Kolkatar Barir Pujo- (Part 3)

The favourite Goddess of the Bengalis is treated with pomp and grandeur when she comes home, just like a daughter who is returning home after long. She stays far away and only gets to visit her maternal home once a year, thus she deserves such grand treatment, doesn’t she? This is the best aspect of our culture that we give a humane form to our Gods and Goddesses. Maa Durga is as mortal as she is divine. On one hand, she is the slayer of demons and on the other hand a simple girl, a simple wife who longs to go to her parents. Bengal has folk songs recalling Uma telling Mahadev,

“বিদায় আমায় দাও গো হর,
দেখিতে যাব জননী,
আমায়ে বিদায় দাও তিন দিনের মতদেরি হবে না না তো”

(Uma, the homesick bride, bids farewell to her husband Mahadev because she wants to visit her mother. She wants a leave for three days and promises to return soon.)

So when the daughter comes home, she is welcomed by the family with the beats of the dhaak and the blowing of the conch and ululation, the typical markers of auspiciousness in a Bengali household. She is then placed on the Thakurdalan, kept especially for the worship of the Goddess. It’s like an elevated portion of the courtyard where the Goddess is kept and worshipped for four days, similar to an altar. Even the sight of the thakurdalan brings a feeling of reverence in the mind.

The bonedi households of Calcutta usually had huge thakurdalans, especially those houses which worshipped Durga and Jagaddhatri. Thakurdalans have a specific structure that gives them a character. A flight of wide stairs lead to the elevated altar which is supported by huge columns decorated usually with stucco floral patterns on the top. As you descend down the stairs, you land in a massive square courtyard with rooms on all sides. Usually, the main entrance opens into the courtyard with the thakurdalan facing you, so that when you enter the house during the celebrations, you come face to face with the Goddess seated in all her grandeur. That is truly a sight to behold.

As soon as you enter the courtyard from the main entrance, the Goddess seated in the Thakurdalan greets you.
Picture taken at Dutta Bari, Girish Park

The 300 year old city has a long history of culture and architecture which is a result of several influences on the city. Before the foreigners started coming in, Kalikata was only a village. Portuguese taders, Dutch traders, Armenian traders started coming here for trade followed by the British East India Company. Three villages of Kalikata, Sutanuti and Gobindapur were joined to create the city and trade centre of Calcutta. Gradually, settlements started flourishing and naturally, the architecture of the colonial period had several influences.

The thakurdalan was a part of this characteristic architecture of colonial times. In even earlier times, the village houses of elite families had a separate temple meant for the worship and celebrations. This was the first time it was made inside the residential complex. It was also a sign of the elite class to mark a separate area for grand celebrations inside the house to show off their status. The structure had a very European feel to it which was a direct influence of the rulers and it was also a mark of their affinity to them to uphold their financial as well as social status. 

But what about the times when there was no celebration taking place? Yes, thakurdalans were not only used for religious purposes but had social significance too. Several elite families had dramas, jatras and debates held on the thakurdalans for private enjoyment. While the men were direct audience to these dramas, jatra palas and kobigaan, the womenfolk watched from behind the screens in the balconies surrounding the courtyard. The thakurdalan of the Tagore household witnessed many performances by then contemporary stalwarts as it served as the perfect stage for private entertainment. Several music conferences have also been held time and again in the palatial thakurdalan and courtyard of Babu Khelat Ghosh’s house at Pathuriaghata. Thakurdalans of some famous families also witnessed historic events like the speech by Surendranath Banerjee condemning the Partition of Bengal on the thakurdalan of BasuBati at Baghbazar, the arguments placed by Raja Ram Mohan Roy for the abolition of sati on the thakurdalan of Sobhabazar Rajbari of Radhakanta Deb.

Thakurdalan of the Jorasanko Tagore household

Architecture of the Thakurdalans

Notice the columns, the arches and the elaborate stucco work of the thakurdalan raised from the courtyard by a flight of stairs.
Picture taken at Sobhabazar Rajbari (ChhotoBari)

Floral work in stucco

Elaborate designs made in stucco

If you visit some of the bonedi households of Calcutta, you can see that most of the thakurdalans are similar in structure with slight differences. While some houses have separate wide pillars or columns supporting the entire structure, some houses have Greek Corinthian pillars with elaborate floral stucco work usually depicting lotus petals. Some houses like the Sobhabazar Rajbari has columns made of a bundle of pillars which is starkly unique. Then you spot the typical arch between the columns that joins them. These arches are mostly circular, semi-circular or pointed in shape. They are adorned by impeccable designs made of stucco or iron filigree. The motifs usually range from lion heads, birds, lotus petals, floral patterns, angels and figures. Dawn Bari at Jorasanko has some wonderful specimen of arches made of iron filigree which is rarely seen. 

Arches of iron at Jorasanko Dawn Bari

Another example of fine iron filigree work

Four pillars supporting the entire Thakurdalan at Bholanath Dham, Beadon Street

Bundle of thin pillars clustered together to make a column
Picture taken at the house of Manmatha Ghosh, Pathuriaghata

Corinthian pillars

Though very few of such palatial architecture are in good form these days, yet even the decadent grandeur is spectacular to look at. One can well imagine how marvelous they must have looked 100 or 200 years back. Standing in front of a thakurdalan or sitting on its stairs gives you a unique feeling of awe and pride for your city which houses such fine specimens of architecture. With several houses falling under the axe of “promoter-raj” and being converted into lavish hotels and apartments, the families who are still trying to uphold the pride of Bengal by maintaining the houses as well as the tradition of Durgotsav are doing a commendable job.

No wonder Uma longs to come back every year to enjoy a few days of such grand celebrations in her maternal abode! Who wouldn’t love to be seated in such a spectacular thakurdalan?