Ayodhya (Bankura): The festival of Sharadiya Navratri is considered to be of great importance in Hinduism. This is the time when the nine forms of Maa Durga are duly worshipped. In such a situation, it becomes important to know about the Durga Puja of the landlord family of Ayodhya in Bankura district of West Bengal.
In the 19th century, Durga Puja in Bengal meant the worship of the landlord or the royal family. Some of these pujas were quite famous. One such puja was of the landlord family of Ayodhya in Bankura district. Zamindar Rammohan Banerjee started that Durga Puja. This puja, which has been going on even after 200 years, is still continuing due to the initiative of the present generation.
The difference between the worship of the landlord house of Ayodhya and the worship of the landlord house is that here the idol of Goddess Durga is not seated on a lion, but on a tiger. Not only this, its antiquity is also amazing. The grandeur of this Durga Puja of more than 200 years may have diminished compared to earlier, but the tradition and customs of Banerjee Puja still remain.
Since the zamindari period, Banerjee’s Navpatrika or Kalbau was brought to the pavilion in a silver palanquin after bathing. That tradition continues even today. On the day of immersion, Kalbau is also taken to Bhaisghat in a silver palanquin in the same way.
The history of the zamindari of Ayodhya is linked to the history of this puja. Rammohan Banerjee, the founder of Ayodhya Estate, met a Neelkar Saheb. When Neelkar Saheb was on his deathbed, he donated half of his property to Rammohan Banerjee.
In 1805, Rammohan Banerjee bought a mauja with that huge amount and started the zamindari in Ayodhya village itself. It is said that later, apart from Bankura, the Banerjee family became the landlords of about 85 mauzas spread across various parts of Hooghly, undivided Burdwan and undivided Midnapore districts. Rammohan Banerjee also built properties in Kashi, Banaras and various places in the then Bihar. The treasury of the zamindari brought in a huge amount of revenue. With the huge income of the zamindari, gradually large zamindari houses and debattar jagirs were established in Ayodhya village. Barhvan Shiva temple, Giri Govardhan temple, Rasmandir, Jhulan temple and Durga temple were established in the jagir.
Those old temples still exist today, but regular worship is no longer performed. However, Manohar Banerjee and his family still perform Durga Puja. Goddess Durga described in Sri Sri Chandimangal Kavya is worshipped in the form of Bagh Sena. That is why Goddess Durga is called Chandidhari in the Banerjee zamindar’s house. Here too, the face of Goddess Durga is hand-made instead of being carved. Since the time of Rammohan Banerjee, the same sculptors and their future generations have been making the idols.
Manohar Banerjee, a member of the Banerjee family and the current in-charge of Ayodhya Devottar Estate, told ETV Bharat, “When Rammohan Banerjee started the puja, he wanted something special in the idol of the goddess. So, as per the description in Chandimangal, Devi Durga is not Singh Sena, but Bagh Sena. Here, the face of the idol is not carved. The hereditary idol artists make the face of the goddess with their own hands. There is no other such idol in Bankura district.”
Sumanta Banerjee, the youngest member of the Banerjee family, said, “I have been seeing the grandeur of this puja since my childhood. My grandfather used to do it, then my father. We still try to follow all the rituals that were done in the early days. In fact, we will try our best to maintain the tradition of this puja in the coming days as well.”
However, due to financial reasons, Sumanta Banerjee said that this puja no longer has the same grandeur of the past. He said that due to economic reasons, the grandeur that was there earlier is no longer there. The market is not the same as before. In such a situation, grand celebrations are not possible. Still, there is no reduction in the grandeur of the Puja. We follow all the rules.”
Most of the family members currently live in other states or abroad. However, during Durga Puja, everyone returns home on vacation. Everyone spends a few days of Puja together and enjoys it. In fact, history does not change, it remains constant. Devottar Estate in Ayodhya, Bankura is showing this every moment.
