A song and dance for Sydney Kalibari

The efforts of the Bengali community in Sydney to develop their very own Kalibari (Kali temple), continues unabated.

The founder of the Sydney Kalibari movement Nirjhar Dutta has the full support of the community, who are proactively engaging themselves in the Kalibari program. Earlier this month, the Rhythms Dance Troupe organised a colourful cultural performance at the Ryde Civic Centre, as a fundraiser for the Sydney Kalibari.

Nearly 250 people attended the event, aptly titled A Night In India. With many non-Bengalis, indeed many non-Indians in the audience, the event showcased a variety of dances, all choreographed by Annapurna Lodh of the Rhythms Dance Troupe and her daughter Ajanta Bhattacharya.

“In keeping with our theme, we picked items in the classical, semi-classical, traditional folk as well as Bollywood styles,” Annapurna told Indian Link. “And in keeping with true Kalibari culture, we included the young and the old in our dancers - males as well as females - and also the old and the new in our styles!”

“Our aim of course was to raise funds for the Sydney Kalibari in Wentworthville, but we also wanted to completely dazzle everyone on the night with some vibrant dances,” Ajanta added.

Dazzle they surely did – the Bollywood dances to peppy numbers brought the house down, and the Hindi and Bengali songs brought in a touch of nostalgia. The exuberant sounds of the classical Indian instrument sarod made the night even more memorable. The fashion parade heightened the glamour quotient, introducing Indian heritage with elegance and style.

It was, in essence, a celebration of Kalibari culture.

Kalibari literally means a place where the Goddess Kali resides. The Goddess has been particularly popular with Bengali Hindus – she encapsulates many themes that are central to Bengali culture.

Mention of the goddess dates back thousands of years to the Rigveda, although she gained prominence with the masses after her depiction in the late Puranas.

Devotees visit Kalibari on religious occasions as well as on reaching milestones in private life such as a wedding or the birth of a child.

The original Kalibari in Bengal, Kalighat, began as a small hut. A 16th century king converted it into a small temple. Its existing form was constructed in 1809 by the Sabarna Roy Chowdhury family of Banisha. Since the 1960s, the Haldar family, a distinguished business clan from Bengal, manages the administration of this temple along with the Government of West Bengal. The Kalighat Kalibari has been popular also with artists for over a hundred years, who evolved a style of temple art that went on to influence the entire Bengal school of art.

The other Kalibari, Dakhineswar, stands majestic on the banks of the Ganges, and is known for its ornate decoration. It was built by the legendary Rani Rashmoni in 1855: a poor fisherman’s child, she married a wealthy Bengali merchant. Ramkumar, the elder brother of Sri Ramakrishna Paramahansa was the first priest of the Dakhineswar Kalibari. Sri Ramakrishna had steadily accompanied his brother in the day-to-day duties of Kalibari and worked as assistant at the Dakhineswar kalibari. Several new Kalibaris soon came up in different states of India. The ones in Delhi, Simla, Tripura and Hydrabad are wellknown.

The Sydney Kalibari, believed to be the first of its kind in the southern hemisphere, was established in 2006. Registered as a charity organisation, its stated aim is to “provide and promote socio-cultural and religious events between the Indian and Australian communities”. It is, unequivocally, non-political and nonsectarian, and promotes the basic teachings of Hinduism of the “Vedic” culture (clean, pure and simple way of life), through the concept of the Divine Mother.

The Sydney Kalibari joins a growing list of international Kalibaris in Toronto, London and Washington.

Indranil Halder

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