Bhagalpur: For Bhagalpur’s Bengali community, Durga Puja is a cherished link to its cultural roots, sustained through two historic venues — Arya Dharma Pracharini Sabha, popularly known as Hari Sabha or Durga Bari, at Bengali Tola, and Kaali Bari Durga Puja Samiti at Manik Sarkar.Durga Bari is celebrating its 172nd year of community worship, while Kaali Bari marks 122 years of Durga Puja at its present temple premises, where celebrations in the traditional form began in 1904. Both venues take pride in their association with noted literary figures, including Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyaya, Dr Balai Chand Mukhopadhyaya, better known as Banphool, and Dibyendu Palit.Beyond rituals, the two Pujas reflect the Bengali ‘bhadralok’ culture and a spirit of social assimilation. Visitors from Purnea, Katihar, Kishanganj, Banka, Munger, Sahebganj and Godda travel to Bhagalpur to offer prayers. Many members of the Bengali community who have moved to Kolkata, Durgapur, Asansol, Malda, Raiganj and Siliguri also return during the festivities, keeping their ties with the city alive.Durga Bari has a distinctive tradition of daily worship of Lord Shiva. According to elderly Bengali residents, a ‘shivlinga’ emerged during excavation for the temple building in 1926. Believing it to be a blessing from Goddess Durga, devotees began daily Shiva worship, a practice that continues to this day.The venue also stands out for its spirit of communal harmony, receiving donations from members of minority communities. Its celebrations combine traditional worship with cultural programmes, including skits, plays and ‘dhunuchi nritya’, performed with incense burners.“We want to keep the traditional form of Puja and its rituals alive at a time when customs and culture are gradually fading,” said Nirupom Kanti Pal, associated with Durga Bari, along with Uttam Debnath and Jayajit Ghosh. They said the emphasis remained on preserving age-old rituals and ensuring the legacy reached younger generations.At Kaali Bari, Durga, Kaali and Laxmi are worshipped, continuing a tradition spanning more than a century. President Bilash Kumar Bagchi and other committee members said cultural programmes based on the works of Rabindranath Tagore, Sarat Chandra and Sukumar Roy added a distinctive dimension to the festivities.For generations of devotees, the two Pujas have remained living repositories of faith, literature and Bengali identity, bringing together residents and visitors in a shared celebration of Bhagalpur’s heritage.
