When Bengal was celebrating Kali Puja with pomp and gaiety, so was the Bengali community in New York — at the Jamaica Kali Mandir, established in 2010.
Situated at 88-18 Burdette Pl, Queens, New York, the temple is run by a non-profit organisation. The temple stays open all days of the week and regular pujas are conducted. The temple also hosts cultural programmes. The Kali Puja this year, for instance, included a performance by singer Krishna Tithi. The aim of all these events is to encourage the younger generation to embrace their culture.
Kali idol brought from Kumartuli in Kolkata
Entrance to the Jamaica Kali Mandir
Debashis Debnath, the founder of Jamaica Kali Mandir, said Kali Puja has been organised at the temple every year since 2010. “The idol was brought all the way from Kolkata’s Kumartuli, with the help of my relative Debabrata Debnath. This is my 32nd year in the US, and I am grateful to be able to organise this puja. We hope to build a bigger temple in the future and reach out to a lot more people,” he said.
Involving the youth in social activities
Debashis Debnath, the founder of Jamaica Kali Mandir
The idol at the Jamaica Kali Mandir is modelled after the one at the Dakshineswar temple in Kolkata. “We make sure we follow all the practices carried out by the Ramakrishna Mission. We make every effort to involve the youth in the temple’s activities and hope that they will continue to preserve the heritage that we have brought with us and lived with,” Debnath said.
Outlining the motive of the NY temple, he added: “All that we are doing here is to ensure that the next generations know about their real identities. We have been doing social work both in India and Bangladesh for many years now. Involving our younger generations in the activities and also bringing them into the fold is what we hope and aspire to achieve.”
‘The temple provides a great platform to bond’
A cultural event in progress during Kali Puja 2022
A young New Yorker and heir apparent of the mandir, Debnath's daughter, Debjani, said: “Those born and raised in these lands, like me, did not really understand the religion and culture because they are 50 per cent American. Over the years, we have been learning more about these things and we are now at a point where we are more confident about our backgrounds and heritage. I would like to encourage people like us, and everyone else, for that matter, to come to Jamaica Kali Mandir and learn more about Indian culture and beliefs and see what we have to offer. As the youth of the community, it will be our endeavor to bring in more culture and create a scenario for all cultures to know and appreciate our ethos.”
She added, “From a young age, my parents made sure that I would sing, dance and remain involved in cultural programmes. I now appreciate our culture a lot more. When I was younger, I only wanted to be an American. The temple is family-owned; my uncle is one of the purohits, so to see them in action, to see how much joy they derive from it is very satisfying. Seeing the passion the temple generates would definitely encourage the youth to be involved with it. It’s not just the religion, not only something holy — there’s so much love and passion involved in every single thing that happens and they all add up to something beautiful.”
Devotees and patrons attend the puja
The temple’s programmes provide a great platform to bond and be a part of the community. “It may be a task to bring youngsters to the Kali Puja, but as they grow older they learn to celebrate common things with each other, create friendships, even families. It is a coming-together of the community,” said Debjani.
‘It feels like Kolkata here in the US’
Pratik Gopa Bagchi
A first-time visitor to the temple and a professional from the Hindi film industry, Pratik Gopa Bagchi, was elated at being able to attend this year’s Kali Puja at Jamaica Kali Mandir. He said, “Ever since I came to the US, I have never had the opportunity to visit a Kali temple anywhere. When I came to know of the temple here, I knew that I had to visit. Because of the rain (on Kali Puja day) I had thought that my plans would go awry but when I did arrive, I was happy to see so many others were already here and that, too, at their colourful best. It was simply unbelievable to see so many Bengalis in one room in this land so far from home. It gave me the feeling that I was in Kolkata, not New York’s Jamaica county of Queens.”
