Siddheswari Kalibari, Kumortuli, Baghbazar

  • Situated at the crossing of Rabindra Sarani & Madanmohan Tola St, 520, Rabindra Sarani, Kumartuli, Kolkata; the date of establishment of Siddheswari Kali Temple is shrouded in mystery.
  • According to folklore, a hermit named Kalibar while meditating in the Himalayas received a divine vision which guided him to the Shakti peeth amidst the dense jungle of Sutanuti by the side of the Adi Ganga. He set up the idol and later handed over the responsibilities of daily worship to a Kapalik. 
  • At that time the northern part of the Calcutta was infested with the dacoits and human sacrifice was commonly practiced in all the Kali temples.
  • A person by the name Govindaram Mitra came to Sutanuti in search of fortune and settled at Kumortuli. By hard work and fortune he earned immense wealth and built the temple at Bagbazar about 300 years ago. 
  • The clay idol of the Goddess is about the height of ordinary people. On the left foot of the goddess is the head of the complete Digambar Shweta Mahadev.
  • Sri Ramakrishna Paramhansa used to say, “Oh, this mother fulfills everyone's desire”. Sri Ramakrishna is said to have prayed to this Goddess seeking cure for the ailing Keshab Chandra Sen of Brahmo Samaj.
  • Natyasamrat Girish Chandra Ghosh also dedicated every play of his life at the feet of Goddess. He used to affectionately call Siddheshwari Kali of Bagbazar 'Ginny of North Kolkata'. Ramkrishna is said to have made a ‘manat’ to the goddess Kali there to cure Girish Ghosh of cancer, which subsequently happened though many believe that the the cancer was transferred to Ramakrishna instead!
  • The Mandir was once called as the Navaratna Mandir, Black Pagoda, or 'Mitra's Pagoda' and was supposed to be taller than the Ochterlony Monument (Shaheed Minar) which collapsed during the 1737 earthquake. 
  • Shyam Mullick and Binod Behari Mullick of Chitpur and Abhaycharan Mitra, the successor of Gobindaram Mitra were associated with the construction of the present premises.
  • The festivals celebrated presently include Phuldol  on the day of Buddha purnima, Kali puja in the Bengali month of Kartick, Ratanti Kali Puja and Falaharini Kali Puja 
  • The mangal arati begins at five in the morning. The temple remains open from six in the morning till half-past twelve in the afternoon and again from four in the evening till half-past nine at night. Here non-veg bhog is offered to Maa Siddheswari in the afternoon.
  • A significant news about the Siddheshwari Devi appeared in the old newspaper 'Samachar Darpan' -''A Siddheshwari idol is sitting on the street in Mong Kolkata's Bagbazar. Many fortunate people worship him and Brahmin scholars recite twenty or thirty chandipathas and stab kabchadis every day and rich people have given him many ornaments made of gold and silver and many people make many manat puja sacrifices to him. Recently, on a moonlit night last week, it is estimated that a thief broke the window of his house and stole gold ornaments. Later, when the Barkandajas got the news from the police station, they found some of the ornaments in the house of a prostitute and he imprisoned the prostitute. It was heard from the prostitute that one man had stolen the working class; He had his way to that brothel but he escaped the blacksmith, he was not caught. "









References:

1. Dhanya Baghbazar edited by Swami Purnatyananda.

2. Kolkatar 51 Kalibari by Arun Mukhopadhyay.


3. https://calcutta-kolkata-asim.blogspot.com/2013/11/siddheswari-kali-of-bagbazar.html


4. https://www.nilkantho.in/siddheswari-kali-mandir-bagbazar/


5. https://debolinabhattacharya.wordpress.com/2014/02/22/kolkatas-ginni-siddheshwari-kali/


6. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RJKwkWjXdNQ

 

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