Legends & Facts

1606 - first recorded puja in West Bengal. Celebrated by Bhabananda, the ancestor of Maharaja Krishnachandra of Nadia
1610- the oldest Puja in the city of Calcutta was supposed to be arranged by the family of Sabarana Chaudhury of Barisha.
1761 - first Barowari puja in Guptipara, Hoogli.
1829 - Lord Bentinck was present in a Durga Puja in the house of Gopimohan Dev in north Calcutta. Inviting British rulers in Durga Puja started from the time of Raja Nabakrishna Dev.
"Barowari" puja started in the city from 1860. In 1924 the name changed to "sarbojonin". Even today some organizers use the term "barowari".
1939 - Simla Bayam Samiti Puja. Subhaschandra Bose unveiled a 21-foot Durga.
In the late 60's Durga images were flown overseas and Puja was celebrated.
From the 80's , corporate sponsors started offering awards for best decoration, best images, best presentations etc. Currently around a dozen of them have different kinds of awards sponsored.
Bakul Bagan Durgotsab, South Calcutta ( Bhawanipur/Hazra area) : Leading artists like Nirad Majumdar, Rathin Maitra, Paritosh Sen, Shanu Lahiri, Meera Mukherjee etc. have taken turn to design the images of this puja.

Amar Durga Puja