Durga Puja in Dhaka: A journey through time

In 1610, when Islam Khan, the Mughal subahdar of Bengal, first arrived in Dhaka, legend has it that he witnessed Durga Puja on the banks of the Buriganga. The sound of the dhaks (drums) filled the air. Inspired, the subahdar came up with a curious idea: let the reach of those drumbeats determine the city limits of Dhaka. Wherever the sound carried, that would mark the boundary of the capital. History does not confirm the truth of this tale, but it beautifully shows how deeply Durga Puja was tied to the rhythm of Bengal.

Durga Puja's roots in Bengal reach back to the 16th century. Kansa Narayan, the feudal king of Tahirpur in Rajshahi, spent nearly eight to nine lakh rupees – a staggering sum for the time – beginning the tradition of Durga Puja in Bengal, though at first, it remained a festival only for the wealthy.

Photo: Sazzad Ibne Sayed/LS Archive

It wasn't until the 19th century that Durga Puja truly flourished. Kolkata, then the capital of British India, became its epicenter. Affluent Bengali elites, eager to display status and influence, turned the puja into a grand spectacle. They even invited British officials as guests of honor, further increasing their scale and prestige. Landlords from East Bengal who lived in Kolkata brought the tradition back to their estates, and soon, Dhaka and other parts of present-day Bangladesh saw the festival grow in popularity.

For ordinary people, puja brought rare moments of joy in otherwise monotonous rural lives. Beyond worship, it was a carnival: feasts, jatras (folk plays), kirtans (a genre of religious performance arts, connoting a musical form of narration), kavigan (poet songs), and even elephant processions.

The excitement was so overwhelming that newspapers would shut down. In 1902, Dhaka's influential Bengali paper 'Dhaka Prakash' announced: "Dhaka Prakash will be closed for four weeks on the occasion of Sharadiya Puja. We extend our greetings to our patrons and wish that Mother Sarvamangala blesses all with good fortune."

Yet, despite its growth, Durga Puja wasn't always Dhaka's biggest festival. Civil Surgeon James Taylor, writing in around 1839, listed Muharram, Bera, and Vaishnava celebrations as the city's main festivals, with no mention of Durga Puja. Economist Bhabatosh Datta later recalled in his memoir 'Aat Dasak' that Jhulan and Janmashtami, not Durga Puja, were the most anticipated events in Dhaka. Still, the puja existed in certain places — such as the grand mansions of Sutrapur, or at the Ramakrishna Mission in Tikatuli.

Photo: Sazzad Ibne Sayed/LS Archive

After the Partition in 1947, many wealthy Hindu families migrated from East Bengal, and with the end of the zamindari system, the private grandeur of Durga Puja declined. It transformed into a community celebration, funded by public donations.

Another essential part of the festival was the idol of Goddess Durga herself. For centuries, Dhaka's potters have carried the sacred responsibility of shaping these idols. Work begins after Rath Yatra, using straw, bamboo, and clay — now often sourced from Savar, Bikrampur, or Narayanganj, instead of the Buriganga. In earlier times, natural pigments made from clay were used for painting, applied with cotton or cloth. Today, plastic paints, brushes, and even spray machines are common. The costs have changed too: what once cost Tk 10-20 in the early 1800s can now cost between Tk 60,000 and Tk 100,000.

After Bangladesh's independence, puja celebrations found a new anchor at Dhakeshwari Temple, where the Bangladesh Durga Utsav Parishad and the Metropolitan Puja Committee began organising festivities. Today, Durga Puja in Dhaka is no longer about zamindars or drumbeats marking the city's borders. It is about community, resilience, and joy.