Kolkata’s Bonedi Bari Durga Puja: The ancestral homes preserving centuries of tradition

Every year, as Durga puja draws near, the old houses of North Kolkata stir to life. The air grows heavy with dhunuchi smoke, mingling with the earthy scent of damp stone and aged wood. The creak of the thakur dalan gates, the rhythmic crescendo of the dhaak, and the murmur of prayers drift through century-old courtyards. Doors open once again for families to reunite and for visitors to witness not just a puja, but a piece of Bengal’s past.

Beyond the aesthetic reels that fill every Bengali’s algorithm during the four days of puja, Kolkata’s Bonedi Bari holds history stretching back centuries. These are the ancestral homes of landowners and merchants of undivided Bengal, built during the colonial period. The sprawling courtyard and the imposing facade reflect an architecture that blends Mughal ornamentation with Neoclassical elements. Hosted by the region’s wealthy Bengalis, Bonedi Bari Durga pujas can be traced back to the 17th Century or earlier. Over the centuries, these courtyards transformed into centres where religious devotion became intertwined with family legacy and cultural patronage.

 Once intimate family celebrations, many of these Bonedi Bari Pujas now open their doors to the public, to be a part of thei

House-hopping

At Harakutir Ray-Banerjee Bari in Pathurighata, North Kolkata, Durga Puja has been a family tradition for 334 years. According to Archishman Ray Banerjee, the 12th generation of the family, the story begins with his ancestor Keshav Chakravarthy, who came to the area in search of land to establish his salt business. The site, he recalls, was then a cremation ground near the Asthi Visarjan Ghat, close to the famous Bhutnath Dham. 

As Chakravarty’s business prospered, he discovered a small idol of goddess Durga in her four-armed form of Parvati. He installed the idol and began worshipping the deity, laying the foundation for the family’s Durga puja. The rituals continued for 62 years before the family built the present mansion around 1754, which is now 272 years old. 

The architecture of the house, says Archishman, “is a blend of Neoclassical and Italian influences, with Belgian glass, marble from England and an iron structural framework sourced from the Frodingham iron and steel company, England.” The house also incorporates elements of Islamic architecture that resemble the diwan-i-khas (the hall of private audiences built during the Mughal time).

Beyond its architectural legacy, the house is also closely associated with India’s freedom struggle. “Freedom fighters Binoy, Badal, and Dinesh were given shelter at our house before the attack at Writers’ Building on December 6, 1930. Disguised as workers, they stayed here to avoid suspicion and later escaped through a passage at the back of the house that led towards Esplanade,” recalls Archishman, on one of the stories among the countless such stories that the house has witnessed.

An hour from there, the Badan Chand Roy Bari, also known as the Coolotola Ray Bari, has a similar history. The family’s Durga puja, which dates back around 220 years, was started by Mothoor Mohan Roy, a businessman, on the premises of what is now Calcutta Medical College. When the British acquired the land, the family moved the celebrations to its residence in Coolotola. The puja continued for generations, with the family preserving its traditions even through the communal riots of 1946, when the house was vandalised, and the celebrations had to be moved temporarily to a relative’s home in Jorasanko. “At the time of the riot, it was the Muslims living in the neighbourhood who helped our grandfather escape,” says Supratim Roy, a seventh-generation member of the family.

A distinctive feature of the Durga Puja is the silver-coloured lion, which the family has preserved as part of its puja tradition over generations. “In our family, it is the men who take responsibility for adorning the Durga idol with jewellery, unlike the tradition in many other households, where women usually undertake this,” says Supratim.

The Sardar Bari Durga Puja, which takes place at the Sardar house called Shukatara, is a puja that echoes the story of Bengal’s partition. “Our Durga Puja began in 1942 in Satkhira, Khulna (Bangladesh), in what was then undivided India,” says Sandeep Sardar. Started by his grandfather, Baidyanath Sardar, and his younger brother, the puja continued there until 1956, when the presence of Ayub Khan’s regiment at their residence prompted the family to move the celebrations to Kolkata. Having purchased a house at 7, Nalin Sarkar Street in 1951, Baidyanath initially held the puja in a temporary pandal on the premises; then, in 1957, the thakur dalan (semi-open pillared hall or verandah) construction was started, and in 1958 the idol was finally moved there, and the puja has been continuing there since. 

At Chunder Bari, where the Durga Puja originally started in 1761 in Jorasanko, it was later shifted to Jhamapooker by Baboo Subol Chand Chunder, one of the foremost industrialists and philanthropists of his time. The goddess is worshipped in a form that differs from the conventional Mahishasuramardini depiction. “We worship Shakti, but in a form that signifies peace. For us, Durga puja is about the mother’s homecoming, when she arrives with her children, also with the jamai (son-in-law) lord Shiva,” says Sourav Chunder, a ninth-generation member of the Chunder family.  

Here, the idol is arranged as a family tableau, with goddess Durga seen sitting on lord Shiva’s lap rather than depicting her in the act of slaying Mahishasur.

The Mallickbari Bhowanipore is a testament to the evolution of festivities across generations. Starting around 1860, the festivities in its early years were marked by elaborate jatra (folk theatre) performances, kirtan, and variety programmes that continued until Lakshmi Puja, with male family members taking to the stage, often playing female characters. Over time, the jatras gave way to dramas, while musical evenings came to feature Rabindrasangeet and compositions by DL Roy, Atulprasad Sen, and Rajanikanta Sen.

Bhog bliss

A central part of Durga Puja is the bhog, the food offering made to the goddess, which family members and devotees later share as prasad. In Bonedi Baris, the bhog is an elaborate affair, with family recipes passed down through generations. At Harakutir Ray Bari, it is the special sweet Chandoni kheer (which has the colour of the sun), made of rice, cane jaggery, coloured with saffron, which is served with luchi and begun bhaja. Most of the sweets offered to the god are made in-house, like ladekeni, pantua, langcha, and roshogolla. 

At Ramkrishnapur Bose Family Bonedi Bari Puja, in Howrah, which is almost 200 years old and has been held over seven generations now, the puja bhog is also a “participatory affair”, says Deborshi Sadhan Bose, sixth-generation member of the house. “During naru pakano (making of laddos), all women of the house sit down together to make them and later offer them to the god.” 

While bhog is traditionally associated with vegetarian fare, fish also finds a place in the Durga puja rituals of several Bengali families. . At Harakuthir, a meal of maacher matha diye daal (lentils cooked with fish head) and fish kalia is enjoyed before the Durga idol is welcomed into the house.

At Mallickbari in Bhowanipore, a niramish (veg) meal is offered and consumed during the puja days. However, after bisorjon (immersion), fish is served, accompanied by mete chochori, a mutton liver curry unique to the household, says Robin Mallick, fifth generation member of the Mallick family. 

Bonedi bari rituals

The Kumari puja (where pre-pubescent girls are worshipped as the goddess) has been an intrinsic part of many Bonedi Bari Pujas. “We follow every pujo ritual that is done to Maa Durga, and we offer the same to her, including touching her feet and asking for her ashirbaad by offering her bhog, and gifts,” says Deborshi. 

While bolidan (animal sacrifice) was and still is a part of some traditional pujas, some of these traditions have been changed or adapted. Supriya Law, who is the ninth generation of the Lahabari Durga Puja, also a 200-year-old puja, explains how bolidan at their house is done according to their Vaishnava faith. “In our house, instead of an animal boli, we have a chachi kumro (wax gourd) boli,” says Supriya. After the priest chants the mantras, the vegetable is said to embody the same elements as those of the animal. 

Another ritual Supriya speaks of is dhuno porano, observed during Ashtami and Sandhi Puja. “Married women of the family sit before the goddess with their hands outstretched and resting on their knees, balancing three earthen pots filled with burning dhuno (frankincense) — one on the head and one on each palm. As they sit before the goddess, they pray for the well-being and prosperity of their family,” says Supriya. 

Over the centuries, many of these Bonedi Bari Pujas have seen rituals evolve, adapt to changing beliefs or fade away altogether. Yet, the essence of the celebrations remains rooted in the families’ memories, faith, and inherited traditions. From family recipes and different forms of Durga to migration stories, there is a history in each household that extends beyond the grandeur of the puja itself.