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1606 - first recorded puja in West Bengal.
Celebrated by Bhabananda, the ancestor of Maharaja
Krishnachandra of Nadia
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1610- the oldest Puja in the city of Calcutta
was supposed to be arranged by the family of Sabarana Chaudhury
of Barisha.
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1761 - first Barowari puja in Guptipara,
Hoogli.
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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.
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"Barowari" puja started in the city
from 1860. In 1924 the name changed to "sarbojonin".
Even today some organizers use the term "barowari".
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1939 - Simla Bayam Samiti Puja. Subhaschandra
Bose unveiled a 21-foot Durga.
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In the late 60's Durga images were flown
overseas and Puja was celebrated.
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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.
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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.
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Mythological facts:
*Which God gave what weapon to Devi Durga to destroy Ravana -
. Vishnu - chakra (discus)
. Siva - trishul (trident)
. Varun - shankha (conchshell)
. Agni - flaming dart
. Vayu - dhanuk (bow)
. Surya - tunir ebong teer (quiver and arrow)
. Yama - iron rod
. Indra - bajro (thunderbolt)
. Himalayas - Lion
* Durga has ten hands and Ravana has ten heads
* Carrier:
. Durga - Lion
. Kartick - Peacock
. Ganesh - Mouse
. Swaraswati -Duck
. Lakshmi - Owl
. Mahisasur - Buffalo
