1. Savarna Roychowdhury Family’s Durga Puja

It is Considered the oldest Durga Puja in Kolkata, and the zamindar Shri Lakshmi Kant Majumdar started the Puja in 1610 by making the first Atchala Durga idol. The influence of Shakti-Saivism and Vaishnavism can be seen in the worship rituals and idols. This is why the Mahishasura demon’s skin colour is seen as green. The uniqueness of the idol is that it is seen here in a three-part animation featuring images of Dasamahavidya, the ten different images of Mother Shakti. An idol of Lord Shiva is placed on one side of the deity and an idol of Lord Rama on the other side is to be worshipped along with Mother Durga.

2. Shobhabazar Rajbari Durga Puja

Raja Nabakrishna Dev of Shobhabazar Rajbari celebrated Durga Puja for the first time in 1757. Robert Clive was invited by Nabakrishna Dev as the chief guest in this puja and Clive was present in this puja. Here in Ekchala, the traditional form of Dashabhuja is worshipped according to ancient customs. Here non-Hindus get to see a typical Hindu family function for the first time from the ‘Nach Ghor’ or dance hall located on the outer side of the Rajbari.

3. Laha Bari Durgotsava

This Vaishnava family considers the slaughter of Mahisasura non-violent hence a calmer form of Maa Durga is seen here. There is disagreement among scholars on how old this puja is, some say that Lord Prana Krishna Laha first performed this puja about 170 years ago, while others say that Prana Krishna’s father Sri Rajivalochana Laha started it about 200 years ago.

4. Mallik Bari Durga Festival

The Mallik family of Bhavanipur mainly followed the Vaishnava religion. Since the time of Nawab Hussain Shah around the 15th century AD, they have been worshipping Goddess Durga in a single form. So, this is another ancient Durga Puja of Kolkata. As they follow the Vaishnava religion, they take vegetarian food during the five days of the puja.

5. Durga Puja at Bholanath Dham, Bedon Street

The Duttas of Bholanath Dham in North Calcutta has been worshipping Shiva-Durga, not Dashabhuja, since 1905. One of the features of this puja is that Mother Durga is worshipped here along with her husband Shiva as a deity.

6. Bagbazar Haldarbari Durga Puja

This is another oldest and historically significant Durga Puja in Kolkata. The Durga idol of Haldarbari has been worshiped daily for the past 447 years. It is made of sandstone and the idol is about 600 to 700 years old. Some historians claim that it was sculpted during the Pala period of Bengal. Kumari Puja is one of the main attractions of Haldarbari Durga Puja.

7. Bhowanipur, De Bari Durga Puja

Bhavanipur De Bari is one of the oldest pujas in Kolkata, started in 1870. One of the special features of this puja is that Mahisasur wears a coat and a pair of pants like the British soldiers. It is believed to have been first built as a protest against the British. That tradition is still going on.

8. Badan Chandra Roy Family Durga Puja

Badan Chandra Roy Family’s Durga Puja at Kolutola is about 160 years old. This family also follows Vaishnavism. So here on Ashtami day fruit is sacrificed instead of animal sacrifice. Because Vaishnavas are against violence.

9. Bhukailash Rajbari Durgotsava

Maharaja Jai ​​Narayan Ghoshal started this Durga Puja about 300 years ago at Bhukailash Rajbari, which is now within the Khidirpur region. Mahishasuramardini i.e. Durga idol is made of Ashtadhatu or eight metals and the Goddess rides on a traditional horse-shaped lion.

10. Durga Puja of Shivakrishna Da family

Shivakrishna Da’s father Shri Gokul Chandra Da started the Durga Puja of the Jorasankor Da family in 1840. The worship of the idol of “Devi Durga’, adorned with gold and silver ornaments, in the well-decorated Thakurdalan is one of the features of this house.

Basically, after the Battle of Plassey, the English East India Company began full-scale urbanization in Calcutta. Soon the scale of Durga Puja celebrations among wealthy Banedi families increased. The number of home pujas in Calcutta gradually increased from the late eighteenth century onwards. In the next hundred years, many pujas emerged, but the direct connection of our people with all those pujas was not special. During this period, Durga Puja went beyond the confines of a religious ceremony to become a festival, though it was mainly confined to wealthy families. Not only economic inequality but also caste justice was one of the obstacles for common people to join the pujas of the so-called ‘upper class’ houses of the society.

But during Lord Curzon’s tenure, resentment against him took a nationalist form. The first ‘Sarbojanin Durgotsava’ of Calcutta was influenced by that nationalist spirit. The first public Durga Puja was held in Calcutta in 1910, the year the Indian National Congress was held in Calcutta. Organized by Bhowanipur Sanatani Dharmatsahini Sabha (At the beginning of the 20th century, some youths and businessmen of Balram Basu Ghat Road area on the bank of Adiganga established a religious organization called ‘Bhavanipur Sanatan Dharmatsahini Sabha’. The first president was Priyanath Bandyopadhyay and the secretary was Surendranath Mukhopadhyay.).

This Durga Puja was held at Balaram Bose Ghat road. In that puja, the word ‘Barwari’ is replaced by the word ‘Sarbajanin’. And since then, the term ‘ Sarbajanin’ has been used. Today this century-old puja is held on Balaram Bose Ghat road. However, now instead of temporary pandals, this puja is held in permanent temples built later.

The very next year i.e. in 1911, another universal Durga Puja started at Ramdhan Mitra Lane in the Shyampukur area of North Kolkata. In this way, numerous public Durga Pujas are held all over Bengal.

The ancient Barwari Puja’s joy and excitement took a serious turn among the Masses. Veterans who were willing to sacrifice their life in the struggle for the country’s freedom performed stick players, yoga, and drills during that puja. Swadeshi products were also available in stalls located throughout the pandal.

The puja is celebrated as a forum for the expression of nationalistic sentiments as well as a festival to bring people together. It is through this devotion that the message of taking the pledge of the country’s freedom, recognizing it as a goddess, is spread.

Through the spontaneous engagement of everyone, this Durga Puja has developed from a religious celebration to a worldwide festival (Durgotsav) and got the tag of ITH (Intangible Heritage) from UNESCO this year .