Guest post by – Ms. Gauri Singh

Travelling to Kolkata for Durga Pooja has been on my wish list for many years. When I came across Devi Shakti 2024 trip from GangaJamuni & camellia.artisanal, I couldn’t get the idea out of my mind. And despite some challenges, I’m so glad I went for it. There’s so much interconnected history, culture and literature out there that presents a beautifully rounded view of Calcutta, I’m still learning about. 

Shagufta Siddhi, founder of GANGA JAMUNI

Day 1

We quickly checked into our rooms and drove to the famous Dover Lane. Area. Dover Lane is known for its annual classical music festival.

After some hugs and broad smiles, the tour kick started with a talk on the evolution of Devi and setting the context for Devi Shakti trip by S at Z’s, Dover Lane.

We then headed for a homely Bengali lunch at the lovely home of R. The lunch consisted of Bhetki and Mutton Mangsho that many in our group relished, but there were delightful items for vegetarians such as shukto for us. The pineapple chutney won many people’s hearts.

R shared many anecdotes about his family and Bengali cuisine.  His family is a Brahmo family so many food related traditional rules were not followed.  His late mom was on first name basis with Maharani Gayatri Devi, it was curious to know that the sofas we were sitting on were once graced by Ravindra Nath Tagore and some prominent Bhadraloks of Bengal. R’s drawing room had furniture from all across the globe (chairs with hand moulded spires from Italy and a cabinet from China). 

Post lunch our next stop was shopping at Gariahat and while some  shopped, we sat at the ByLoom café.

The group then proceeded to have puchkas at the famous Maharaja Chat centre. 

The dinner was at the well known Tollygunge club which is accessible to members only. Luckily, Shaguftas friend S got us all through. More than the food, the idea of sitting in a club where many famous people have come and gone was awesome. 

After Tolly Club, we went on to check out a couple of pandals. The night ended with a drive on the beautifully lit Park Street. During the trip we stayed at the iconic Great Eastern hotel. There’s so much history associated with this hotel. The location proved to be a blessing in terms of sightseeing. 

Day 2

The day started early with a walking tour of the colonial heritage and the history of Kolkata led by Dr. G who teaches at Ashutosh College and her nephew, Rishi, a student at Ashoka College. All these buildings were at a short walking distance from our hotel. We walked around to see the iconic buildings of British era –  Raj bhawan, Town hall, the beautiful General Post office, St John’s church and the Writers Building. We learnt more about the East India Company period and with the help of anecdotes from Dr. G, Rishi and Shagufta imagined how life would have been back then.

After breakfast and a quick bath, we went to the century + year old sweet shop of Satish Chandra & Sons in Garden Reach, close to Kidderpore. This is a Moira family. Samrat, the current owner explained and showed us the process of making Bengali mishti. Not many sweet owners would allow people to visit their kitchens but Samrat did.

We stopped at the hotel for a loo break and headed to “Pice hotel”, Hotel Sidheshwari Ashram. The pice hotel is a phenomenon in itself. It harks back to the industrial age when immigrant workers needed a place to stay and eat homely meals at affordable prices.

After a hearty meal at Siddheshwari, we walked to the home of Rani Rashmoni in Jan Bazar, a wealthy widow who was a patron of Vivekananda and Dakineshwar temple. We saw the Durga Puja pandal at her home. 

Post this, we explored more 19th century homes (heritage Bonedibadis) in the northern part of the city – Sovabazar Rajabari where Raja Nabakrishna Deb, a wealthy merchant who curried favours with the British before and after the decisive battle of Plassey celebrated Durga Puja in 1757 on a grand scale. The British had defeated Siraj-ud-Daulah at the battle of Plassey and many wealthy merchants of Bengal who allied with the British earned titles of Raja or Zamindars. Lord Clive and Warren Hastings were in the list of invitees at this famous Durga Pooja. This place was super crowded.

We all congregated near the bust of Swami Vivekananda. The reason why there is a sculpture of Vivekananda is related to one of his patrakns, a descendent of Nabakrishna Deb who held the first civic reception of Swami Vivekananda after his return from Chicago Parliament of Religions in 1897. 

We drove to Pathuriaghata to the gorgeous Mullick badi where Ramakrishna Paramhansa attained samadhi. It is here that we met the descendant of Rajaram Mullick, Mr M. We were overwhelmed by the majestic architecture of the house, While Mr M enlightened us with the history and stories associated with their family.

It was the Mackintosh Burn and company built home with Cast Iron Corinthian pillars covering a huge section of the couryard that impressed us the most. From the ceilings still hang the original gas lamp shades which takes us back to the golden era of the family. At the southern end of the courtyard stands the Singha Bahini Thakur Dalan with a huge Ornamented Silver Throne for the deity. From its ceiling hangs Belgium glass chandeliers adding to the grandeur. Even, the pillars in the Thakur Dalan is made of decorated cast iron. We also saw Pathuriaghata Rajbadi maintained by the Ramakrishna Mission and the Daw Badis in Jorasanko. 

After our fill of the Bonedi badis, we stopped by the 16th century Chiteshwari temple, one of the historic Durga ma temples in the city. 

After this, we visited Kumartoli to look at how Devi idols are made in clay. Then we returned to our hotel amidst heavy traffic. Dinner was at a Chinese eatery, Eau Chew that’s run by one of the earliest Chinese immigrants to Calcutta. Such was the fame of Calcutta that during the East India and Raj period a number of Armenian, Jewish and Chinese immigrants settled here. This restaurant is run by one of the many immigrants and thankfully is still run by the same family. 

This was a tiring but heartily satisfying day! 

Day 3 

The day started with a talk over breakfast by Dr. N on Calcutta and it’s origin. I learnt quite a few new things and after this talk one had the my-heart-is-full kinda feeling. Dr. N shed light on many aspects and presented an alternate view to how Calcutta was formed. She is very passionate about combining history with literary sources. Her two books Along the Thames and the Ganges + Down the Tigris to the Indus are on the purchase list for me. 

We then headed to see remains of an 18th century zamindar Sabarna Roy Choudhury’s home in Barisha. This man owned large swathes of land of what eventually became Calcutta. The first home was in a dilapidated condition but we learnt about rituals associated with Pooja at that location. We met with one of the descendants D who runs a small museum in what remains of his family land. It was evident for us to see how time can change for the rich and the mighty. 

The Durga Puja celebration at the  Roy home in nearby Behala felt like a soirée with their guests decked up in their finest. The Roy Family Durga Puja is annually celebrated at the grand mansion of Amarendra Bhawan. The immaculate white marble building bears witness to the pomp of the aristocratic past. The ladies of the house, S and N were dressed in their finest. 

We also did a photoshoot at their home in the corridor. Sayantan Dasgupta DG images took fantastic photos. 

We then headed for a lunch at the N home. We were treated to the very delicate Sheherwali cuisine and learnt so much about their family who were the earliest Marwari migrants to Murshidabad. The family is related to the famous Jagat Seth and Dugar of Kathgola Estate in Azimgunj. We heard stories after stories of the family’s wealth and affiliation to Jainism. 

Mrs N is a humorous lady. The banter between Mrs. & Mr. was a delight! After tea, we headed for some more pandal hopping. Dinner was at Manzilats. 

Manzilat Fatima is a descendant of Nawab Wajid Ali Shah of Awadh. Her food is consistently rated amongst the best Awadhi foods. Manzilat runs an all women kitchen. 

Day 4

We started the day at 4:15 am and headed to the Kalighat temple. Animal sacrifice still happens at the temple. It’s sad to see that Hindu temples are always so dirty and the pandits aggressively demand money. It really spoiled our mood. After visiting all the temples in the compound, we headed for pandal hopping.

It was such a pleasant change to visit the pandals in the morning without the crowds and crazy traffic. We got to see some very creative and lively pandals including the Jatra theatre (swaang) themed Alipore pandal, the Kolkata city themed Ahiritola pandal and Behala club pandal citing the challenges faced by women mixed with the wildlife of Sundarbans. 

We headed back to the hotel for breakfast, quick sleep and packing. We checked out of the hotel and went to the Sienna café for a sumptuous lunch and quick goodbyes to our co travellers and to the city of joy but not before buying some Bengali Mishti for home!