In pictures: A glimpse of the ‘bonedi bari’ pujas in Dasghara

The Durga Puja of the Deb Biswas family is over 300 years old, and Dasghara’s most popular. The family’s Durga ‘protima’ has four arms, instead of 10, and Ganesh and Kartik are placed higher and on either side of Durga on the ‘ekchala’ arrangement, while Lakshmi and Saraswati occupy similar positions lower

The Deb Biswas estate, and the Durga ‘dalan’ where the Puja happens, stands along a waterbody locally called Gopisagar. Outside is a small Shiva temple as well as a gazebo-like building, which probably once seated musicians during big events

One of the most striking parts of the house is a terracotta temple that houses the family’s Gopinath (Radha-Krishna). Built in a typical Bengali architectural style, it has beautifully preserved carved terracotta panels

The Basu family’s puja, in a lane right beside the Deb Biswas estate, is about 420 years old. While the ‘thakur dalan’ and the home of the Basus has been renovated to modern concrete structures, their Durga idol still has a traditional make. Its most unique feature is the tiger-like stripes on Durga’s lion

The Ray estate across the street has one of the most beautiful interiors of the three homes, with clearly European-inspired architectural features. An open space, possibly a ‘natmandir’ has a ‘rashmancha’ with stucco work featuring cherubs, while the ceiling of the ‘thakur dalan’ has gold star motifs on a blue canvas. Panels on the arch pillars in the ‘thakur dalan’ feature different avatars of Vishnu and Shakti, like Ram, Buddha, Chhinnamasta, Kali and more

The Ray Bari’s Durga ‘protima’ has a distinct colouring, very similar to ‘skin tone’ colour used in paintings. The ‘ekchala’ idol has Lakshmi and Saraswati placed higher on either side of Durga with Ganesh and Kartik placed lower. Interestingly, none of the mounts of Durga’s four children seems to be present in the idol structure