Jalpaiguri: The idol is sculpted on the day of Puja. It is worshipped at night and immersion takes place before sunrise the next morning. Carefully following this tradition, for over three hundred years, Kali Puja continues in Bamanpara, Kashiabari in Cooch Behar district.
Devi Choudhurani was a legendary bandit queen who used to conduct dacoity along with Bhavani Pathak in the Jalpaiguri, Cooch Behar regions extending upto present day Bangladesh, then undivided Bengal. She used to rob the rich and help the poor. She even led an armed revolt against the British and is immortalised in a novel of the same name written by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee.
Locals claim that Devi Choudhurani and Bhavani Pathak had built this temple out of bamboo with thatched roof. Later King Nripendra Narayan of Cooch Behar rebuilt it to the present-day avatar. However, with time and owing to a lack of repairs, the temple is in a dilapidated state. Local residents have urged the administration to declare the temple heritage and take up restoration work.
Kashiabari is located in Cooch Behar district, approximately 20 kilometers from Jalpaiguri town on the Haldibari Road. The temple is situated in Bamanpara, adjacent to the Kashiabari market. Buri Teesta River used to flow behind the temple but it has gradually shifted about a kilometre away from the temple.
Local residents claim that Devi Chaudhurani and Bhavani Pathak travelled to present-day Bangladesh by boat via the Teesta.
Shankar Mishra, a local resident, stated: “Buri Teesta is a tributary of the Teesta River. During that period, Devi Choudhurani would traverse this forested area via the river route.
She would offer Puja at this Kali temple during her visits. My grandfather, Lakshman Mishra, and father, Santosh Mishra,
both served as priests at
this temple.”