If yours were not among the 40 lakh-odd pairs of eyes that witnessed the 1,000-armed goddess at Deshapriya Park this year, you still might stand a chance. As Kali, if not Durga. In Howrah, if not in Calcutta.

The century-old Hajaar haat Kali temple in Shibpur is expected to draw a huge crowd this Kali Puja. "Many people who were not aware of Hajaar haat Kali in Shibpur came to know about it after Deshapriya Park's Durga Puja this year. A few devotees have paid an early visit and are likely to return on Kali Puja," said Monojit Mukherjee, a sevait of the temple and grandson of Ashutosh Mukhopadhyay, who is said to have dreamt of the goddess in this form.

"This avatar of the goddess is Mahamaya and has been described in the Chandi. I believe that the Deshapriya Park idol was made following the same description, although not to perfection," Monojit said.

Son of a salt trader and a staunch devotee of Kali, Mukhopadhyay initially worshipped a clay idol of the 1,000-armed goddess in a makeshift shed in Shibpur before a permanent temple was built in 1902. "Earlier the deity was made of clay, but gradually the hands started breaking off. In 1996, we renovated the temple and the idol was coated with cement and plaster of Paris to prevent damage," Monojit said.

"This form of the deity has possibly been derived from the description found in the Sanskrit purana, Chandi. The form is a mixed influenced of the puranas and religious beliefs," Howrah historian Asit Bandopadhyay writes in his book, Howrah Saharer Itibritta.

The temple is a debottar property and the source of income is rent.

The temple in Olabibitala Lane, less than one-and-a-half kilometres from Mandirtala, does not boast a traditional structure and anyone could mistake it for a residential building at first glance. A signboard over the entrance gives it away. "There used to be tall spires and a chura at one time. But they collapsed in a storm many years ago," said Monojit.

A tiny courtyard leads to the temple where the 17-feet-tall deity is housed. The goddess with large eyes does not have her tongue sticking out, neither is Shiva lying under her feet. She is seated with her left foot on a lion and right foot on a lotus. In one hand, she holds a silver trident and in another a kharga. The rest of the 998 hands are protrusions from the wall behind the deity.

Special prayers are offered at the temple on Kali Puja. "We do not hold animal sacrifice. Only ginger is sacrificed," said the sevait. "More than 10,000 devotees come to the temple for Kali Puja every year. This year we are expecting a bigger crowd," said Anubhab Mukherjee, another sevait.

A large police force is deployed around the temple on Kali Puja for crowd control. CCTV cameras have been installed inside and outside the temple soon after the state secretariat shifted to Nabanna.