Jagaddhatri Immersion in Chandannagar

The Jagaddhatri Puja in Chandannagar is like radio song to most Bengalis outside the immediate area of the former French colony city- heard of but not seen.  Jagadhatri Puja is observed on the ninth day of the waxing phase of moon in the Hindu month of Kartik month in West Bengal.  Goddess Jagadhatri is an incarnation of Goddess Durga- in this form she represents the “Sattvik” qualities (of calmness, purity; as compared to the other forms such as Goddess Kali who represents the “Tamasik” (dark, fierce) qualities).  Her Sanskrit name translates in to 'Holder (dhatri) of the World (Jagat).  She has four arms; rides on a lion and is shown to be defeating a demon in form of an elephant (sometimes interpreted to symbolize the mind).  The aspects of the puja which makes the 4-day celebration in Chandannagar special are large size of idols, large number of community celebrations (over 300) in the area (Chandannagar, Bhadreshwar, Champdani, Rishra) and elaborate decorative lighting (Chandannagar lighting is almost a geographical indicator for decorative lighting for festivals).  This year, a fortuitous confluence of factors presented a sudden opportunity for me to see the famous immersion celebration in Chandannagar.  

I boarded a Bardhaman local at around 8:45 pm.  I was worried that I would be late in reaching and will not have much to see when I arrive.  I was assured by my friend that the processions go on for the whole night and the actual immersions do not happen until morning.  I was also reassured by the information that Eastern Railways is running for pairs of special trains between 6 pm till 2:00 am between Howrah and Bandel/Bardhaman on the three puja days and an additional train departing Howrah at 2:35 am departing Howrah on the immersion day.  We reached at around 10 am.  The road radiating out of the station was crowded and had the same vibrancy as of Kolkata on Durga Puja days.  Most houses were decorated with pight as is usually done during Diwali in other cities.  As soon as we hit GT Road, I was greeted with the sight of immersion processions lined up in stand-still mode.  Nothing was moving except streams of people.  The crowd created its own method of handling the congestion on the narrow road almost entirely filled up by the width of the large trucks carrying idols and the decorations jutting out on both sides- there was an unwritten one way code- people were walking upstream from one flank and downstream from the other.  The narrow sidewalks and every bit of frontage including balconies was jam-packed with people seated to watch the procession.  In fact, noticed that chairs were available on rent at some places too.  The processions occasionally sprung to life when the road opened up for a brief period.  This also energized the accompanying band parties briefly before they slumped on the road to deal with the tiresome stop-go process.  We walked past a large number of processions before we reached the Strand.  This place is otherwise famous for important architectural legacies of the French colonial period, such as Museum and Sacred Heart Church, but today the place was an ocean of humanity who congregated to watch the immersion ceremony.  We walked around for about three hours before returning to my friend’s house for a few hours of rest, but not before enjoying the hospitality of his neighbor’s family who had very kindly invited us for dinner at their place and greeted us warmly when we reached his house at around midnight.  Chandannagar does not sleep on this day.  The puja is ingrained in the collective psyche of the residents.  I was told that some community organizers collect small subscription round the year in preparation for the Puja, and the structure after immersion is worshipped round the year in some locations too.  It was my unique exposure to this historic city through one special event.  

Here are some pictures which tell the story-