Barowari

Barowari refers to the public organisation of a religious or other festival, mainly in West Bengal. This is extensively used for Durga Puja. The word "Barowari" came from the words "baro", which means 12, and "yari" (friendly connection).[1] Much earlier in 1790, 12 Brahmin friends in Guptipara, Hooghly, had decided to institute Community Puja. Subscriptions were raised from neighbours. Thus started baro-yari or Barowari Puja in Bengal which gained popularity in leaps and bounds. Initially, Durga Puja was an occasion for the rich Babus of Kolkata, later individual initiatives declined as collective enterprises came to replace it.

In more recent times, the nomenclature ‘barowari’ is being replaced by ‘sarbajanin’ (meaning all inclusive). The Barowari festival is the opposite of household festival organised privately, but often allowing the participation of outsiders. The Barowari festival is organised with funds raised from the public at large through donations or subscriptions.

Etymology

The first publicly organised Durga Puja was held at Guptipara, when some men were stopped from taking part in a household Durga Puja. Twelve of them formed a committee and organised a barowari ( in Bengali baro means twelve and yar means friend) puja (worshipping). There is a difference of opinion about the year of worship – 1761 or 1790.[2][3]

Household pujas

There were numerous household pujas, particularly Durga Puja, in various parts of Bengal. Generally such pujas allowed others to participate in the worshipping but the organisation and other matters were obviously with the family taking the initiative and spending money for it.

The Aatchala Bari Durga puja of the Sabarna Roy Choudhury family that started in 1610 by Laksmikanta Gangopadhyay.

The Sabarna Roy Choudhury family has been celebrating Durga Puja since 1610 in their ancestral home at Barisha. It is possibly the oldest organised festival in the Kolkata region. Today altogether seven Durga Pujas are being held in the family. Out of these, six are at Barisha while the seventh is at Birati. The Pujas which are held at Barisha are that of - Aatchala, Baro Bari, Mejo Bari, Benaki Bari, Kalikingkar Bhawan and Majher Bari. Other than the Durga Puja, the family organizes Chandi Puja, Jagadhatri Puja, Dol Yatra and Rath Yatra utsav.[4][5]

Dutta Chaudhury Zamindar family,of Andul started Durga Puja in the year of 1609 by Kashiwar Dutta Chaudhury.However, elder family members residing in Andul have indicate that they used to worship Mother Durga in an "Atchala" structure sometime since the 15th century and may be started by Tekari Dutta (Founder of the Dutta Chaudhury zamindari in Andul). This is according to their family history handed down the generations by the spoken word.Animal sacrifice in accordance with Tantric requirements used to be carried out during the earlier days, till it was stopped when Krishnananda Dutta became a full-fledged 'Vaishnav' due to the influence of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and Nityananda Prabhu. Eventually it was Kashiswar Dutta Chaudhury who, by the grace of Mughal prince Shah-Jehan, was able to recover from his own uncle (Gobindasharan Dutta- founder of the Hatkhola Dutta family) most of what was taken. He re-instated the Andul zamindari to its former glory, and re-stablished the traditional worship of Mother Durga in the year 1609 AD at a new Chandi-Mandap, following Brihannandikeshwar Puran and according to Vaishnav rituals. It is one of the oldest Durga Puja in West-Bengal.

The Durga Idol of the Shobhabazar Rajbar.

Nabakrishna Deb started the Durga Puja in Shobhabazar Rajbari in 1757. He set a pattern for the puja which became a fashion and a status symbol among the upcoming merchant class of Kolkata. The number of Englishmen attending the family Durga Puja became an index of prestige. Religious scruples fell by the wayside. The nautch girls were mostly from Muslim gharanas. The Englishmen attending the dance-parties, dined on beef and ham from Wilson's Hotel, and drank to their heart's contentment.[6]

Rani Rashmoni used to celebrate Durga Puja at her residence with traditional pomp, including all-night jatras (folk theatre), rather than by entertaining the Englishmen with whom she carried on a running feud. After her death in 1861, the sons-in-law took to celebrating Durga Puja in their respective premises.[7]

There are number of other household Durga Pujas in Kolkata.

Barowari Durga Pujas

This is an idol of Durga Pooja, composed of Goddess Durga, her daughters Laxmi, Saraswati and her sons Ganesha, Kartik

The twentieth century witnessed the emergence of the publicly organised or community Durga Puja. The first barowari Durga Puja was organised in Kolkata by Bhowanipore Sanatan Dharmotsahini Sabha in 1909 at Balaram Basu Ghat Road, Bhowanipore. On this occasion Sri Aurobindo in his Bengali journal Dharma published in its issue dated 1 kartika 1316 the famous Durga Stotra. J.C. Nixon, in his "Account of the Revolutionary organisations in Bengal" noted : "Bhowanipore Party: owing to his striking personality, Jatindra Nath Mukharji was during this period gaining great popularity and esteem in anarchical circles.There is evidence for believing that the murderer of Babu Ashutosh Biswas, Public Prosecutor, on 10th February 1909, was a member of this party, while there is no doubt at all that JatinMukharji himself was one of the instigators of the murder of Khan Bahadur Shamsul Alam on 21 February 1910."(Terrorism in Bengal, compiled by Amiya K. Samanta, Vol. II, p.544). Other barowari Durga Pujas that followed it closely were College Street(Tamer Lane) Tamer lane Sarbojanin Durga utsav ESTD 1915 this year they are completing 100 years. Shyampukur Adi Sarbojanin in 1911,[8] Sikdarbagan (in the Shyambazar neighbourhood) in 1913, Nebubagan, which later became Baghbazar sarbojanin, in 1919, Simla Byam Samiti in 1926.[9] and Amherst Street Lohapatty Sarbojanin in 1943, which later became Manicktalla Chaltabagan Lohapatty Durga Puja.

Barowari Durga Pujas are celebrated in over 2,000 pandals in Kolkata.[10]

References

  1. ↑ "Welcome To Durgapujas.com & Puja Schedules". E-sol.Inc 2/2 Jugipara Lane, Manicktolla, Calcutta 7000006. Retrieved 2010-11-01.
  2. ↑ Calcutta Web
  3. ↑ Festivals – Durga Puja
  4. ↑ Bangiya Sabarna Katha Kalishetra Kalikatah by Bhabani Roy Choudhury, (Bengali), Manna Publication. ISBN 81-87648-36-8
  5. ↑ Sabarna Prithivi - website of the Sabarna Roy Choudhury family
  6. ↑ Jaya Chaliha and Bunny Gupta, Durga Puja in Calcutta in Calcutta The Living City Vol II, edited by Sukanta Chaudhuri, Oxford University Press, first published 1990, paperback edition 2005, pp 332-333. ISBN 0-19-563697-X
  7. ↑ Chaliha, Jaya and Gupta, Bunny, Durga Puja in Calcutta, in Calcutta, the Living City, Vol. II, edited by Sukanta Chaudhuri, first published 1990, 2005 edition, pp. 334-335, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-563697-X.
  8. ↑ "Shyampukur Adi Sarbojanin Durgotsab". Committee, 22, Ramdhan Mitra Lane, Kolkata 700004 by Soumendra Nath Thakur. Retrieved 2010-11-01.
  9. ↑ Kolkatar karcha – Sekaler Durga Puja, Ananda Bazar Patrika, (Bengali), 15 October 2007
  10. ↑ Gandhi, Maneka. "Think Again:Crime and No Punishment". 8th Day. The Statesman, 13 January 2008. Retrieved 2008-01-13.

[Sarbojanin Dharma Prasarini Samity Durga Puja 1922 Bhowanipur]

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