Durga Puja: From Elite Ritual to a Celebration for All

“The latter is usually a lavish, themed puja, brimming with advertisement billboards, awards and crowds of people”

“So the voluntary participation of ordinary people, in every para, for instance, is absent now.”

“The phenomenon of the Baroiyari puja represents a transformative moment in the history of Durga Puja, when it entered the domain of the public space, transcending the restricted premises of the wealthy Bonedi landlords.”

“The emergence of the nation as ‘Mother’ became central to the formulation of the new visual form of Durga, where the Goddess stands triumphant and as a saviour of her children from the stranglehold of colonial rule.”

“In the thakurdalans (the places in the house where the idol is made and pujas are held) of the newly rich landlords, traders, merchants and suppliers — better known as babus and bhadraloks (gentlemen and members of the polite society) — the idol makers were commissioned for generations to give shape to the idols in situ while retaining the unique features of each household as per the instructions of the family elders…”

“If slight and humiliation played a role in making the transition to baroiyari puja possible, the same kind of slight and humiliation suffered by the native Indians in the hands of the colonial authorities were also responsible for the gradual infusion of the ‘nationalist spirit’ in the celebration”

“The Baroiyari puja samities channelised the patriotic sentiments, also providing the platform to several leaders of the Indian nationalist movement for addressing the public”

“Daker Saj [ornaments] was compulsory for the idols here, and the Kumartuli [an artisans’ colony in Calcutta] artisans added oriental design in the backdrop chali.”

“We were gold merchants, not zamindars.”

“Apart from gold, we were traders of salt and cotton fabric and dealt in forex in those days.”

“The Guptipara Baroiyari Puja was a path-breaking event, being in a way instrumental in encouraging ‘public participation’, breaking the shackles of the Goddess confined to the precincts of rich households”

“During the late Sultanate and the initiation of Mughal rule, the alliance of the aspiring rajas of Bengal with the goddess became quite visible”

“With the initiation of Baroiyari Puja, the populace of Bengal in a way re-affirmed the disposition of Devi Purana that says, this is a ceremony that can be celebrated by Brahmanas, Kshatrias, Vaisyas, Sudras.”

“The religious phenomenon of Durga Puja became synonymous with the ostentatious display of private treasures and wealth of the Zamindars”

“Generally, the financial capacity, manpower, and time required to organise such grand Pujas have all decreased over time in most elite households”

“The exclusive Bonedi celebrations slowly gave way to a more democratic observance of Durga Puja in the Baroiyari and Sarbojanin puja formats.”