Shakuntala Kali Puja : A unique Festival of Konnagar

Hello readers, happy to see you here again. It is my fourth blog post, and I am writing about an event that is too close to me and my family. I belong from a small town in West Bengal, India, named Konnagar. The Hooghly River borders the town on its eastern side. Along with being well-known for its ancient structures, many of which belong to Bengal's early colonial era, Hooghly is also well-known for a celebration that is too close to the hearts of those who live in Konnagar.
 
Since ancient times, Bengalis have been renowned for their adoration of Goddess Shakti and a glimpse of which can even be noticed in konnagar in the month of May when we celebrate Shakuntala Kali Puja. 

Shakuntala Kali Puja is not merely a religious festival but also an event which brings all our near and dear ones together. The traditional puja is held every year on the Saturday that occurs on the second or third Saturday in the month of Baishakh (first month of the bengali year). The whole occasion is a one day event, and you will find most of the people of the town awake till dawn. The temple attracts visitors from all around, including celebrities and politicians. At this time, almost every house gets full with kith and kins who make this festival a big day. Luckily, I stay near the temple, for which, it gets more exciting for me to watch and enjoy the whole buzz. 

The history of this puja, heads back to the end of the 19th century. In the present location of the temple, the first puja was performed on the Saturday of the Krishna Paksha in the month of Baisakh in 1297 Bengali year. Consequently everyone in the locality began to conduct the puja unitedly and the same tradition is being carried out for the puja till today. More than a century ago a major part of konnagar was covered in dense vegetation. It is said that there was a landfill nearby inhabited by vultures. There was also a sacred fig tree (Aswaththa) where now the kali temple is situated, on which Vultures used to perch. According to a legend, Dacoits residing in the forest, would worship the goddess underneath that tree, hence, giving the goddess the name Shakuntala Kali (‘Shakun’‘tala’ – ‘underneath the vultures’). The dacoits used to worship the kali on the eve of new moon (Amavasya) and offered animal and even human sacrifices. 

Another legend regarding the history of the Shakuntala kali puja depicts a different story, which says a man named Indranath Chakraborty, a resident of konnagar, once encountered a woman figure draped in white saree who dissipated near the sacred fig tree in front of his eyes. Following that event, Chakraborty dreamt of that similar goddess who instructed him to initiate worshiping her under that tree. Since then people have been worshiping goddess Shakuntala Kali.

The temple consists of an altar made of white marble which remains empty the whole year. Once a year, the idol is placed on the altar which marks the annual festival. The celebration begins the night before the day of the main event. People in huge numbers gather in the banks of Hooghly River to take bath in the holy river and travel bare feet to the temple to pour water on the altar by assembling in large queues. The route from the river bank to the temple lit up in an extravagant manner is thronged by pilgrims making the dawn unique and special. The following day the idol arrives at the temple accompanied by drum rolls and the sound of trumpets. While sculpting the idol, the mud is mixed with milk and liquor and the eyes of the goddess is painted the day before the puja. Shakuntala Kali idol has two limbs, and no tongue sticking out- unconventional features of Kali, as Kali is usually depicted with four hands and tongue. The next day, the deity is adorned entirely with gold and silver ornaments and is carried out from the artisan's workshop on shoulders to reach the temple in the evening. 

By that time, thousands of onlookers gather on both sides of the street eagerly waiting to get a sight of their revered goddess. A great number of people take part in the procession. Fistful sweets and flowers are thrown towards the devotees, which add a pinch of playful mood among the devotees. My family and I, along with our neighbors, join the gathering to see the goddess. We all dress up and go for a walk to watch how the entire great festival is going on around us. 

Meanwhile, families start queuing to offer prayers. The queues stretch up-to kilometres and people keep on crowding the whole night. The Puja begins at onset of the night till sunrise. The whole puja also involves a very important part. The animal sacrifice, mainly goats, is referred to as Patha (goat) Boli (sacrifice) offered by pilgrims. Some worshippers also prefer to sacrifice goats casted out of Kheer instead of real goats.

The deity is brought out of the temple at about 5 o’clock in the morning and is taken to the river bank. The idol is beautifully decorated with floral ornaments to bid farewell to the goddess. During this period, everyone gets teary eyed and a year of waiting begins again.