. Known as Banedi Barir Puja (puja of Ancestral Mansions), these festivals may no longer display the extravagance of the colonial past, but they remain unmatched in ritual purity, and age old traditions.
A distinctive feature of the Banedi tradition is its emotional bondage with Durga. The Goddess is not only the slayer of Mahishasura but is revered as a daughter returning to her maternal home. Her children are welcomed as grandchildren, while Shiva is regarded as the son-in-law. On the final day of immersion, the farewell is seen as the daughter’s departure to her in-laws’ house, with the family eagerly awaiting her return next autumn.
Anindya Majumdar is a trekker, photographer and travel writer since
early ‘90s. His travelogues are regularly published in leading Bengali travel magazines. He
has won more than 30 photographic awards and been conferred with international photographic distinctions like Associate of Royal Photographic Society (ARPS) from Royal Photographic Society, Great Britain and Excellence FIAP (EFIAP) from Fédération Internationale de l'Art Photographique, a partner of UNESCO. His website is www.anindyamajumdar.com
