Hooghly, Oct. 17 -- The 186-year-old Durga Puja at Mondal Bari in Kamarpara, Chinsurah, is remembered not only for its distinctive worship of Goddess Durga as Shiva Durga, or Hara-Parvati, but also for the family's reported association with India's freedom movement.
Dilip Kumar Mondal, a member of the present generation of the family, said Debendranath Mondal, a descendant of the puja's founder, Podolochan Mondal, was associated with the freedom movement and had links with prominent leaders such as Mahatma Gandhi, Deshbandhu Chittaranjan Das and Aurobindo Ghosh.
Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, Mahatma Gandhi and other freedom fighters also visited Mondal Bari during Durga Puja, he said.
The family provided shelter to freedom fighters on seve...