Kolkata bonedi baris get into Durga Puja mode, plan safe, muted celebrations

Mahalaya is just a couple of weeks away and preparations to welcome the Goddess back are picking up pace. Had it not been for the unseasonal downpour, the air was beginning to smell like autumn. But despite the rain and a global pandemic, certain families in the city are pulling out all stops to welcome their favourite daughter home, as has been the tradition for generations.Some of these bonedi baris have been celebrating Durga Puja for centuries. We spoke to the members of a few of these families about their plans for this Puja. Here’s what they said:
Mahendra Sreemany Bari
Celebrating since: around 1921
Every year, the Durga idol is made at our dalan, but not this year, as we want to restrict people coming to our house as much as possible because of the pandemic. The idol will reach our house on Mahalaya and the chokku daan (a special Mahalaya ritual) will happen in our house. We placed an order for the idol at Kumartuli on Rath Yatra and like every year, the idol will be traditional with daker saaj. Whether we will allow devotees inside our house during Puja is something we haven’t decided yet.
– Sutapa Sreemany, family member

Bhawanipore Mallick Bari
Celebrating since: 1611
Keeping the pandemic in mind, it will be a muted celebration of Durga Puja at our house this year. No outsiders will be allowed and we’ve decided not to stream it live. We’ll be following the age-old tradition of hosting Durga Puja following the Vaishnav way of worship, while doing all the rituals. We had the kathamo puja on Janmashtami but this year, the idol is not being made at our thakur dalan. Usually, all the women from our family help with the chores and rituals, but this year, the priest will do things themselves as we want to minimise physical contact. No cut fruits will be offered to Ma Durga this time; only whole fruits and vegetables.
– Deepa Mallick, Ranjit Mallick’s wife

Sabarna Roy Chowdhury bari
Celebrating since: 1610
We have six households in our families — Boro Bari, Atchala Bari, Mejo Bari, Majher Bari and Kalikinkar Bhavan. All of us celebrate individual Durga Pujas and will do so this year too. Like last year, we will be following safety guidelines while allowing devotees into our houses. We had kathamo puja at our home on Janmashtami, and in keeping with the centuries-old tradition, we’ll have a sabeki ek chalar thakur.
– Tanmay Ray Chaudhuri, family member

Rani Rashmonir Bari
Celebrating since: 1794
We’ll have muted Puja celebrations with limited guests because of the pandemic. The Puja will be conducted keeping government safety protocols in mind. We might go live during the aarati and anjali time so that devotees who can’t be present physically can still be part of our Puja. We had kathamo puja in our house on Rath Yatra and now the idol making process is on. The skin colour of our idol – molten gold – is the specialty of our Puja and we will maintain that. Our idol is entirely handmade and we don’t use any moulds in keeping with family traditions. Our Puja will start from Prathama as usual.
— Prasun Hazra, family member

Hatibagan Kundu Bari
Celebrating since: 2008
We hardly allowed any devotees at our Durga Puja last year, but this year, we’ve decided to allow those who are fully vaccinated. But like last year, there won’t be any social functions this time. Since we discourage the use of plastic in any form, we use shola work, organic colours and biodegradable items to make our idol. At our house, we believe in the festivity of Durga Puja as a connection between nature and mankind. This time, our idol is being made at Shantipur as our idol artist from Murshidabad couldn’t make it to Kolkata because of the pandemic.
— Joydip Kundu, founder of the Puja