Kalikatha!
She is mad. She is wild. She wears garland of human skulls around her neck and human limbs around her waist. She drinks blood. She is a rebel. She is an embodiment of raw power. She is an epitome of women’s liberation. Her dance is the dance of destruction. She creates maya. Her favourite haunt are the crematoriums. She feeds on the mortal remains of the dead. She is like a dark night. She is like a bad omen. Hers is a world that is dark, evil and gory. Kali, an incarnation of Dashamahavidya, is hardly the benevolent, loving, mother goddess. Yet, she is one of the most prominent and powerful figures of the Hindu pantheon today.
However, it would not be inapt to say that Kali is a subaltern goddess. Tribals, Dacoits and the marginal people living away from so called civilization and amid hostile conditions needed a warrior as their god to protect them from the natural and man-made calamities. Lord Shiva was still too much a God of the genteel class. And Kali fitted the bill. Her ‘fearful symmetry’ aroused faith—faith to triumph over various evil forces. Kali became the God of these people and her temples came up in the unlikeliest of places amid thick jungles where only the lion-hearted dared. It was much later, perhaps when these forests were encroached upon, that Kali got a place in the alters of the Babus.
What’s in a name?
Kali is the presiding goddess of the city of Kolkata and it is Kali which gives the city its name. If Nawab Siraj-Ud-Daulah was as lucky as the Left Front government and Mir Jafar and Omichand weren’t so blatantly influenced by Brutus, it might have just been a reality--much before Calcutta became Kolkata, Siraj-Ud-Daulah had rechristened it to Alinagar in 1756. However, this new move infuriated the vindictive dark goddess Kali upon whose name the city was named Kalikata (later anglicized to Calcutta) and her wrath fell on the young nawab leading to his devastating defeat in the Battle of Plassey. And the rest is history (of colonial Calcutta).
There are many theories regarding the source and etymology of the word ‘Kalikata’. Kalikata may have got its name from ‘khal kata’—after the great canal dug to prevent the Maratha Bargi invasions. But, then again, the place was known for manufacturing of shell-lime and the name could have been derived from lime (kali) and burnt shell (kata). According to some historians the name ‘Kolikata’ was derived from the Bengali term kilkila (“flat area”). But the most widely accepted theory is that it is linked with Goddess Kali. Kali is to Kalikata what Mumba devi is to Mumbai and Athena is to Athens --it is not only the presiding deity of the city, but also what has given the city its identity and its name.
The term ‘Kalikata’ may have come from Kali Kota which means ‘temple of Kali’. The temple of Kalighat, regarded as one of the 51 shakti peethas, has found mention in texts written as early as 15th century.
Many believe Kalikata was where ‘Kalika thha’ or kalika was. Some legends say there was a Kali temple and a ghaat made of stone (the name Pathuriyaghata came from this stone embankment) at the north of Posta. For reasons unknown, the Kapaliks took the Kali from this temple to Kalighat which was then a forest and built a temple there--hence where Goddess Kalika or Kali originally resided became Kalika thha or Kalikata.
Another popular belief is that Kalikata may have derived its name from Kali Khsetra.
As per Peethmala and Nigama Granth Goddess Kali herself told that there is a bow shaped land (khshetra) stretched from Dakshineswar to Bahulapur (now Behala). This triangular land is the abode of Bramha, Vishnu and Maheswar—the holy trinity. At the centre of this resides Kali and the whole area is Kali Khsetra –the chosen land of the goddess and hence one of the holiest.
Age of Kali
River Ganga took a left turn near Princep Ghat and past through Kalighat, Tollygunge, Garia, Baishnabghata and merged with River Bidhyadhari before flowing to the sea. This was one of the major business route of the time and finds mentions in the Mangalkabyas. The area was mostly a dense forest but the banks of the river boasted quite a few Kali temples where the merchants would stop by to offer prayers before starting their sea voyage. Later the river changed its course and today it is difficult to even imagine the Tully Nulla as a part of that Ganga where boats laden with merchandise rowed up and down.
Among these temples the most prominent was the temple at Kalighat. Kalighat area was previously a part of Sundarbans and was a dense forest infested with dacoits and kapaliks most of whom were ardent devotees of Kali. During this time human sacrifice was almost a regular ritual. As legends go the present Dakshina Kali idol was installed by two saints called Brahmananda Giri and Atmaram Giri who discovered fossils of fingers of Devi Sati's feet from the pond called Kalikunda. Later, a small temple was constructed by Raja Mansingha (alternatively Raja Basanta Roy )in the early Sixteenth century on the bank of the river Adi Ganga where traders used to stop over and pay their obeisance. The present structure was however, built much later in 1809 by Santosh Roy Choudhury-- a member of the Sabarna Roy Choudhury Family.
Kalighat temple, regarded as one of the most important of the 51 Shakti Peethas was however not the only Kali temple when the British landed in Kalikata. There was the temple of Goddess Chitreswari or Chitriteshwari or Chitteshwari on the banks of Ganga at present day Bagbazar. It is said that the original temple was built by an infamous dacoit name Chite and has a rather gory past. After the death of Chite this temple lay abandoned until 1586 when a tantrik named Nrishingha Bamhachari arrived here and revived the puja. But, the present temple was erected much later in 1610 by the then zamindar Manohar Ghosh.
The name Chitpur was derived from this temple and along with Sutanuti, Gobindapur and Kalikata, this was the fourth village that existed during that time. And connecting the two grand temples was a pathway Chitpur road-- regarded as the oldest of Kolkata was then the ‘road to Kalighat’. On the way in the middle of the jungle of Chowrangi, where the new building of Asiatic Society is situated, was a shiva temple—probably erected by Chowranga giri—the same hermit who is at times credited to have built the original Kalighat temple. However, according to some the name Chowrangi came from the village-god Chowranginath-(Shiv); while others believe Chowrangi to be a derivative of Chirangi or Chirnagi –another name for Kali.
There is another Kali temple in Chitpur which finds mention in Bipradas Pilpai’s Manasa Vijaya written in 1495—‘Chitpurey pujey raja Sharbamangala’. Situated just half a mile from Adi Chitteshwari temple, the present Chitteswari Sharbamangala temple is said to be built after the ‘Robinhood of Bengal’ Raghu dakat found a stone idol in a nearby pond around 400 years back. According to the present priest, around the same time Ramsharan Shimlai, a Bangladeshi merchant was travelling past the place in his boat when he stopped by to offer prayers and stayed back. Later, when Raghu Dakat surrendered to the East India Company, he willed all his property along with the temple to Shimlai.
Another important temple of Kalikata is the Firingi Kalibari at Bowbazar. According to some this shrine was established by a man named Srimanta Dom. He also used to treat local people suffering from small pox and most of his patient were the newly arrived Europeans (Firingi ) of the locality. Many patients would also stop by and offer prayers in this temple and hence the temple became popular as Firingi Kalibari. However, the plaque on the outer wall of the temple suggests that this temple was erected in 904 Bangabda, (1498 AD) which makes it far older than the European settlement in Kalikata. According to the present priest the temple was initially a Shiva temple where the idol of Kali was installed on “Panchamundi Asan” much later most probably by Antony Kabial popularly known as Antony Firingi. Indeed under the main dome of the temple is a Shivling and the idol of Kali stand quite far from it, almost at one corner of the temple.
Birth of a City
Laxmikanta Roy Choudhury (1570-1649) received the ownership of eight villages, including Kalikata from Emperor Akbar. Job Charnock, East India Company’s Chief agent in Bengal, set up camp on the swampy banks of the Hooghly river on August 24, 1690 and bought three villages from Sabarna Roy Choudhury a descendent of the Laxmikanta Roy Choudhury’s for Rs 1,300 on November 10, 1698 and the city of Calcutta started rising over these three hamlets—Sutanuti, Gobindapur and Kalikata and in 1772 became the capital of British India. However, although Kalikata turned into Calcutta, the Kali katha of the city didn’t end.
In 1703 one Shankar Ghosh erected a Shiddheshwari Kali temple in Thanthania. However, according to legends the temple is older than this and was handed over to Ghosh by a tantric. The area was a dense forest then. It is said that in the 19th century Sri Ramkrishna Paramhansa and his disciples including Swami Vivekananda and Girish Ghosh became a regular here. The present temple is a new one and has no architectural significance. However, it remains one of the most famous Kali temples of the city.
In 1760 Nandadulal Roy Choudhury of Shabarna Roy Chaudhury built a Kali temple in Tollygunge after his beloved daughter Karunamoyee passed away. It is said Kali in the guise of his daughter visited the grieving Nandadulal in his dream and comforted him. After this incident he erected a Navaratna Kali temple along with twelve aatchala Shiva temples. Although, the present temple was built much later the idol of the Goddess is the ancient one. At a stone’s throw distance situated on the banks of Adi Ganga is another temple dedicated to Shiddheshwari Kali. This 200 year old Kali was installed by one Saraswatibabu and according to local people he was a warrior who lived amid what was then a dense forest and a den of dacoits.
The Shiddheshwari Kali temple at Ratan Babu’r Ghat in Baranagar is around 300 years old and was established by Khudiram Chattyopadhyaye. The idol here is made of neem wood. Close to this at Kuthighat is the majestic temple built by Joy Chandra Mitra in 1850 upon a Dutch cemetary. It is a navaratna temple with a nat mandir and 12 Shiv mandirs. Here the Goddess is Kripamoyee and the Shiv and Kali is curved from one single stone. Built 6 years after this, it is said that Rani Rashmoni’s famous Bhabatarini Kali temple at Dakkhineshwar used this temple as a blue-print and the same person is supposed to have built the three idols—Siddheshwari of Ratanbabu Ghaat, Kripamoyee of Kuthi Ghaat and Bhabatarini of Dakkhineshwar.
The small temple complex at the South Eastern Railway headquarters in Garden Reach looks like any other small roadside temple but enter the Kali temple and you’d be in for a surprise. The Kali idol here is as dark as a moonless night and yet as bright as the blazing sun. According to the priest of the temple the Kali is 800 years old and was discovered floating in the river. Until a few years back it was a crude wooden idol but even now the trimmings of modernity have not been able to fade the radiance of its raw power. Then there is the Dakatiya Kalibari at –around 150 years old this rather small Kali temple is said to be built by one Manohar dakat.
Later as Kali become one of the most popular and most worshipped Goddess, temples cropped up at almost every nook and corner of the city including a Chinese Kali temple at Tangra. Today, Kali continues to be the life force behind Kolkata and Kali temples can be discerned even at the most non-descript corners of the city
Kali’s city
Kolkata to many is all about naked starving children, dark and dingy lanes piled with garbage, streets soiled with blood, and it seems with its squalor, muck, madness, decay, suffering and rebellion Kolkata reflects the very spirit of its presiding goddess. Just like Kali, the city which seems malevolent and grim. But at the same time, like Kali it is a city that dispels the evil through destruction, her insanity brings back order, she is dark yet beautiful, she is terrifying yet she protects, to her own she brings assurance and is a source of strength, courage and inspiration. No city could have been more apt for Kali and no goddess better than Kali to own a city like Kolkata. Kolkata is Kali and Kali is Kolkata.
