Joy Kali Temple

About

The Temple of Joy Kali stands on a street that takes its name from the shrine itself, at 24 Joy Kali Mandir Street between Thathari Bazar and the Wari neighbourhood of old Dhaka. The temple is dedicated to Maa Kali, the fierce and compassionate Mother revered across Bengal as the protector of her devotees.

Within the boundary wall stand two principal shrines. The main temple, marked by a shikhara, enshrines the murti of Kali Devi. Beside it rises a smaller temple with a domed roof, dedicated to Shiva, whose plaster dome is visible from the surrounding lanes and is what most local residents point to when they speak of Joy Kali Mandir. A small place for tulsi is set beside the entrance, and a bell hangs before the Devi for worshippers to ring on entering and leaving.

The walls of the sanctum are tiled with figures of Hindu gods and goddesses, the floors finished in mosaic. A stainless steel Om welcomes the devotee at the gate. The arrangement of garbhagriha, antarala, and mandapa within the complex follows the broad north Indian pattern, with two sanctums for the two enshrined deities.

Joy Kali Mandir remains an active place of worship for the Hindu community of Dhaka, drawing devotees of every age. Offerings gathered for festivals are turned into sweets distributed afterwards as prasad, sharing in the grace of the Devi.

History

Local memory dates the temple's founding to about four hundred years ago, in the Bengali year 1001, during the period of Nawabi rule in Bengal. It was established by the dewans Tulsi Narayan Ghosh and Nabh Narayan Ghosh under the guidance of the saint Bancharam, who became its first priest. At its founding the temple housed twenty-one murtis, including Shiva, Kali, Lakshminarayan, three shalagrama, and Bandurga among others, and a number of buildings stood within its enclosure including a Pancharatna and Navaratna shrine, a Shiva temple, and a guest house.

The office of priest passed down through Brahmin lineage to Khitish Chandra Chakraborty, who died in 1977. Without an heir to the priestly office, the temple gradually fell into disrepair and was further damaged during the disturbances of the 1990s. It was restored through the efforts of Maa Kali's devotees, though on a smaller footprint than its original extent.