Ghose Family Durga Puja

d from there to the village by bullock cart. But the Durga Puja there was transferred and established at No.4 Ghose Lane, near Manicktola in Kolkata, by Girish Chandra Ghose in 1856, probably the most illustrious ancestor of the Ghosh family. The Durga Puja has been going on ever since and the 150th year of Puja was celebrated in 2005. Generally every detail of the Durga Puja is taken care of by the family members only. One major difference of this Durga Puja with other Pujas is that there is no Sandhi Puja, instead there is Kalyani Puja. For these five days, the Bhog is shared together. Still today, to all the family members, relatives & friends of the Ghose family of Ghose lane, Durga Puja is a source of pride, enjoyment, reunion and nostalgia. The festival of Durga Puja is one of those few occasions when our prestigious past still finds its expression. Leaving aside the newly grown pujas dotting South Calcutta and the Eastern fringes, the tag of aristocracy is still adhered to the age-old Pujas of North Calcutta- the citadel of our culture which is so often boasted of. As a stark contrast to the menacing trend of nuclear family, there are still some joint families, mainly in North Calcutta, holding the Pujas in their households. The Ghoshes of Paranchapur, a village in the district of Hooghly, had stated their Durga Puja almost 560 years ago, as recorded in the temple of their residing deity, Sri Madhusudana. In those days, all the necessary things for the pujas were not available at the village. So, from baghbazar ghat thing things were taken by boat to Magra and from there to the village by bullock cart. But this puja was transferred and established at No.4 Ghose Lane, near Manicktala in North Calcutta, by Babu Girish Chandra Ghose in 1856,probably the most illustrious ancestor of the Ghose family. He bought the land in the year 1853 and at the very outset he build the thaku dalan over there. He amassed great wealth and property through his maritime business with The East India Company. He was the first Bengali ship broker of the age. He was involved in shipping business -- dubasing, stevedoring, etc. The area, previously known as Sunripara, was named by the Calcutta Municipality in 1876/77 after Girish Ghose's family as Ghose Lane. Later on, more than 80% of the building of 4, Ghose Lane was taken over by Calcutta Improvement Trust to build Vivekananda Road. Babu Girish Chandra Ghose, distributed his property equally among his sons & there were no TRUST for the pujas. Babu Girish Chandra Ghose’s eldest son Babu Purna Chandra Ghose, his only son, Babu Atul Chandra Ghose was a very learned person of his time & was involved in the business of shipping and was an advocate by profession. He had a solicitor firm of his own at high court area. He was entitled as the “Member Of British Empire”. I am quoting few words from the English dailies, dated 2nd January 1878, “Mr.Atul Chandra passed his attorneyship examination with distinction and had all along been an eminently successful, honest and straight forward practitioner…. He received the distinction of MBE, his services also being mentioned in the Government Gazette”. Babu Atul Chandra Ghose and his eldest son Babu Provash Chandra Ghose were one of those very few Indians who had government license of ship broking. Ghose Bari celebrated their 150th year of The Pujas in 2005, counting from the year when the Pujas were started in this metropolis. The puja preparation starts on the day of janmasthami by the way of kathamo puja. Generally every tit bit of the pujas are taken care by the family members only. In those days mythological dramas & chandigan were organized during the pujas. Though these thing are not organized now but cultural programmes are very much organized, ranging from musical soirees, drama, lectures etc. During the pujas all enters the thakur dalan wearing white silk cloth. We do not use to have sandhi puja , instead of tha we use to perform kalyani puja.For these five days we share the bhog together. Still today, to all the family members, relatives & friends of the Ghose family of Ghose lane, durga puja is the source of enjoyment, togetherness & existence of themselves. We just pray to the almighty that she should continue to shower her blessings to the family so that this tradition can be continued for many more 150 years.