Chronicle of Durga Puja released, to give readers a peek into its 400-year-history

Kolkata: Durgadalil, a book comprising a through documentation of Durga Puja, was released in the city on Sunday.

The book, edited by Samrat Chattopadhyay, will be made into a documentary film with the demand of making Durga Puja a national festival. The work for the documentary film will start on January 6, 2019, with a programme at Uttam Mancha.

Through this monumental work, the demand to make Durga Puja a national festival will be raised. It may be mentioned that National Geographic channel will cover Durga Puja in Kolkata for the first time. The channel covers Ganesh Chaturthi in Maharastra and Kumbh Mela.

The book is a research work on 400 years of Durga Puja. It deals with the frequently asked questions like where Durga Puja started in undivided Bengal, or whether it began in Taherpur in Rajsahi (now in Bangladesh), in Malda or South Dinajpur.

It also answers whether Raja Kangsha Narayan, Bhabananda Mazumdar or Raja Jagat Narayan was the protagonist of the Puja. History scholars Haripada Bhowmick and Professor Sandip Kumar Dawn have dealt with the subject, spreading over a large span of time from the Moghul period to the present day.

Noted photographer Atanu Pal and well known art collector Ganesh Pratap Singh have provided photographs which have increased the value of the priceless collection.

Elderly people as well as many contemporary celebrities have narrated Durga Puja stories that are related to their localities, in the book. In erstwhile Kolkata, Pujas were held in the houses of aristocrats, beside the community Pujas. There were no sponsors and the Pujas were organised by collecting subscription from the local people.

After the Pujas, musical soirees were held, in which noted vocalists and musicians took part.

While Nabanita Dev Sen has narrated stories that are related to the areas surrounding Hindusthan Road in South Kolkata where she had spent her childhood and has plenty of childhood memories, elocutionist Jagannath Basu has told about his experiences in North Kolkata.

Well known football organiser of the 70s, Ajay Srimani, has spoken about Durga Puja in his house and neighbouhood.

Actors Abir Chattopadhyay and Kaninika Bandyopadhyay have narrated their childhood memories, along with cricketer Jhulan Goswami and former footballer Achintya Belel.