31st October 1980
am Went to a collection of temples near to where we were staying. Originally a large river used to run past these temples and the main temple-a Shiva temple-was washed away. A new one was built 50 to 60 years ago in the same style (which Suhrid says is Orissan in origin as are all Bengali temples with towers) maybe by the Birla family. Inside the Shiva temple was a linga. On the West wall a relief stone slab of Palla/Sena style with rep of Bhairava. On the North wall a relief representation of Durga Mahisasuramardini done of cement with wooden lion and no parivaras. On the doorway on the South a rep of Durga and Shiva in carved wood. Temple 2 is a Lakshmi image of clay. Bangla eyes. Temple number 3 is a Kali temple with Dakina Kali image of clay. Temple number 4 contains another Devi clay image. Then we went to Kolimbar village.
On the way we stopped to take photos of the cremation ground by the roadside. Phul ghor or flower house of paper coloured and bamboo, maybe a chariot and horses of paper. On top of the grave lay the head of the ash made man was placed this phul ghor. A broken earthen pot lay nearby.
Then we went to a temple belonging to a family. Strangely the shrine was one the second floor. This is a Shinghobahini temple but there are no fully anthropomorphic images. Instead there are ghatas of copper and clay with daps cloaked in cloth or metal head reminiscent of Buddha images. In the central shrine the Shingobahini image was of astadhatu and looks like a Russian doll. There were two or three and could only be handled by the man with the copper arm band i.e. the brahmin. Also in the shrine were 3 or 4 other things-ghatas and daps and cloth. One was Chandi another Manasa.
Next in Krishnanagar we went past the Kali temple again. At the back we saw the dissolved kathamo of a Durga image (quite small about 4' tall with round kathamo what Prodip describes as the Bangladeshi variety). The straw armatures were still there.
Further on down the road we came to an old terracotta Shiva shrine which had been almost completely enveloped by a tree. The floor of this temple was of soft clay fresh. Most of the terracotta temples have this kind of floor and it sinks a bit under the body's weight. In the Shiva temple was a Shiva linga (a woman-a widow-was doing puja).
To the right of the temple the remain of a D-p pandal. Some leaves had been stretched across the doorway-now old and dry brown. Where the bedi must have been is a ghata. To the right of this a tree with another ghat in a rough enclosure with bel leaves in it. I was told that puja was done here on Sasthi day to start Okalbodhan puja. The the puja in the pandal begins. My two guides referred to 'club' puja (sarvajanin). To the left of the Shiva temple another tree under which was a Manasa plant and the straw armatures of a few figs from the D-p left under this tree. The widow went from the Shiva shrine and bathed the Manasa tree with water (it is a kind of cactus).
We finally got to Kolimbar and there were 2 Kali temples. One which was a concrete structure (300 years old I was told and the other 250 a terracotta Bangla temple very small with beautiful terracotta work depicting Ramayana. In terracotta temple a 2-handed image of Kali on Shiva. It looked very old and was a golden colour-unusual. In the ohter temple an extremely large black Kali on diagonal Shiva. Both of these images were mrinmoyi.
In the house in front of the terracotta temple on the second floor an image of Shingabahini and another female image. Both of clay. On the way back we popped into the house of a villager. In a special mud-built room (the house was mud-built like a typical village hut) is an image of Gaja-Lakshmi with 2 elephants. There is ekchala and chalchitra which is a naive copy of a Dp chalchitra. It is not the work of a professional.
My theory so far. That the mrinmoyi murti were made for Shakta terracotta temples. Villagers used mrinmoyi murtis. Village-rajas-people. Rajas maybe initiated the Durga puja because it is costly. But mrinmoyi images do not cost a lot. They can be made locally and kept in the house for puja. But maybe ghote pate puja was the most popular. If so, what were the pats?
Suhrid thinks that the Kalighat pats are rip-offs of copper plates. They are unlike patua art which comes in sequences like terracotta art of the temples. Sequence art. Terracotta temples. Pauta scrolls. Chal chitras. Story telling. Static art. Single shot paintings.
Suhrid thinks the Jataka stories were the initial impetus for the patua art. During the Muslim period a lot of the patuas became Muslims and changed their names and their pats-they started depciting scenes of Satya Pir.
When we came back to Krishnanagar we revisited the temples. In temple 3 the images were being decorated after their morning bath. I asked about aki mochana and was told that it was done on Janmasthami. The hands and feet were also painted red with wax. The forehead and arms were being decorated with sandal wood paste. Some fake hair was being tied on the topknot. Dhotis of real cloth were being being put on and silver anklets and bracelets.
While this was being done by one of the brahmins the other was handing out some kind of prashad to a group of standing women. They gave a few pais. I wasn't allowed to take photos until after the decoration ceremony.
I think the main reason that Vishnu is of black stone and Radha of Astadhatu is because of all this dressing, undressing and general handling of the image by the priest which is an essential part of the Vaishnava puja. In the Shakti puja things are brought to the image and it is touched and decorated but not manhandled so much. The yoni of the linga acts as a drain off system for all the offerings that are washed over the linga.
The Vishnu-Radha images are also put to bed at night. Clay images of this kind would not stand this treatment for long.
Agambagish senior said that whenever the term mrinmoyi is used in the shastras it means fresh clay.
3rd November 1980 - Dutta family
4th November 1980 - Kumartuli and Victoria Memorial
5th November 1980 - Patuapara and Ramlal Bazaar
6th November 1980 - Interview with Chunder family
7th November 1980 - Krishnanagar