Rani Rashmoni’s mansion: Celebrating Durga Puja for more than 230 years

Ma Durga comes to the mansion of Rani Rashmoni. (Photo courtesy Prasun Hazra)

Ma Durga is finally here after a long journey from Kailasa, resplendent in her vermillion-red sari, hair forming a dark cumulonimbus around her oval face, lotus-shaped eyes flashing thunderbolts of anger as she vanquishes the demon Mahisasur.  And even as millions of devotees continue to make their way to the beautifully done up pandals and temples around the country and the world to pay obeisance to the goddess, one mansion in Kolkata’s Janbazar remains a must-visit destination for citydwellers and tourists.

This special puja is associated with Rani Rashmoni, the zamindar (landowner)-philanthropist, the very embodiment of Shakti who did not turn a hair while taking on British imperialist might, forcing them to abolish taxes on fishermen, even as she laid the groundwork for the Bengali Renaissance movement and associated with reformers such as Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar as he campaigned for the remarriage of widows.

In remembrance - Rani Rashmoni (Photo courtesy Prasun Hazra)

Born in a family of peasants and married to a wealthy landowner, the rani came into her own after her husband Babu Rajachandra Das’s death, building roads and ghats and founding the Dakhshineshwar temple while remaining greatly supportive of its head priest, Ramakrishna Paramahansa, during his intense spiritual quest for god-realization.

It was her father-in-law, Pritaram Dass, who started the puja tradition at home in 1790, and Ramakrishna himself, it is said, participated in festivities here.

Special significance

Puja ceremonies take on a special significance every year for Prasun Hazra, a sixth-generation descendant of the rani. This time, when we catch up with him, he is glued to his mobile phone, interrupting our conversation to shout out orders to workers to place chairs for devotees at the puja venue and arrange for flowers for sacred rituals that have remained unchanged for the last 230-235 years.

“We follow our old traditions strictly. The only thing we stopped was the bali (sacrifice of goats) ritual in 2003,” he says.

The mansion gets a blue heritage plaque (Photo courtesy Prasun Hazra)

Hazra informs me that the mansion was built in Gothic style by British architects. Beams on impossibly high ceilings supported by tall columns and an imposing facade evoke awe even now. The 200 rooms in the building, however, are all in need of maintenance, even though the Kolkata municipal corporation blessed it with a blue heritage plaque in 2022 to make people aware of its historic significance.

The idols of Durga and her progeny, Ganesha, Kartikeya, Lakshmi and Saraswati as well as her arch foe Mahisasur are handmade by karigars in the dalan (courtyard) without use of dice, moulds or frames.

Preparations begin three months in advance, right after Ratha Yatra, when karigars associated with the family for over 150 years prepare the clay (ekmati) for the idols and leave it to dry. They return again in 15-20 days to complete the work.

Saajbala (decorators) from Birbhum then do the daaker saaj (foil and shola or Indian cork decorations). “They do a quick job and dress up the idols in five to six days. As usual, there has been no change in the theme over the years,” says Hazra.

The rani’s descendants from her daughters Padmamani, Kumari and Jagadamba, whose husband Mathur Biswas was like a son to her, live in separate parts of the mansion. One daughter died young.

Hazra is nostalgic when remembering his childhood. “There was so much of jhaak-jhamak (glitz and glitter) then with huge crowds turning up for bhog (community meals during festivals) and the elders making sure everyone had been fed.  Now in this age of nuclear families we don’t carry out the ceremonies as a joint family, though our relatives come together at this auspicious time to celebrate together.”

He has also been observing a new phenomenon. “Many people started coming over for darshan even before the pujas began. Be it night or day, this time I am seeing at least 100 visitors gathered in the courtyard. Since festivities kick-started from Friday, it is getting busier, and visitors are turning up in hordes. Tourist buses offload passengers here in the afternoons,” he says.

So does the entire family get busy during the event?

“No, only a few get involved. It’s like any other event. You will see people standing around in their crisp dhuti-panjabi, but only a few of us do the running around,” says Hazra, who wakes up at 5 am and goes to bed at about 1 am during Durga puja.

Are other arrangements made before the pujas? Does the entire mansion get a coat of paint and is any maintenance work carried out?

“We ensure that the dalan where Ma Durga resides is maintained and cleaned. We don’t have the money to do the entire mansion. It’s a huge place, how can we take care of it on our own?” asks Hazra.