Durga Puja at Home

Our member Ms. A. Gupta talks about how her family has been celebrating Durga puja at their home for the last 350 years.

The tradition of organising Durga Puja in our home began over 350 years ago. In the early days, it was a community effort, with each house in the neighbourhood taking turns to host the puja.
I recall an interesting incident from my childhood. A fruit seller, selling aamra (hog plums), once came to our house. A little girl asked him for some. He filled her frock with the fruits, and she went away. After waiting for a long time for the payment, the fruit seller asked the elders about the girl, but they said no such girl lived there. Later, we found the peels of the fruits in the puja room, next to the idol of Maa Durga. Since then, offering aamra to the goddess has become a tradition.
After that incident, one day, my grandfather dreamt of Maa Durga, who told him she would appear in a fisherman’s net. A few days later, a small gold idol of the goddess, about 8-10 inches tall, was found in a net in our pond. My grandfather immediately broke away from the community pujas and began the tradition of an annual, private puja in our home. A few years ago, my brothers acquired part of a nearby rajbari, a royal’s residence, and built a temple where the idol found by my grandfather was consecrated. We still worship it today. The idol is only of Maa Durga on her lion, placed on a golden lotus, without her children—Lakshmi, Saraswati, Kartik, or Ganesh.
Durga Puja is a time of great celebration for us, and I eagerly look forward to the togetherness it brings. Wishing everyone a wonderful Durga Puja!

(As narrated to Support Elders by our member.)