During the Moghul era, when Emperor Akbar had formed the different parganas in Bengal and other states, the Balia Pargana was one of the biggest administrative divisions. It was a good source of revenue. Among the several villages in the division, there were seven or eight of them that had balia to their names. Among the names that still exist, Nijbalia, that is now located in Jagatballavpur, was an important administrative and financial centre.
Today, the village is important for its ancient Singhabahini temple that is not only revered for religious beliefs, but also for its heritage. The temple is more than 400 years old. Local historian and native of Nijbalia, Sibendu Manna, said, “Singhabahini finds mention in many epic works like Mukundaram Chakraborty’s Chandimangal and Balaram Chakraborty’s Kalikamangal. However, after the Maharaja of Burdwan captured the land in the 18th century, the land and temple was donated to the sevait family in Nijbalia.
No one knows who built the temple. In Ramkrishna Roy’s Sibayan Kavya, we find that the land and temple belonged to the descendants of Jadabendranath Mukhopadhyay, the sevaits of the temple. After the pargana was captured by the Burdwan zamindars, Chitrasen had re-donated the land to the descendants of Jadabendranath. The descendants of the same family still serve as the sevaits at the temple.”
The king had donated several acres of land as Singhabahini’s debuttor estate. “There was so much land in the debuttor estate, that the produce from one bigha would go towards the goddess’s offerings on one day. However, none of that exists any more,” said Dilip Ghosh, a member of the trustee board that now runs the temple.
The local myth about how Singhabahini came into existence is somewhat different. “Cholera was a common epidemic in villages at that time. So to get rid of the disease, people started worshipping Singhabahini in the village. That is how the temple started,” said Tarak Ghosh, another member of the committee.
Singhabahini is revered among the people of the five villages of Nijbalia, Garhbalia, Jamunabalia, Nimabalia and Badebalia and other adjoining villages in Jagatballavpur in Howrah and villages in the bordering Hooghly district. At one time, all these areas were included in the Burdwan Maharaja’s kingdom. Singhabahini is the reigning deity in these villages to the extent that no other idol can be worshipped. Durga Puja, too, is held at the temple, but it is Singhabahini that is worshipped as Durga during the five days.
The idol is carved out of neem wood. The goddess has eight hands and is standing on a white lion. “The idol is painted afresh every 12 years,” said Dilip Ghosh. The temple is made in the traditional atchala style of Bengal with an extended porch and natmandir. Last year, parts of the old temple were repaired and painted again. There is a huge pond adjoining the temple and a market sits every morning around the pond and behind the temple. “All vegetables for the deity’s daily offerings come from that market. Fish is a must in the daily offerings to the deity. The fish is caught from local ponds,” said Dilip Ghosh.
Sita Navami held in the month of Baisakh of the Bengali calendar, a month after Ram Navami, is the annual utsav at the temple. Thousands of people come to the temple to offer puja to the goddess. “This year, we celebrated 76 years of utsav. We also have a special annakut utsav here where thousands eat through the day,” said Dilip Ghosh. Huge earthen pots (malsa) of khichri, fritters and payesh are distributed among the devotees who come to the temple on that day. Along with the prayers and offerings, a grand fair is arranged on the utsav day.