This Puja started about 277 years ago. Ishwar Jagat Ram Mukherjee was the founder of the Durga Puja of the Mukherjee household. Jagat Ram’s daughter was insulted at her maternal uncle’s house where she had gone to participate in the celebrations of Durga Puja. In the next year Jagat Ram’s daughter gave the money earned by selling broomsticks to her father to perform Durga Puja. It was first performed on the ‘Ghot’ and later on shifted to ‘Pot’. About 100 years ago Ishwar Jadunath Mukherjee made a Durga Idol of gold.
Durga Puja of the Mukherjee household and that of Krishnagar’s Royal family is conducted according to the same scriptures (Puthi). The Lion’s face resembles a horse. The Chalchitra has Lakshmi, Saraswati, Ganesh and Kartik. It is made of an alloy of eight metals. Besides Durga’s ‘sakhi’(companions) were also present until 60 years ago when they were stolen. Their place still remains empty.
Nabami has the ritual of sacrifice. They sacrifice goats at the alter of the Goddess. Sacrifice of sugarcane and pumpkins are done too. With vermillion a human figure is drawn on the pumpkin, which is then sacrificed. Kumari Puja and Sodhoba Puja is performed on the Nabami day. Members of ht family play with mud on this day. Immersion of the Goddess is an important feature of this househod. Only the ‘Kala Bow’ is immersed in the water. Before immersion the Goddess is covered with a red cloth. After immersion the red cloth is removed.

The family of Saborno Chowdhury hailed from Hali of Naihati and later on settled in Birati and finally migrated to Barisha in Calcutta. After the death of Akbar, Mansingh was given the responsibility of Jassore. Pratapadita was an able ruler of Bengal then. Mansingh was aware of the strength of Pratapadita and knew it was not easy to defeat him in warfare. So he bribed Pratapadita’s confidantes.
They were Bhabananda Mazumdar and Barisha’s Lakshmikanta Ray Mazumdar. Soon Bengal fell into the hands of Mansingh and Lakshmikanta Ray Mazumdar and his associates got large acres of land as gifts from Mansingh. Lakshmikanta Ray Mazumdar was the famous zamindar of the Ray Mazumdars. They were known as the Ray Mazumdars before they got the ‘Chowdhury’ title and their ‘gotro’ was Saborno and so their Durgapuja was known as ‘Barisha Saborno Ray Chowdhury Durgotsav’.
Older than Kolkata (Calcutta), their household Durga puja was said to have started since 1610 by Lakshmikanta Ray Mazumdar. It is famous for its ‘Aath Chala’ Puja. That is the Devi Puja was performed in the courtyard with eight pillars and a roof top and with no walls. Under this ‘Aath Chala’, the three villages of Kolikata, Sutanuti and Govindapur were sold to East India Company at an amount of Rs.1,300. The legal document has the signatures of Roop Chand Mazumdar and Manohar Mazumdar and Charles Iyer, Job Charnock’s son-in-law. Antony Kobiyal’s grandfather was also present as one of the witnesses.
The flavour of a zamindar household puja can be felt even today if one wishes to visit the Chowdhurys of the Saborno family during the Durga puja. The ‘Aath Chala’ Puja still exists today. The Durga Puja of the Saborno household is famous because of its traditional rituals and great devotional fervor. The wooden frame work of the Goddess Durga’s idol still exists along with the three ‘Chalchitra’ (the intricately designed background). The Saborno family has no rituals of ‘Kumari Puja’ nor the rituals of ‘Nilkontho’. Sacrifice of buffalos and goats are an existing ritual in the family. Besides, ‘chalkumro’, sugarcane, mashbhokto (combination of rice, banana, cloves and ghee) are also offered for sacrifice. The devi is worshipped in her ‘Chamunda’ form during ‘Sandhi Puja’. End of Ashtami and the beginning of Nabami is the time for Sandhi Puja. It was at this moment Devi Durga took the form of Devi Chamunda to kill the Mahishasura (the Buffalo Demon). On Dashami immersion of the Goddess Durga takes place in babughat. Before the immersion a ritual is performed. The mirror image of the devi is seen in a tub full of water which is placed in front of the deity. Years back immersion of the Goddess was done in Tallygunge’s Karunamayi.

Jalpaiguri’s Raikanth family worship Devi Durga since they were the zamindars of Jalpaiguri. Their Durga idol is red in colour. Its height is 15 ft. In the ancient times human sacrifice was an important feature but now a human doll is made out of flour which is sacrificed at the alter.

Bishnupur’s Raja Jagatsingh Deb, the king of Molla, started Devi puja in the year 997. Here the idol is not immersed. The clay used 1000 years back is still present in the image. Each year a fresh layer of clay is applied on the idol. During Ashtami Puja the canon ball is fired. On the Bijoya Dashami day efigies of Kumbhakarna, the day after (eka dashi) Indrajeet and the next day (da dashi) Ravana are burnt. Indrajeet and Kumbhakarna were the brothers of Ravana. This is practised following the Purana’s Akal Bodhon when Ram worships Goddess Durga for shakti to kill Ravana.

Cooch Bihar’s Durga idol is built according to the ancient scriptures of purana. The Goddess is red in colour. She is adorned with gold ornaments. The Devi’s left leg remains on the buffalo while the right on the lion. Durga has two appurtenances(bahanas), a tiger and a lion. Asura emerges from a headless buffalo. Durga is not accompanied with Lakshmi, Saraswati, Ganesh and Kartik. By the Goddess side are her ‘sakhi’ (companions), Jaya and Bijaya. The height of the Goddess is 10.5ft. The craftsmen who build the idol are descendants of the royal family. The diety is built on the eighth day of shravan (July/August). A 10.5ft moyna tree is cut to make the frame work of the idol.
In the midnight of Ashtami a ritual takes place just for the royal family when human blood is offered to the Goddess. The person who gives his blood is of the royal family. Ashtami is the sacrifice day when birds and buffalos are sacrificed.

Shitala village of Lavapur in Birbhum is famous for its Durga Puja. This community earn their living by performing magic. In the temple of Durga they sprinkle vermilion and cover it with a cloth. It is said that on seeing the footprint of the Goddess Durga on the cloth, the sandhi puja commences. This ritual still continues till date.

In the village of Surul (Bolpur), in Birbhum, the Sarkars of Boro Bari perform Devi Puja. Bharat Chandra Sarkar was the first to start Devi Puja about 250 years ago. On Saptami the Goddess is brought home by the family on their shoulders. ‘Kumari Bhog’ is a feature of their family Puja. The aarti is done 3 times a day and a long handled fan is used too. On saptami ‘Chalkumro’ is sacrificed while on Sandhi Puja they sacrifice a goat.

During the times of Raja Nabakrishna Deb, the Puja initiated in the year 1757 after the Battle of Plassy. This famous and glamorous Puja replete with firing of Canons at the time of Sandhi Puja. But now the cannons have been replaced by artificial sounds. The original puja now continues in two fragments.
The Bisarjan ceremony (immersion) is still a spectacular affair with the release of the Nilkantha Bird, women wearing white and red saris and men in Dhotis. Around 60 men lend their shoulders to the goddess on her way to the river.