North Kolkata
Sovabazar
The courtyard where Kolkata's Durga Puja began, in 1757.
- Known for
- The Rajbari, and bonedi bari Pujas
- Best hour
- Ashtami evening, or any quiet weekday morning
- Walk
- 30 min, 4 stops
Raja Nabakrishna Deb's mansion has held a Durga Puja every year since the year of Plassey, in a courtyard that has not been rebuilt.
Photographs
Photographs of the quarter. Open one to see it full size.
Must-see buildings
Sovabazar Rajbari
Two houses, actually: the Boro Bari and the Chhoto Bari, both with their own Pujas.
The thakur dalan
The pillared courtyard shrine. Unchanged since the eighteenth century.
Sovabazar Sutanuti metro
The station has a small display on the three villages the city grew from.
Where to eat
Putiram
College Street, twenty minutes south
Since 1868. Kochuri before ten.
Bhojohori Manna
Multiple
The reliable sit-down Bengali meal nearby.
Things to see
- 01
The 1757 Puja
Saptami to Dashami. Ask at the gate; visitors are generally welcome.
- 02
The ekchala idol
All five figures on one backdrop, painted in the old style. Nothing like a pandal idol.
- 03
Dhunuchi naach on Ashtami
The incense-burner dance, in a courtyard rather than a street.
Where this sits
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27 quarters · pinch or use + / − to zoom
