The Durga Puja at Basu Bati was started around 1460-70 CE. It is one of the oldest Durga Pujas in Bengal, contemporaneous with the one in Taherpur. The Durga Puja is famous for its small hands of Durga – in local parlance the Durga Puja is referred to as Kola chhoṛer mātṛpujo - Banana Stem Durga Puja
Reason For Small Hands Of Goddess Durga In Basu Bati Durga Puja
Everything had been going smoothly until 1793 Durga Puja.
After a long year of rainfall, the idol had been left to dry after being coated
with clay. The pigeons perched on the idol’s angular hands. Until that day,
there had been no issues, but on that day, the soft hands of the idol broke.
The strong storms and rains that followed made it worse, and now, making a new
idol seemed impossible. Moreover, the day for adding the clay to the Goddess’s
idol had been set, and the ritual timing for the consecration (Kalparamba) was
already fixed. You can't just break the rules.
So, the hands were repaired, and the puja was held as
planned. The decision was made that next year, they would ask for the Goddess’s
forgiveness before making the idol again. It is said that before making an
idol, purification rituals are performed. But things remained the same. The
same incident kept repeating year after year. People stayed on alert, day and
night. If any pigeons were spotted nearby, they were chased away. Yet, somehow,
they always managed to land on the idol. The event continued to repeat itself.
No, this was not just a random occurrence; it seemed like the Goddess was
sending a message. The family members cried to the Goddess Uma for help.
The house's matriarch received a dream from the Goddess.
After that, the two main hands of the idol remained large, i.e., complete,
while the other eight hands became small—around one to one and a half feet
long. The small hands couldn’t be reached by the pigeons, and even when they
occasionally tried to land, the hands no longer broke.
Since 1797, for 128 years, Durga Puja has been celebrated in
this peculiar form. From a distance, the idol's hands look like banana plant
stems, which is why the worship at Basu Bati came to be known as the Kola chhoṛer
mātṛpujo - Banana Stem Durga Puja
Unique Basu Bati Durga Puja Rituals
This puja has been strange and unique since ancient times.
It was started by Ishwarigupta Basu, the grandfather of Kirttinarayan Basu, the
son of Pratapaditya. He came to Basirhat from Mahinagar, Bangladesh. Ishwar
Basu leased the Dandirhat estate and started the Durga Puja, including both
Hindu and Muslim tenants in the ceremony. To this day, the idol for the
Niranjan (immersion) is sent to the Muslim neighborhood. The idol is placed in
the courtyard of Moksed Mollah’s house, and Muslims also join in the Sindoor
Utsav (Vermilion Festival) following Hindu traditions. Afterward, the Goddess
progresses along the path towards immersion. The idol is placed at four
locations along the way.
Even today, water is brought from the Ganga ghats at Bagbazar during high tide for the Durga Puja. The rituals are still followed strictly as per family traditions. People from distant places gather to witness this strange, unique "Banana Stem Goddess Puja."