Hari Mandir Complex (Nalbari)

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The history of the Nalbari Hari Mandir is correlated with the Ras Mahotsav being organized in Nalbari district since the last century. The evolution of the Hari Mandir is been a saga of decades. To elaborate about the history of the Hari Mandir, we should have to go through the history of the Ras Puja in Nalbari.

It was year 1931, under leading of the then Engineer Amar Kundu of Nalbari Public Works Department (PWD) and Veterinary Assistant Naren Basu and some of the local people Gadamalla Barua, Dandiram Mahajan, Rabi Mahajan, Tanuram Das, Keertiram Thikadar, Padmapani Dutta and Bhairab Choudhury organized a meet at the official residence of engineer Kundu. Their issue of meet was about to organize Ras Puja at Nalbari. Though they weren't able to organize Ras Puja in the same year, but in the next year they were able to organize the Puja at the free space of the PWD Engineer Amar Kundu's official residence. In 1933, Ras Puja Comity was formed to organize the Puja. In that year, with the help of public donation, the Ras Puja was orgaznied publicly at the Hatkhola (old) of Nalbari. At that time the Ras Puja was initiated religiously and was a occasion of 3 days.

Soon after few years, the Ras Puja became popular and the organizers had to think about a new place for the Puja, as the need of wider place arrised. The organizers and the local people searched for a permanent public plot to maintain the continuty of the Puja. Finally the permanent public plot found at the Dag No 584 of Nalbari town, with the grateful help of the then Sub-Deputy Collector Krishna Ram Medhi, and this is the plot till existing with current age. The plot was a private ownership property of which revenue was pending for many years. With a negotiation with the plot owner and Ras Puja comity, witnessed by the then Mouzadar Pratap Narayan Choudhury, the ownership of the plot was transferred to the Hari Mandir. In year 1939, the foundation of the Mandir (currently the old mandir) was imposed with the 4 wooden post of Shal donated by Priyanath Kabiraz of Alengidal. In year 1946 the Ras Puja was shifted from the Hathkhola (old) to the plot of the Hari Mandir.

Late Damahuram Mahajan played the prime role in the construction of the Hari Mandir (old), which was completed in in 1965. With help of his donation the Puja Mandap was constructed in 1968.

With the change of ages, the popularity of Ras Puja increased year by year, so the growth of the Mandir too. Very sooner the Ras Puja festival turnd from Utsava to Mahotsava with the continuation of public interest, co operation & donation. At the initial ages, the Ras Mahotsava was a occassion of 3 days, but in the decade of 1960 it became a occasion of 5 days, and then it became occasion of 7 days in the decade of 1970. Now the Ras Mahotsava is being organized as a festival of 11 to 15 days.


Details-
www.nalbariharimandir.com/
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