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Bonedi Bari Pujas (Durga Pujas)
Context
The Bonedi Bari Pujas, or Durga Pujas, conducted in Kolkata's aristocratic households, have gained renewed attention as cultural heritage and tradition face the challenges of modernization and economic pressures.
About the Puja
- Bonedi Bari Pujas are among the oldest Durga Puja celebrations in Kolkata, with origins dating back over 415 years.
- Bonedi Bari is a Bengali term for the traditional homes of the upper class, aristocrats, and zamindars of Kolkata.
- These pujas are held in the grand houses of Kolkata's elite families (traditional Bengali houses)
- These rituals are deeply entwined with the history of the Sabarna Roy Choudhury family (zamindarsof vast swathes of land in Mughal Bengal including the villages Sutanuti, Gobindapur, and Kalikata which would later become Kolkata), among others.
- In 1698, the Sabarna Roy Choudhury family was forced to sell these settlements to the British East India Company; and by 1805, the Company had converted these three settlements into a modern city of the 19th century — Calcutta.
- The same Sabarna Roy Choudhury family is also credited with hosting the first public Durga Pujo in Kolkata in the 1600s. Supposedly over 400-years-old now, the Aat-chala Durga Puja of the Sabarna Roy Choudhury family is said to be older than Kolkata itself.
- These celebrations are not only religious festivals but also a reflection of Kolkata's rich cultural tapestry.
- Traditions such as using old molds for idol-making and maintaining relationships with long-serving artisans highlight the continuity of cultural practices through generations. The involvement of families in these rituals fosters unity and pride, even as many members reside outside the region.
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