Documenting the rich history of Durga Puja

Prabir Krishna Deb has illustrated how his ancestor started the festival in Kolkata

Last weekend saw the publication of 50 illustrations by Kolkata artist Prabir Krishna Deb who, through those works of art, has sought to tell the story of the Durga Puja that’s held at his ancestral home.

If you wonder what’s so extraordinary about his effort — considering that the city is home to a few thousand such celebrations, including those held by once-aristocratic families — it was his ancestor who began the festival of Durga Puja, making it a public event, in the newly-founded British city of Calcutta back in the eighteenth century.

Until then, Durga Puja was largely a religious affair, confined mostly to the homes of zamindars; but the victory of the East India Company at the Battle of Plassey, in 1757, changed it all, deciding not only the future of modern India but also transforming Durga Puja into a major public event that it is today. That year, Naba Krishna Deb, who overnight became Calcutta’s wealthiest man and earned the title of ‘raja’ for having helped Robert Clive in the battle, decided to begin Durga Puja celebrations at his newly-built palace — the rest, as they say, is history.