Durga Puja in Dinajpur, Raiganj

Crowds turn out for N Dinajpur’s oldest puja
Statesman News Service RAIGANJ, Oct 7: Even without a grand pandal or special lighting, huge crowds visited the oldest Durga puja in North Dinajpur district, Raiganj Adi Sarbajanin Durga Puja at Bandar village. This puja is so old that even the senior residents of Bandar did not know when it was first introduced here. A section of residents said they had heard from their ancestors that it is more than three hundred years old. Though there is no big-budget pandal, thousands of visitors came to witness the rituals of this puja on Saptami and Ashtami. Bandar village was once a river port at the bank of Kulick river. The Kulick, which was connected with Mahannada in Malda district, was the only means of transport here. At the time, numerous coconut, salt and cement laden boats would dock here and unload goods at Bandar. Most of the goods would come from Bihar. During this period this puja was first introduced at Bandar, the senor citizens of Bandar said. Mrs Sita Saha (60), a resident of Bandar said: "We heard about this puja from our grandfather Ranjit Lal Saha. Even he could not say when the puja was first introduced here. Then we heard that once numerous devotees from Malda district and different places in Bihar like Barsoi, Katihar, Sonali and Purnea would visit this puja premises. On puja days a grand mela would be held, which was famous for different clay models. Every night during puja, jatra was held. Mrs Rani Saha, the former councillor of Bandar said: "My grandfather who expired years before informed us that he had heard from his ancestors that a monk once turned up in Bandar after travelling along the Kulick river from some place in Punjab. He passed some years at the bank of Kulick river for meditation. During his stay he introduced Durga puja here. If this is true then puja first started here more than 250 years before." The secretary of Raiganj Adi Sarbajanin Durga Puja Committee Mr Rupesh Saha said: "Today the port no longer exists here nor is the grand mela held. Yet all puja rituals are strictly maintained. Our puja is famous for sanctity. Apart from locals, another 2,000 devotees from North Dinajpur, Malda and some places in Bihar also visited our temple during puja days with dala. On Saptami and Ashtami days around one lakh persons visited our temple." source: the statesman

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